Choosing an external auditor: does the composition of boards of directors matter?

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mishari M. Alfraih
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Board Composition ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
External Auditor

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the association between the composition of boards of directors and the choice of external auditor among companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in 2013. Design/methodology/approach Consistent with prior research, audit quality is represented by two proxies, namely, a Big 4 and Non-Big 4 audit firm. Independence, diversity, interlocks, size and role duality are used as proxies for board composition. To accommodate the dichotomous dependent variable (auditor choice), a logistic regression model is used to test the hypothesized associations between board composition and auditor choice. Findings After controlling for firm-specific characteristics, results show that independence, diversity and size are statistically significant and increase the likelihood that a KSE-listed company selects a high-quality (Big 4) audit firm. Role duality is also statistically significantly but decreases the likelihood of choosing a Big 4 audit firm. Practical/implications This research has implications for regulators, shareholders, boards and academics. The paper underlines the importance of the composition of the board in increasing the likelihood of hiring a high-quality audit firm. Regulators can draw upon these results when assessing the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms. Originality/value This paper is among the first to study the association between auditor choice and board composition using data from the frontier market of Kuwait, thus responding to the call for empirical research into the issue in less-developed markets. Overall, it sheds light on the effectiveness of board composition and provides empirical evidence that it is an important element in the choice of auditors. The findings indicate that board composition may be a mechanism that can promote demand for high audit quality.

Ownership concentration, family control, and auditor choice

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Darmadi
Keyword(s):  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Control ◽  
Public Firms ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Big 4

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the existing, yet limited, literature on the influence of ownership concentration and family control on the demands for high-quality audits. This study focusses on an emerging market, namely, Indonesia, where ownership concentration and family control are relatively higher than those in developed markets. Design/methodology/approach – The sample consists of 787 firm-year observations of public firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Following prior studies, a firm is considered using a higher quality audit when its external auditor is one of the Big 4 audit firms. Logistic regressions are employed to test research hypotheses. Findings – Empirical evidence obtained reveals that firms with higher ownership concentration are more likely to hire a Big 4 auditor. Hence, in such firms, high-quality audits are employed to mitigate agency issues. However, when the controlling shareholder is a family, the association between ownership concentration and the demands for high-quality auditors turns negative, implying that family-controlled firms tend to sustain opaqueness gains by hiring lower quality auditors. Originality/value – Previous empirical studies examining the influence of ownership concentration and family control on auditor choice are relatively limited in the literature and are heavily focussed on developed economies. In addition, the present study is one of the first to investigate the association between family control and auditor choice in the context of a developing economy.

Ownership structure, board independence and auditor choice: evidence from GCC countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moncef Guizani ◽  
Gaafar Abdalkrim
Keyword(s):  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Institutional Ownership ◽  
Family Ownership ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Big 4

PurposeThis paper investigates the role of board independence in determining the relationship between firm ownership and auditor choice.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a logistic regression to test the direct and indirect effects of ownership structure on the decision to hire a high-quality (Big 4) audit firm. The sample consists of 207 non-financial firms listed on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries stock markets between 2009 and 2016.FindingsEmpirical findings show that family ownership is associated with a negative and significant coefficient suggesting that an increase in family ownership decreases the likelihood that the firm will employ a Big 4 auditor. This finding suggests that family owners are reluctant to impose external monitoring. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between institutional ownership and auditor choice supporting the conjecture that institutional investors are more likely to choose a Big 4 auditor. The results also reveal that the effects of family and institutional ownership on auditor choice are partially mediated by independent directors.Practical implicationsThis study has important implications for GCC economies whose policymakers and regulators may need to address the conflict between controlling and non-controlling shareholders. It provides guidance for firms in the construction and implementation of their own corporate governance policies. Furthermore, the study findings may be useful to investors, assisting them in making better informed decisions and aids other interested parties in gaining a better understanding of the role played by ownership structure in the quality of auditors. Finally, the paper highlights the importance of the composition of the board of directors in increasing the likelihood of hiring a high-quality audit firm.Originality/valueThe main contribution of the present paper is to examine the board composition as a potential mediating variable between ownership structure and auditor choice. Moreover, it highlights the issue of improving governance mechanisms.

