Overlapping membership on audit and compensation committees, equity holdings of overlapping members and audit outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsan Habib ◽  
Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Compensation Committee ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
Audit Opinions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Compensation Committees ◽  
Equity Holdings

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the question of whether external auditors incorporate equity holdings by overlapping audit committee members as a priced governance factor and tests whether this attribute, as a mechanism for ensuring good governance, affects the propensity for external auditors to issue modified audit opinions.Design/methodology/approachOverlapping membership in this context refers to the arrangement where at least one audit committee member also sits on the compensation committee. Both ordinarily least square and logistic regression are used to capture the impact of overlapping committee members and equity holding of those overlapping committee members.FindingsUsing archival data from Australian Stock Exchange listed companies, the authors find support for the beneficial effect of having overlapping audit committee members with equity holdings. The authors also find that auditor propensity to issue modified audit opinions is lower for firms with equity holdings by overlapping audit committee members.Practical implicationsThe finding has practical implication to the investors and regulators as overlapping audit committee members with equity holdings may provide especially effective oversight by monitoring opportunistic accounting policy choices for maximizing compensation pay. To the extent that this occurs, audit risk will decrease, requiring less audit effort and lower audit fees than would otherwise be necessary. Similarly, such oversight is likely to make financial reporting more credible and will reduce the possibility of receiving modified audit opinions by reporting organizations.Originality/valueBoth audit and compensation committees are equally important in modern organizations. While both of the committee have distinctive responsibilities, questions remain on the desirability of overlapping audit committee. Also, this is the first study to the authors’ knowledge that incorporates overlapping membership on audit and compensation committee as an important component of auditor risk perception which regards in pricing the audit fees.

The impact of fair value estimates on audit fees: evidence from the financial sector in Jordan

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rateb Mohammad Alqatamin ◽  
Ernest Ezeani
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Fair Value ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study investigates the association between the estimates of fair value and external auditor's fees.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 32 Jordanian financial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) over the period 2005–2018. We employ random effect models to test our hypothesis.FindingsWe found a positive relationship between audit fees and the proportion of fair value assets, which implies that external auditors are more likely to spend more effort for complex estimates, thereby increasing audit fees. We examined the relationship between audit fees and three levels of fair value inputs and found a positive relationship between the level of effort spent on assessment of higher uncertainty fair value inputs and audit fees. The findings are consistent with the expectation that more audit effort is required in a highly regulated environment due to the possibility of a higher cost of litigation.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study could be beneficial for a number of users of financial information, such as investors, regulators, auditors. This group of users might consider the results of this study when they are using a company's financial information, and consequently, better able to make the right decisions.Originality/valueAlthough prior studies have researched fair value, no study to date among developing countries has investigated its relationship with audit fees. This study, therefore, provides new empirical evidence that the complexity and risk of fair value estimates significantly influences auditors' motivation to expend additional effort, resulting in higher audit cost.

The impact of demographic characteristics of CEOs and directors on audit fees and audit delay

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 963-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maretno Agus Harjoto ◽  
Indrarini Laksmana ◽  
Robert Lee
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Executives ◽  
The Us ◽  
Female Ceos ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of gender and ethnicity of CEO and audit committee members (directors) on audit fees and audit delay in the US firms. Design/methodology/approach – Audit-related corporate governance literature has extensively examined the determinants of audit fees and audit delay by focusing on board characteristics, specifically board independence, diligence and expertise. The authors provide empirical evidence that gender and ethnicity diversity in corporate leadership and boardrooms influence a firm’s audit fees and audit delay. Findings – This study finds that firms with female and ethnic minority CEOs pay significantly higher audit fees than those with male Caucasian CEOs. The authors also find that firms with a higher percentage of ethnic minority directors on their audit committee pay significantly higher audit fees. Further, the authors find that firms with female CEOs have shorter audit delay than firms with male CEOs and firms with a higher percentage of female and ethnic minority directors on their audit committee are associated with shorter audit delay. Results indicate that female CEOs and both female and ethnic minority directors are sensitive to the market pressure to avoid audit delay. Research limitations/implications – The results suggest that gender and ethnic diversity could improve audit quality and the firms’ overall financial reporting quality. Practical implications – This study provides insights to regulators and policy-makers interested in increasing diversity within a firm’s board and top executives. Recently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Commission have been pressing publicly traded companies to improve diversity among their directors. This study provides evidence and perspective on how diversity can enhance financial reporting quality measured by audit fees and audit delay. Originality/value – Previous studies have not given much attention on the impact of racial ethnicity in addition to gender characteristics of top executives and audit committee directors on audit fees and audit delay.

The impact of audit committee effectiveness on audit fees and non-audit service fees

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Jahangir Ali ◽  
Rajbans Kaur Shingara Singh ◽  
Mahmoud Al-Akra
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Expertise ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Accounting Expertise ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of audit committee effectiveness on audit fees and non-audit service (NAS) fees in a less regulatory environment. Design/methodology/approach The authors construct a composite audit committee effectiveness measure incorporating audit committee independence, diligence, size, financial expertise and the chairperson’s accounting expertise. Findings The authors find that audit committee effectiveness has a positive significant impact on both audit fees and NAS fees. This suggests that effective audit committees can hold auditors accountable resulting in better audit quality and consequently higher audit fees. Originality/value The link between more effective audit committees with higher NAS purchases can be explained in light of the difference in regulatory requirements providing audit committees with decision rights on the use of NASs, therefore approving more NAS and increasing NASF. Additional tests and robustness analyses confirm the results.

