Audit Service Market Analysis in Ukraine

Abstract

The analysis of the audit services market clearly demonstrates a significant fluctuation in the quantity and cost of services in different regions, which in most cases depends on the concentration of industrial enterprises, the solvency of the audit customers themselves and their understanding of the cost and quality of audit services. This article is dedicated to this, in which such fundamental issues of the activities of audit firms and auditors as entering the professional services market, the quality of such services, and pricing for audit services are examined. The analysis of the audit services market clearly demonstrates a significant fluctuation in the quantity and cost of services in different regions, which in most cases depends on the concentration of industrial enterprises, the solvency of the audit customers themselves and their understanding the cost and quality of audit services. The article considers such problems of the auditors and audit firms activities as entering the professional services market, the quality of such services, and pricing of audit services. The analysis of the market of audit services is presented, which demonstrates a significant fluctuation in the quantity and cost of services in different regions, which in most cases depends on the solvency of audit customers, the concentration of industrial enterprises and the quality of audit services provided. The analysis of the audit activities results and the state of the market for audit services indicates that the audit market suffers from changes occurring in the country, which indicate that the audit market is functioning and transforming as a result of a number of factors, in particular: crisis phenomena in society; stricter requirements for the audit profession by regulators; imperfection of the legislative framework; lack of a mechanism for pricing audit services; lack of punishment for false information in the reports of auditors; insufficient number of highly qualified auditors; decrease in solvency of audit customersю It was found that, along with a decrease in the number of subjects of audit activity in the Register of Audit Firms, there is a tendency to increase the volume of services provided. It is proved that in order to increase the value of the audit, introduce and operate a system for ensuring the quality of audit services, improve the professional knowledge of practicing accountants, increase the market for audit services and ensure the important role of the audit profession recognized in our society, constant monitoring and development of decisions on issues related to the functioning of the audit system in Ukraine are necessary. Keywords: audit, market, competition, audit quality, cost of audit services, subjects of audit activity

Audit: Legal Aspects in a Pandemic

“…Modern local specifics and tendencies of audit development in Ukraine were studied by such scientists and specialists as: Dolbneva (2018), Zhukova, Ganus, and Plikus (2019), Kashperska (2018), Mulyk (2020), Popov (2020), Shevchenko, and Lipnytska (2019), Shulga (2019), Prokhorova, and Yukhimenko (2019).…”

“…The team of authors led by Zhukova (2019), considering the current problems of audit services in Ukraine, emphasizes, first of all, the monopolization of the market by four companies, which account for 0.4% of the total number of audit entities in Ukraine in 2018. Researchers also highlight the shortcomings and unresolved issues of audit firms, including lack of a unified audit program, pricing of audit services, insufficient methodological development of audit control, the cost of auditor certification, and lack of guidelines for computerization of audit (Zhukova, Ganus & Plikus, 2019).…”

“…The team of authors led by Zhukova (2019), considering the current problems of audit services in Ukraine, emphasizes, first of all, the monopolization of the market by four companies, which account for 0.4% of the total number of audit entities in Ukraine in 2018. Researchers also highlight the shortcomings and unresolved issues of audit firms, including lack of a unified audit program, pricing of audit services, insufficient methodological development of audit control, the cost of auditor certification, and lack of guidelines for computerization of audit (Zhukova, Ganus & Plikus, 2019). Mulyk (2020) notes the imperfection of the regulation of the audit market in Ukraine, which has led to problems in confirming the quality and reliability of financial statements, which in turn increases the risk of bankruptcy of enterprises and banks and reduces confidence in them by potential investors, who were attracting investment in the national economy as a whole.…”

“…4. Development of comprehensive solutions for consumers of audit services in the areas of audit: audit to confirm financial statements; audit to verify the effectiveness of the business; audit to attract investment; audit for business acquisition; audit to detect fraud (financial investigation); preparation of corporate annual reports and management reports (Zhukova, Ganus & Plikus, 2019).…”

Audit services market: bibliometric analysis

“…Ukraine's integration into the European Space and audit reform in 2017 were the impetus for improving Ukrainian legislation and compliance with Directive 200643 of the EU and Regulation 5372015 [4], the implementation of which will contribute to the harmonization of national legislation with the legislation of the European Union in the field of audit of financial statements and auditing activities, which in turn increases the investment attractiveness of enterprises and the economy as a whole and ensures an increase in the level of trust [5].…”