Audit quality and earnings management: evidence from Jordan

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebraheem Saleem Salem Alzoubi
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Jones Model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the association between audit quality and earnings management (EM). Audit quality studies documented that accruals would reduce when the auditor is independent or the audit firm is large. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses generalised least square regression to investigate the influence of audit quality on EM. The sample contained 86 companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2007 to 2010. The cross-sectional modified Jones model was employed to measure discretionary accruals as a proxy for EM. Findings – This paper revealed that there is a significantly negative association between audit quality and EM. The result inferred that EM level is significantly lower among companies using the services of independent auditors. Moreover, this study exposed that the level of EM is significantly less among companies hiring a Big 4 audit firm, as compared to companies utilising the service of a non-Big 4 audit firm. Research limitations/implications – The measurement error, which is a rigorous concern for studies on EM, is one of the limitations in this study. Hence, the current study wholly inherited the limits of the modified Jones model. Practical implications – The findings based on the current study would provide beneficial information for regulators in Jordan and other countries with an institutional environment similar to that of Jordan. Moreover, the results provided valuable information to investors in assessing the influence of audit quality on financial reporting quality (FRQ). Originality/value – The current study contributed to auditing and corporate governance literature and its influence on EM among Jordanian companies. This research will be of value to companies seeking to reduce EM and enhance FRQ.

scholarly journals Military reform, militarily-connected firms and auditor choice

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 705-729
Author(s):  
Iman Harymawan
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Military Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Choice Preference ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Military

Purpose One of the strongest connections in politics in developing countries is through military links. This study aims to examine the auditor choice preference of the militarily-connected firms in Indonesia, an emerging country where there is a strong influence from the military on political decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The analysis used 3,473 firms-year observations listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange spanning from 2003 to 2017 using regression and other statistical tests. Findings The results reveal that firms with a militarily-connected director are less likely to appoint one of the Big 4 auditors. Using the military reform as a natural experiment, the finding shows that militarily-connected firms did not change their auditor choice preference even after the military reform. Interestingly, I find that connected firms are associated with high earnings management. In addition, the different retirement position level and military affiliations of the connected directors generate different outcomes related to the auditor choice decision. Overall, the results indicate that militarily-connected firms were less likely to appoint one of the Big 4 auditors both before and after the military reforms. These results are robust, even after the author controlled for political connections, year fixed effects and industry fixed effects. Research limitations/implications Because of the limitations of the prior literature on military connections, this study is developed based on the assumption that the militarily-connected directors have identical behavior whether they serve in either public or private companies. However, this assumption could be invalid which potentially affects the interpretation of some of the results in this study. Originality/value This paper provides direct evidence of the auditor choice preference of firms with a military connection. The evidence builds on the existing literature on the difference in auditor choice preference between politically and militarily-connected firms.

Auditor rotations and audit quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devi Sulistyo Kalanjati ◽  
Damai Nasution ◽  
Karin Jonnergård ◽  
Soegeng Sutedjo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Using Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between audit rotation – at the audit partner and audit firm level – and audit quality. As mentioned in the literature, audit rotation has several benefits, and one of them is it can bring a fresh look to audit tasks and subsequently improve audit quality. Moreover, audit itself can help a client to improve its financial reporting. However, ineffective communication between predecessor and successor audit partners or audit firms, and pseudo-rotation can hamper that benefit. Design/methodology/approach This study uses multivariate regression analysis to test its hypotheses. Using data from companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the sample consists of 688 company-year observations covering the period 2003–2016. Findings This study finds that the cumulative number of audit partner rotations is positively associated with audit quality, indicating that rotations at the audit partner level will enhance audit quality. Conversely, it finds that the cumulative number of audit firm rotations is negatively associated with audit quality. Practical implications The study’s findings may assist regulators in crafting standards regarding audit rotation. As the findings show, audit partner rotation will improve audit quality, but the audit firm rotation will decrease audit quality. As this study tries to explain the decreasing audit quality from audit firm rotation could be a consequence of ineffective communication or pseudo audit firm rotation. Regulators should try to tackle these problems. Originality/value Instead of using tenure as a proxy for a rotation, this study creates a new proxy named the cumulative number of audit partner and audit firm rotations to provide evidence on the benefits of audit rotation.

