The effect of directors’ and officers’ insurance on audit fees: the case of an emerging economy

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuei-Fu Li ◽  
Yi-Ping Liao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of D&O insurance in audit pricing in Taiwan, an emerging market in which auditors face negligible litigation risk and intense competition. Design/methodology/approach It examines the association between audit fees and D&O insurance coverage. Findings Results indicate that audit fees are higher for clients with higher D&O coverage after controlling for other determinants. Further analysis shows that auditors charge additional audit fees for clients whose insurer is foreign owned. Originality/value Overall, the study provides evidence that the induction of financial misstatement risks by D&O insurance is one of the contributing audit risk factors in an emerging economy context.

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahbub Zaman ◽  
Jaravee Chayasombat

Purpose – There is limited evidence on how differences in economic environments affect the demand for and supply of auditing. Research on audit pricing has mainly focused on large client markets in developed economies; in contrast, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the small client segment in the emerging economy of Thailand which offers a choice between auditors of two different qualities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a random stratified sample of small clients in Thailand qualifying for audit exemption. The final sample consists of 1,950 firm-year observations for 2002-2006. Findings – The authors find evidence of product differentiation in the small client market, suggesting that small firms view certified public accountants as superior and pay a premium for their services. The authors also find that audit fees have a positive significant association with leverage, metropolitan location and client size. Audit risk and audit opinion are not, however, significantly associated with audit fees. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that clients whose financial year ends in the auditors’ busy period pay significantly higher audit fees, and auditors engage in low-balling on initial engagements to attract audit clients. Research limitations/implications – The research shows the importance of exploring actual decisions regarding audit practice and audit pricing in different institutional and organizational settings. Originality/value – The paper extends the literature from developed economies and large/listed market setting to the emerging economy and small client market setting. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first paper to examine audit pricing in the small client market in an emerging economy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachana Kalelkar

Purpose Recent studies document that approximately two-thirds of sample firms have at least one audit committee member serving on their compensation committee (Liao and Hsu, 2013). Prior studies on overlap membership document that presence of audit committee members on compensation committee affects the reporting quality. Since auditors’ audit risk is affected by reporting quality. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the auditors perceive the overlap of audit and compensation committee members when pricing audit fees. Design/methodology/approach The author use a sample from 2007 to 2012 and run an OLS regression. Findings The author find a negative association between overlap membership and audit fees. The results are robust after controlling for selection bias, alternate measurement of overlap membership, and an alternate pre- and post-overlap membership test. Additional tests show that the negative relationship between overlap membership and audit fees is explained by lower audit risk and not by lower brand premium of non-Big4 auditors and that the benefit of overlapping membership increases when the audit committee size is large. Practical implications The findings suggest that firms with large audit committee can improve their reporting and lower their audit fees by having audit committee members on compensation committee. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature on the consequences of overlap membership and on the ongoing debate about the extent that common membership enhances audit committee monitoring. It also adds to the limited literature on audit committee and audit pricing.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barney G. Pacheco ◽  
Syed Akhter

Purpose Current research on small to medium enterprise (SME) internationalization has generated valuable insight but continues to overlook the activities of business-to-business (B2B) SMEs located in small emerging economies. This study aims to fill this gap by testing the applicability of the ownership, location and internalization (OLI) framework to understand the internationalization strategies of small B2B firms in Trinidad and Tobago, a small emerging Caribbean economy. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research design, which involved in-depth interviews with senior executives of three firms in the B2B sector who were knowledgeable about their firm’s internationalization process. Thematic analysis was then used to understand the motivations and strategies underpinning the internationalization approach adopted by each firm. Findings Contrary to the stereotype of SMEs in emerging markets as fragile enterprises, there is evidence that firms exploited the development of innovative products and processes to facilitate foreign market entry and expansion. Additionally, firms overcame resource limitations by relying on governmental ties and leveraging networking opportunities. The findings also call attention to the impact of organizational learning and the role of knowledge as a dynamic capability. Originality/value Both the context of the study and the application of the OLI framework contributes to the extant literature by yielding substantive insights into the internationalization strategies of B2B firms in a small emerging economy. The findings further highlight how the OLI framework can be supplemented by other theoretical perspectives to better understand internationalization by emerging market SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Manogna R.L. ◽  
Aswini Kumar Mishra

