INTRODUCTION This study was commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in February 2003 and supports the government's stance on evidence-based policy making. The aim of the research is to investigate issues in connection with audit exemption by examining the views of the directors of private limited companies that fall within the European Community size thresholds for a small entity. The main issues investigated are take-up levels of audit exemption, cost savings and the …showed first 75 words of 840 total…

…showed last 75 words of 840 total…not a sufficient measure on its own for capturing the costs and benefits of the audit. There are other qualitative factors. If thresholds are raised to European Community levels, policy makers should be aware that the new category of small companies would contain two subgroups with different needs. This heterogeneity should also be taken into account by those who contribute to the development of differential reporting on the basis of size at the international level.