Audit quality and audit report lag: case of Indonesian listed companies

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rusmin Rusmin ◽  
John Evans
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Auditor Quality ◽  
Industry Specialist

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relation between two dimensions of auditor quality, namely, auditor industry specialization and auditor reputation and the audit report lag. Design/methodology/approach The data collection focuses on companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the financial year of 2010 and 2011. To ensure data homogeneity and reduce industry bias, this study focuses solely on manufacturing companies identified by the Indonesian Capital Market Directory. Findings This study finds a negative and significant association between industry-specialist auditors and audit report timeliness. Companies audited by industry-specialist auditors have shorter audit delays. The authors also find evidence that Big 4 auditors perform significantly faster audit work than their non-Big 4 counterparts. In addition, this study reports a statistical and significant relationship between auditing complexity, companies’ profitability, auditors’ business risk, and industry classification and audit report lag. The results show that firms with a large number of subsidiaries and firms experiencing poorer financial performance are found to be associated with longer reporting delays. Moreover, audit report timeliness is found to be faster for companies in the low-profile industry sector and owned by family members. Research limitations/implications Similar to other empirical investigations, this study is not without certain caveats. First, the period of audit report lag in this study reflects the audit work from the year-end to the audit report date. The authors do not consider audit work conducted outside this period in the analysis. Second, there are numerous control variables and although the authors have attempted to capture those variables to maintain the integrity of the research there are likely other excluded variables that may be important in explaining audit report timeliness. Finally, there are other factors, for example, an administrative approval process with the audit firm home office, which can affect audit report lags but have not been included in the model analysis. Future studies can seek to focus on refinements to the proxy measures for dependent and experimental variables. Practical implications Insights drawn from this study may be of assistance to policy makers as they consider the costs and benefits associated with varying levels of audit market concentration as well as providing a snapshot of the level of non-compliance on audit timeliness in Indonesia. Originality/value This study provides further empirical evidence on the relation between auditor quality and audit report lag using data from a different domestic setting. This study also enriches the auditor quality literature by employing industry-specialist and Big 4 auditors as a predictor for the timeliness of audit reports.

scholarly journals Family Firms, Audit Fee, and Auditor Choice: Evidence From Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Senny Harindahyani ◽  
Celine Widjaja
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Agency Problems ◽  
Family Control ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
The Family

Family firms in Indonesia have an important role in the Indonesian economy. However, agency problems might happen inside family firms where it will lead to conflict of interest and information asymmetry, along with the entrenchment effect where it leads firms to produce lower quality earnings report. Research from 305 firms in Indonesia shows that the agency problems and the entrenchment effect has not affected the family firms in Indonesia, reflected from the firm‟s decision making in their amount of audit fee and auditor choice. This study will contribute by providing an empirical evidence of the effect of family control on the audit fee and auditor choice in a developing country. The result shows that the type of firms has no correlation on the amount of audit fee paid to the auditor and both firms‟ demands the same level of audit quality where it is shown by their choices of audit firms, which is Big 4 audit firm or Non-Big 4 audit firm. In conclusion, the level of agency problems and entrenchment effect tends to be lower in the family firms of Indonesia.

scholarly journals Does The Presence Of Independent Directors Influence Accruals Management?