Purpose The study aims to analyze the impact of Research & Development (R&D) intensity on the firm’s performance, measured by growth of sales in the emerging market like India. Innovation strategy and its outcomes for firms may be different in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Thus, a study that focuses on the emerging economy like India, with a majority of the population dependent on agriculture, is of prime importance to the firm performance in the food and agricultural manufacturing industry. For this study, the broader focus will be on one widely recognised factor which may influence the growth rate of firms, i.e. investment in innovations which is in terms of R&D expenditure. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates the relationship between the R&D efforts and growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry during 2001–2019. To empirically test the relationship between firm’s growth (FG) and R&D investments, system generalised method of moments technique has been used, hence enabling to avoid problems related to endogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings reveal that investments in innovations have a positive effect on the growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry. Investment in R&D also enables the firms to reap benefits from externalities present in the industry. Further analysis reveals that younger firms grow faster when they invest in R&D. More specifically, this paper finds evidence in the case of the food and agricultural industry that import of raw materials negatively affects the FG and export intensity positively affects the growth in the case of R&D firms. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that the government should encourage the industries to invest optimally in R&D projects by providing favourable fiscal treatments and R&D subsidies which are observed to have positive effects in various developed countries. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the current paper is the first to analyse the impact of innovation in food and agricultural industry on firm’s performance in an emerging economy context with the latest data. This paper agrees that a government initiative to increase private R&D expenditure would have favourable effects on FG as growing investments in R&D lead to further growth of the firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-66
Author(s):  
Sheng Yao ◽  
Lingling Pan ◽  
Zhipeng Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether firms with high environmental disclosure have a low possibility of non-standard audit opinions and audit fees and whether this trend is more obvious after than prior to the Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information (Measure) implemented in 2008. Design/methodology/approach Based on the Measures implemented in 2008, the authors select data for the listed manufacturing firms from 2004 to 2006 (Pre-Measure) and from 2009 to 2011 (Post-Measure) as research samples to investigate the relationships between environmental disclosures, audit opinions and audit fees with difference in difference models. In addition, we also consider the influence of media attention, the polluting industry and internal control on the audit effect of environmental disclosure. Findings The results show that the level of environmental disclosure is significantly negatively correlated with the possibility of issuing non-standard audit opinions and audit fees after measure is implemented, especially hard environmental information. Further evidence indicates that the auditing effect of environmental disclosures is stronger on firms that receive less media attention, in firms with better internal controls, and in firms belonging to industries with heavy pollution. Originality/value In the Chinese setting, a high level of environmental information disclosures can effectively reduce the audit risk and lead to a high possibility of standard audit opinions and low audit fees. This effect is pronounced after issuing Measure. The conclusions suggest that measure and increasing environmental disclosure have an obvious positive audit effect and that firms should be forced or encouraged to disclose more environmental information from the perspective of auditors in China.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Hossein Tarighi ◽  
Tahereh Alidoust Shahri

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between auditor characteristics and the level of tax avoidance in an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach In this regard, the effect of various factors such as auditor tenure, auditor industry specialization, audit reports and audit fees on tax avoidance was examined. The study sample includes listed companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The time period of study is six years from 2011 to 2016. Also in this study, firm size, leverage, firm age and auditor size were controlled. Findings The results of this research were determined in four hypotheses. First and second hypotheses that explore the relationship between auditor tenure and auditor industry specialization with tax avoidance were not confirmed. But the results showed a significant relationship between the type of audit opinions and audit fees with tax avoidance. Originality/value The current study investigates the auditor characteristics on tax avoidance in a developing nation of Iran and the results may helpful the developing countries.


