Audit market concentration has been thoroughly researched both globally and regionally. According to previous studies, the audit market is often dominated by the Big Four at the EU level, while in the region, the concentration is lower, indicating that it has oligopolistic features. This paper analyzes and measures the concentration of the audit market in Republic of North Macedonia, through Herfindahl-Hirschman index - HHI and concentration ratio - CR4, based on three independent variables: audit-related revenue, number of clients and number of employees. The research covers the period from 2014 to 2021 and it is concluded that at the beginning of the analyzed period (2014-2017), according to audit-related revenue, the audit market in Republic of North Macedonia had the characteristics of an oligopoly, but today it is nonconcentrated market and ranges from perfect competition to oligopoly. In terms of the number of employees and the number of clients, the results from our research show that audit market in Republic of North Macedonia is not concentrated.

Non-financial reporting is a form of transparency disclosure where companies disclose information that is not primarily focused on their financial performance, but information related to their activities that contribute to society through environmental protection, social matters, employees, human rights, anti-corruption and other activities affecting the supply chain. The purpose of this research is to analyze non-financial disclosure in selected Balkan countries and to determine how EU membership affects the scope of non-financial reporting. Four countries are included in the research, two of which are EU countries and two are non-EU countries. A total of 40 blue-chip companies that are part of the national stock market indexes for the period of 2019 to 2021 were taken as a sample in the research. We applied content analysis to 120 Audited Consolidated Annual Reports, individual Non-financial Disclosure Reports and all tabs and sub-tabs of official websites from which we identified variables to be statistically tested. A detailed descriptive and comparative analysis will be made to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the characteristics of non-financial reporting in the respective countries, and then the Multivariate Kruskal-Wallis will be conducted to test whether EU membership affects the extent, title, type, and length of the report on non-financial information.

Transparency reports are a communication link between audit firms and the general public about their work, internal policies, and quality control to increase the trust of information users. On the other hand, the need for transparency in audit firms is a factor that aims to substantially improve and maintain the quality of audits at the highest level. This paper is quantitative and qualitative research on the transparency of audit firms in the Republic of North Macedonia and analysis of the financial data contained in them, focusing on the audit firms' revenue. Through a detailed elaboration of each audit firm’s transparency reports in the period from 2007 to 2021, or a total of 372 individual transparency reports, we identified the state of transparency reports that differs in the period from 2007 to 2013 versus 2014 to 2021, positive trends of financial indicators over the years, as well as the structure of total revenues, i.e. participation of the individual services they offer. The hypothesis testing findings are early results, identifying the positive correlation between the number of employees and the audit-related turnover regardless of the audit firms' size and their affiliation with Big 4, an international network, or local audit firms. Between the number of customers, i.e. audit engagements and the audit-related turnover, there is a positive correlation for international network audit firms and local audit firms, but not for the Big 4. The paper contributes to the current literature on audit firms’ transparency in order to improve them and their real contribution to improving the quality of audit engagements. The results of the conducted quantitative analysis are a good basis for further in-depth research in identifying potential factors that correlate with the audit firms’ revenue.

Purpose: The main purpose of the paper is to provide empirical evidence on certified auditors’ perceptions in the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) about the new IFAC International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Methodology/approach: A survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire to the certified auditors in RNM, and the answers were then analyzed. Findings: The results indicate that the observance of the Code of Ethics affects the quality of audit engagements in domestic practice. The majority of practitioners believe that the fundamental principles are sufficiently clearly elaborated and can provide an appropriate basis for ethical conduct. The principle of objectivity is most exposed to threats, while the most common threat is familiarity. Safeguards created by the profession, the law, and regulations are more effective in addressing threats. Finally, practitioners agree that the innovations brought by the new Code of Ethics represent a significant benefit to the auditors’ mission to preserve and strengthen their independence. Research implications/limitations: The research provides empirical evidence of ethical behavior in domestic audit practice, but no similar research has been done before to make a comparative analysis. Originality/value: This research is the first of this type in RNM and fills the research gap in the field of ethical behavior in the domestic audit practice.