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramzi Benkraiem
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Accruals Management ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 38.3pt 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Recent debates about the functioning of boards of directors have focused on the disciplinary role of independent directors (ID). Evaluating the effectiveness of this role is an interesting empirical question. This study seeks to examine the influence of these directors and two other corporate governance mechanisms<span style="color: black;">, namely the audit quality and the ownership structure, on earnings management as measured by working capital discretionary accruals (WCDAC). The analysis, conducted over a period of 4 years from 2001 to 2004, is based on a sample of 239 different French companies listed on the Paris stock exchange. </span>The findings show that the presence of ID can moderate the management of WCDAC. This role appears to be more effective <span style="color: black;">when these ID make up at least one third of the members of boards of directors, as recommended by the Vi&eacute;not 1999 report. The Big 4 auditors can also limit this discretionary adjustment. However, no statistically significant relationship was observed between dispersion vs. concentration of ownership structure and WCDAC. This study adds to the limited research into the relationship between corporate governance and earnings management in France. It also gives empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the Vi&eacute;not 1999 report&rsquo;s recommendations. Thus, it should be of interest to academics as well as regulators in preparing and amending corporate governance laws.</span></span></span></p>

scholarly journals The effect of auditor type on audit quality in emerging markets: evidence from Egypt

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed M. El-Dyasty ◽  
Ahmed A. Elamer
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Auditor Choice ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Ordinary Least Square Regression ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Although a number of studies suggest that big audit firms provide higher audit quality in strict legal environments, empirical evidence remains inconclusive. As little is known about the effect of auditor type on audit quality in less strictly legal environments, this study aims to investigate the impact of auditor type on audit quality in the Egyptian market. Design/methodology/approach Data of Egyptian-listed companies during the period 2011–2018 are used. To examine the impact of auditor type on audit quality, ordinary least square regression and robust standard errors clustered at year and industry level are used. This study uses discretionary accruals as a proxy for audit quality. Several additional analyzes are conducted to assess the robustness of the main results, including alternative measures of audit quality and auditor type. Findings The results show that audit firms tend to provide higher audit quality when they are affiliated with a foreign audit firm. However, Big 4 auditors do not provide higher audit quality compare to their counterparts. Additionally, the governmental agency, accountability state authority, that monopolize audit function in state-owned companies do not appear to be associated with higher audit quality. Finally, local audit firms have a negative association with audit quality. This may be their strategy to secure future clients that seek low-quality audits. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that affiliation with foreign audit firms will help the Egyptian firms to develop their abilities by using advanced technology and techniques and transfer rare expertize to the Egyptian auditors. This study also shows that the strategy adopted by many Egyptian audit firms to affiliate with foreign auditors reflects the desire of these firms to be included in one tier alongside Big 4 audit firms to increase their market share under a claim of providing a higher audit quality. Originality/value This study adds to the rare but growing body of literature by investigating how auditor type affects audit quality in the context of less strictly legal environments. The results are important, as investors, standards-setters and regulators have growing concerns over audit quality since the Enron scandal. The findings suggest that audit quality depends on auditor type. These findings have important implications for investors, standards-setters and auditors interested in auditor oversight, audit quality and auditor choice.

scholarly journals Audit Firm Size, Audit Fee, Audit Reputation and Audit Quality: The Case of Listed Companies in Vietnam

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngoc Kim Pham ◽  
Hung Nguyen Duong ◽  
Tin Quang Pham ◽  
Nga Thi Thuy Ho
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms

Audit quality is considered as an essential factor affecting the reliability of financial information. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of audit firm characteristics, including audit reputation, audit fees and audit firm size, on audit quality. A sample of 192 companies listed on Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange for the period of 2006-2014 was selected. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. The findings show that Big 4 auditors in Vietnam provide high audit quality than non-Big 4 auditors. Interestingly, in Vietnam context, except for the audit firms in the Big 4 group, the findings suggest that smaller audit firms provide better audit quality. Additionally, the results reveal that the more audit fees the auditors receive, the lower audit quality they provide. The critical role of audit quality has attracted significantly scholarly attention, however, prior studies have mainly focused on firms in developed countries. Little is known about audit quality in an emerging economy context such as Vietnam. This study adds to the limited number of studies on audit quality of listed companies in emerging economies. 

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