Author(s):  
Tulsi Jayakumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the competitive landscape of emerging market economies (EMEs) and the implications of business models and strategies used by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to enter and operate in such landscapes. It does so by considering the aviation sector in an emerging economy – India, and by studying the strategies pursued by AirAsia India – the Indian joint venture of AirAsia Investment Limited and Tata Sons.. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a case study approach. Secondary data sources from the library, company website and newspaper articles have been used to build a case that would encourage students to discuss and analyze the competitive strategies followed by MNEs in EMEs. Findings Emerging markets offer attractive investment opportunities to MNEs across several industries. However, their markets for intermediate goods and services possess imperfections. Competitiveness in such markets will require going beyond country-specific and firm-specific advantages. MNEs will need to integrate location-specific advantages with internalization advantages of these market imperfections to operate successfully in the complex environments of EMEs. A one-size-fits-all approach of transposing successful strategies from home markets will fail to create value. Practical implications MNEs, such as AirAsia, will need to develop participatory skills to leverage the location-specific-advantages of EMEs and reduce their own curse of foreignness to be able to succeed in EMEs. Originality/value This paper contributes to extant literature by studying the competitive strategies pursued by a global leader in an EME. The case of the “World’s Best Low-Cost Airline” – AirAsia’s India operations seeks to go beyond the Eclectic Paradigm and the country-specific and firm-specific advantages framework, to provide a location-internalization paradigm for operating in EMEs.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Koh ◽  
Yen H. Tong

SUMMARY: We examine the effects of clients' involvement in controversial corporate activities on audit pricing. Clients' involvement in controversial activities raises concerns about management integrity and ethics. Moreover, clients involved in such activities are perceived to have higher risk of adverse financial performance. As a result, there is greater potential for financial misstatement, which increases the auditor's perceived business risk. We hypothesize that, given the higher perceived business risk, auditors charge higher fees to clients engaged in controversial activities. Using a unique dataset from Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini, we identify clients that engage in controversial activities related to consumers, employees, the community, and the environment. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that clients involved in controversial corporate activities pay higher audit fees compared to clients not involved in such activities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Nava Subramaniam

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of family ownership on firm performance. In particular the authors investigate whether family firms outperform non-family firms and whether first generation family firms perform better than second generation family firms in an emerging economy using Bangladesh as a case. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a data set of 141 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period 2005-2009. The methodology is based on multivariate regression analysis. Findings – The result shows that family firms perform better than their non-family counterparts. The authors also find that family ownership has a positive impact on firm performance. The analysis further reveals intergenerational differences where family firms and performance are associated positively only when founder members act as CEOs or chairmen. However, when descendents serve as CEOs or chairmen family firms are associated with poorer firm performance. Originality/value – The authors extend the findings of previous studies that investigate the family ownership and firm performance relationship in developed economy settings, but neglected emerging economies. The study also informs the literature about the intergenerational impact of family firms on performance in an emerging market.


2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rani Hoitash ◽  
Udi Hoitash ◽  
Jean C. Bedard

This paper extends prior research on audit risk adjustment by examining the association of audit pricing with problems in internal control over financial reporting, disclosed under Sections 404 and 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [SOX]. While studies of auditors' responses to internal control risk provide mixed evidence, it is important to re-examine this issue using data on specific client problems not available prior to SOX. As a baseline, we first establish a strong association of audit fees with internal control problems disclosed in the first year of implementation of Section 404, consistent with prior research (e.g., Raghunandan and Rama 2006). We then address two issues on which prior results are contradictory. In a broadly based sample of accelerated filers, we find that audit pricing for companies with internal control problems varies by problem severity, when severity is measured either as material weaknesses versus significant deficiencies, or by nature of the problem. Also, while audit fees increase during the 404 period, our tests show less relative risk adjustment under Section 404 than under Section 302 in the prior year. Further examining intertemporal effects, we find that companies disclosing internal control problems under Section 302 continue to pay higher fees the following year, even if no problems are disclosed under Section 404. Overall, our findings provide detailed insight into audit risk adjustment during the initial period of SOX implementation.


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