Publication Details
Abstract
the article examines audit services as a knowledge-intensive component of the service economy and substantiates a scientifically grounded system of criteria for evaluating the efficiency of audit service provision. The theoretical part positions the audit within the classical attributes of services and demonstrates that three attributes specific to assurance engagements the credence character of the product, the partially mandated nature of demand and the separation between the paying client and the beneficiary user make the direct transfer of conventional service-productivity measures inappropriate. On the empirical side, the structural and dynamic parameters of the audit services market of Uzbekistan for 2021–2025 are analyzed on the basis of the registers maintained by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and a three-group system of economic, social-qualitative and institutional criteria is proposed. The criteria are aggregated into an integral efficiency index and tested on the financial results statements (Form No. 2) of six audit organizations. The calculations show that the number of market participants grew 1.77 times and the number of certified auditors 2.27 times over the period, while economic productivity and the quality of engagements remain almost uncorrelated (r = 0.13) within the surveyed group. The article concludes with proposals on multi-criteria ranking, quality-weighted procurement of audit services and the disclosure of audit quality indicators.