Auditor independence, joint determination of audit and non-audit fees and the incidence of qualified audit reports

The aim of this study is to examine whether the provision of non-audit services by the incumbent auditor compromises auditor independence in a low litigation risk environment such as in the case of Spain, where the audit litigation risk is not likely to be the main external deterrent for audit malpractices. To achieve this goal we analyse whether audit and non-audit fees are simultaneously determined, and we also test whether the joint provision of audit and non-audit services reduces the incidence of qualified audit reports. Confirming prior research, when running single equation models the results obtained are supportive of the presence of knowledge spillovers between the two services. Nevertheless, we also empirically establish that audit and non-audit fees are jointly determined and when applying a simultaneous-equation model, then, the flows of knowledge spillovers cannot be proved. We also find that auditors are not less likely to issue qualified audit reports when they jointly supply audit and non-audit services.