Investigating Factors Affecting Audit Fees: Factors Related to the Professional, Cultural and Social Environment

The audit fee is determined primarily by the characteristics of the applicant (client), the audit firm, and the conditions governing the profession and community and the cultural environment. This research merely examines the factors related to the professional, cultural and social environment that affect audit fees. In this research, the qualitative study and the grounded theory method have been used and the opinions of the experts gathered through the interview have been analyzed. To validate the results of the research, the criteria for consensus and control of the members have been used. According to the results, the community's association with auditing, the perception of users and stakeholders from auditing, decision-makers and policymakers, and the degree to which competitiveness is rated, are recognized as the most important factors affecting occupational and environmental conditions. Meanwhile, factors such as the size and focus of the market and the degree of international association of firms and the risk of litigation against auditors in Iran are the most important intervening condition affecting the determination of audit fees. Also, the set of these factors, along with the implications of reasonable fees and living conditions, are described.