Board monitoring and audit fees: the moderating role of CEO/chair dual roles

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jizi ◽  
Rabih Nehme
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interaction Variables ◽  
Board Monitoring ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether CEO/chair dual roles influence board monitoring-audit fees nexus. The impact of corporate governance on audit fees literature is lacking in the banking sector, which is subject to different regulations and reporting requirements to other sectors. The level and quality of external audit services are important not only to shareholders and customers but also for regulators’ reputations and public confidence. Design/methodology/approach Examining a sample of the US national commercial banks, this study fills the gap by empirically examining whether the attributes of internal corporate governance mechanisms, proxied by boards of directors and audit committee characteristics, are related to audit fees. We introduce two interaction variables to understand whether chief executive officer (CEO)/chair dual roles influence the relationships between board independence and audit fees on the one hand and between the audit committee and audit fees on the other hand. Findings We find that audit fees are positively associated with board independence, board size, CEO/chair dual role and audit committee financial experts. The results of the interaction variables indicate that boards with higher independence and more effective audit committees tend to demand higher audit quality, and consequently, pay higher audit fees to protect shareholders’ interests from potential power abuse by CEOs who also chair boards. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing extensive understanding of the influence on audit fees of the independence of the board of directors and the effectiveness of the audit committees. The authors first examine the impact of each individual governance variable separately and then introduce two interaction variables. This study provides policymakers with insights into the existing relationships between audit fees and the banking sector governance structure.

Factors influencing external audit fees of companies listed on Dubai Financial Market

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal Naser ◽  
Yousef Mohammad Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Market ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
External Audit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the underlying determinants that may influence external audit fees paid by Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Design/methodology/approach Data used in this study are mainly collected from the 2011 annual reports and corporate governance reports published by the Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on DFM. Backward regression analysis is used to measure the impact of a set of company characteristics on Emirati non-financial listed firm’s audit delays. Findings The findings pointed to a significant and positive association between audit fees and each of corporate size and audit committee independence variables. A significant and negative relationship has been detected between external audit fees and business complexity. The findings also revealed that audit fees are not significantly associated with company’s profitability, risk, industry type, status of audit firm and audit report lag. Originality/value The paper helps in expanding limited existing literature about the determinants of audit fees in the Arab and Middle East countries generally and in the UAE context particularly. No prior attempt had been made to investigate the determinants of audit fees paid by Emirati firms listed on DFM because the disclosure of audit fees services provided by external auditors only became effective after April 30, 2010. The findings of the study may be generalized to other Arab countries, particularly neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council states, that have a similar socio-cultural environment.

Gender diversity in audit committees and audit fees: evidence from China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radwan Hussien Alkebsee ◽  
Gao-Liang Tian ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Muhammad Abubakkar Siddique ◽  
Adeeb A. Alhebry
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether the presence of female directors on audit committees affects audit fees in Chinese listed companies. This study also investigates whether the audit committee’s gender diversity moderates the relationship between the firm’s inherent situational factors (e.g. audit complexity and firm risk) and audit fees. Finally, this study investigates whether the effect of the audit committee’s gender diversity on audit fees varies with within-country institutional contingencies (e.g. state-owned enterprises [SOEs] vs non-SOEs and firms that are located in more developed regions vs firms that are located in less developed regions) Design/methodology/approach This study used the data of all A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period from 2009 to 2015. The authors use ordinary least squares regression as a baseline methodology, along with firm fixed effect, Deference in Deference method, two-stage least squares regression, two-stage Heckman model and generalized method of moments models to control for the possible issue of endogeneity. Findings The study’s findings suggest that the presence of female directors on the audit committee improves internal monitoring and communication, which reduce the perceived audit risk and the need for assurances from external auditors. The results also suggest that female directors demand high-quality audits and further assurance from external auditors when the firm is more complex and riskier. In addition, the results suggest that within-country, institutional factors play significant role in shaping the governance role of gender-diverse audit committee. Practical implications The study contributes to the agency theory by providing evidence that the interaction between agency theory and corporate governance “board composition” generates an effective monitoring mechanism and contributing to the institutional theory by finding that role of female directors on audit committee varies from context to another. In addition, this study contributes to literature review of gender diversity in the boardroom by finding the economic benefit of having female directors on audit committee. Finally, this study has implications for policy-makers in promoting regulations to legalize women presence on the board, to external auditors in assessing control risk during planning the audit, to those who responsible for appointing audit committee members. Originality/value The authors extend earlier studies by providing novel evidence on the relationship between gender-diverse audit committees and audit fees in terms of both the supply- and demand-side perspectives; that female directors moderate the relationship between firm inherent situational factors (e.g. audit complexity and firm risk) and audit fees; and that the effect of audit committees’ gender diversity on audit fees varies with sub-national institutional contingencies.

