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Download or read book Audit Firms and Industry Specialization in an Emerging Economy written by Mohamed A. Hegazy and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purpose - This study aims to investigate the implications of audit industry specialization on auditor's retention and growth within an emerging economy. Factors such as whether the firm is a Big 4, a firm with international affiliation, a local firm and the type of industry were studied to analyse the reasons behind audit firm retention and growth.Design/methodology/approach - This research is based on a field study related to audit firmsproviding services to listed companies in an emerging economy. The sample includes the top 100 publicly held companies' in the Egyptian stock market during 2006-2011 for which their annual reports are analysed to determine the audit firms' retention and growth. An assessment of the continuity of the auditors and theincrease in the number of audit clients were also measured.Findings - The results confirm that industry specialization has an important effect on the auditor' sretention, especially for industries where capital investment is significant such as buildings, construction, financial services, housing and real estate. Big 4 audit firms retained their clients because of their industry specialization and brand name. Evidence was found that good knowledge of accounting and auditing standards resulted in audit firms with international affiliation competing with the Big 4 for clients' retention and growth.Originality/value - This study contributes to the existing literature, as it is among the first to provideempirical evidence on auditor retention, growth and auditor' s dominance in an emerging economy such as Egypt.