In a national survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, 56 percent think there are too few accounting firms to ensure competition, and 69 percent think more competition in the accounting profession would increase quality of service and decrease price.

When asked if more competition in the auditing industry would increase the quality of service and decrease price, 69 percent agreed. Fifty-nine percent disagreed that the market reacts negatively when a company changes its external audit firm. And just over half (52 percent) said "institutional investors care about your choice of external audit firm."