The impact of auditor-provided non-audit services on audit quality: A review of the archival literature

Abstract

The paper gives an overview of the results of a structured literature review. It covers archival studies on the relationship between non-audit services (NAS) fees and factual as well as perceived audit quality published in journals included in the accounting subject category of the SCImago Journal Ranking. It also includes a critical evaluation of the research methods applied in prior research and offers avenues for future research. The provision of NAS to audit clients creates threats to auditor independence. Consequently, regulators have focused on the simultaneous provision of audit and NAS for many years and restricted it over time. This paper aims to assess which regulatory actions are justified in light of related archival research findings. Overall, prior research does not clearly prove a negative impact of non-audit services on factual audit quality. However, it demonstrates a negative relationship between non-audit fees and audit quality perceptions. Moreover, it also reveals that tax consulting fees are less problematic.