Effect of audit and compensation committee membership overlap on audit fees

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachana Kalelkar
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Committee Member ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Pricing ◽  
Audit Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Compensation Committee ◽  
Committee Membership

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.

The impact of audit reforms on objectivity during the performance of non-audit services

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Brody ◽  
Christine M. Haynes ◽  
Craig G. White
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Auditor Liability ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
Regulatory Perspective ◽  
External Auditor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Non Audit Services

Purpose – This research aims to explore whether recent audit reforms have improved auditor objectivity when performing non-audit services. Design/methodology/approach – In two separate experiments, the authors tested whether external and internal auditors' inventory obsolescence judgments are influenced by their client's (or company's) role as the buyer or seller in an acquisition setting. Findings – External auditors assessed the likelihood of inventory obsolescence objectively, regardless of their consulting role in the acquisition setting. Internal auditors assessed the likelihood of inventory obsolescence as higher when consulting for the buyer than when consulting for the seller, consistent with the supposition that the buyer would prefer to write-down inventory and negotiate a lower purchase price, whereas the seller would prefer the inventory not be written down. Practical implications – From a regulatory perspective, external auditors may be relying too much on the work of internal auditors if internal auditors' lack of objectivity as consultants extends to their assurance role. Originality/value – This paper extends prior research in the area of internal and external auditor objectivity and is the first paper to include both subject groups in the same experiment. It also addresses the current policy issues that may have a significant effect on audit quality and auditor liability.

Is internal and external mechanism of governance enriching the performance of the banking sector of Pakistan?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundas Sohail ◽  
Farhat Rasul ◽  
Ummara Fatima
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
General Meeting ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Board Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how governance mechanisms (internal and external) enhance the performance of the return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), earning per share (EPS) and dividend payout ratios (DP) of the banks of Pakistan. The study incorporates not only the internal factors of governance (board size, out-ratio, annual general meeting, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, block holder stock ownership and financial transparency) but also the external factors (legal infrastructure and protection of minority shareholders, and the market for corporate control). Design/methodology/approach The sample size of the study consists of 30 banks (public, private and specialized) listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) for the period 2008-2014. The panel data techniques (fixed or random effect model) have been used for the empirical analysis after verification by Hausman (1978) test. Findings The results revealed that not only do the internal mechanisms of governance enhance the performance of the banking sector of Pakistan but external governance also plays a substantial role in enriching the performance. The findings conclude that for a good governance structure, both internal and external mechanisms are equally important, to accelerate the performance of the banking sector. Research limitations/implications Internal and external mechanisms of corporate governance can also be checked by adding some more variables (ownership i.e. foreign, female and family as internal and auditor as external), but they are not added in this work due to data unavailability. Practical implications The study contributes to the literature and could be useful for the policy makers who need to force banks to mandate codes of governance through which they can create an efficient board structure and augment the performance. The investments from different forms of ownership can be accelerated if they follow the codes properly. Social implications The study facilitates the bankers in incorporating sound codes of corporate governance to enhance the performance of the banks. Originality/value This work is unique as no one has explored the impact of external mechanism of governance on the performance of the banking sector of Pakistan.

Audit committee characteristics and the moderating effect of Malaysian code of corporate governance on IPO liquidity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amal Mohammed Al-Masawa ◽  
Rasidah Mohd-Rashid ◽  
Hamdan Amer Al-Jaifi ◽  
Shaker Dahan Al-Duais
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Initial Public Offerings ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Code Of Corporate Governance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate the link between audit committee characteristics and the liquidity of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia, which is an emerging economy in Southeast Asia. Another purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of the revised Malaysian code of corporate governance (MCCG) on the link between audit committee characteristics and IPO liquidity. Design/methodology/approach The final sample consists of 304 Malaysian IPOs listed in 2002–2017. This study uses ordinary least squares regression method to analyse the data. To confirm this study’s findings, a hierarchical or four-stage regression analysis is used to compare the t-values of the main and moderate regression models. Findings The findings show that audit committee characteristics (size and director independence) have a positive and significant relationship with IPO liquidity. Also, the revised MCCG positively moderates the relationship between audit committee characteristics and IPO liquidity. Research limitations/implications This study’s findings indicate that companies with higher audit committee independence have a more effective monitoring mechanism that mitigates information asymmetry, thus reducing adverse selection issues during share trading. Practical implications Policymakers could use the results of this study in developing policies for IPO liquidity improvements. Additionally, the findings are useful for traders and investors in their investment decision-making. For companies, the findings highlight the crucial role of the audit committee as part of the control system that monitors corporate governance. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this work is a pioneering study in the context of a developing country, specifically Malaysia that investigates the impact of audit committee characteristics on IPO liquidity. Previously, the link between corporate governance and IPO liquidity had not been investigated in Malaysia. This study also contributes to the IPO literature by providing empirical evidence regarding the moderating effect of the revised MCCG on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and IPO liquidity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document