Survey on Outside Audit Fees, 2000

, 2003 is the 11th edition of this best-selling survey that the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI has prepared and published since 1974. The triennial study, comprising of 130 pages, continues to be the premier reference work of its kind gathering data and opinion about the relationships of manufacturers and related business service providers with independent accountants from whom they obtain attest and consulting services. This latest survey edition documents the continued progress of external audit clients in controlling costs incurred for the services of external auditors. The survey's primary objective is to determine averages, medians, and ranges of audit fee experience relative to the revenues of participants. One hundred twenty companies with aggregate revenues exceeding $850 billion per annum submitted data and opinions for Alliance use and analysis. The 11th Edition includes the latest information on outside audit fee experiences of survey participants immediately prior to enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) of 2002 plus recent information on expected outside audit fees increases and related issues as a result of the SOA legislation. Additionally, the survey addresses recent developments in audit-fee management techniques, auditor-client relationships, and corporate governance initiatives.