scholarly journals The extent of audit report lag and governance mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-89
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ahmed Kaaroud ◽  
Noraini Mohd Ariffin ◽  
Maslina Ahmad

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of audit report lag and its association with governance mechanisms in the Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The extent of audit report lag is defined by the number of days from a company’s financial year-end to the signature date on its audit report. The sample of the study comprises 112 observations of Islamic banking institutions’ financial reports for the period 2008-2014. A balanced panel data analysis is performed to analyse the association between the extent of audit report lag and governance mechanisms. Findings The findings show that the extent of audit report lag for the sample selected ranges from a minimum period of 7 days to a maximum period of 161 days, and the extent of audit report lag is approximately two months on average. A fixed effects analysis indicates that audit committee expertise and audit committee meeting have significant association with the extent of audit report lag. On the other hand, board independence, audit committee size and Shari’ah board expertise have insignificant association with the extent of audit report lag. In addition, one control variable (Islamic bank size) is found to be significantly associated with longer audit report lag. Practical implications The findings provide useful feedback for Malaysian policymakers on the past and current practices of financial reports and of governance mechanisms. The findings of the study would help the policymakers in monitoring the Islamic banking institutions’ compliance with financial reports submission requirements. The policymakers perhaps could relook into governance mechanisms that reduce the extent of audit report lag in the Islamic banking institutions and implement regulations to strengthen them. Originality/value Unlike the majority of prior studies that investigated the association between the extent of audit report lag and governance mechanisms, this study provides two contributions. First, to the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first piece of research that examined the association between governance mechanisms and the extent of audit report lag in Islamic banking institutions. Second, the study examined the association of new governance variable, namely, Shari’ah committee expertise which has not been previously examined in the literature of audit report lag.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azhaar Lajmi ◽  
Mdallelah Yab

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the impact of governance internal mechanisms on audit report lag. The characteristics of governance used in this study are selected by looking at recent literature review.Design/methodology/approachGovernance internal mechanisms were proxied by the audit committee and director's board characteristics. To test the impact of these characteristics, the authors used a sample of 47 Tunisian companies listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange (BVMT) during the period from 2014 to 2019. The generalized method of moments (GMM) method of dynamic panel multivariate analysis was used to analyze this study.FindingsThe results showed that most corporate governance attributes have a significant effect on audit report lag. Specifically, the audit committee diligence and the audit committee expertise have significant and positive effect on audit report lag. But the diligence of the board has significant and negative effect on audit report lag. However, this study finds no evidence that the audit committee independence, the size, independence and diligence of director's board are associated with the audit report lag. In addition, the results of this study also show that there is a significant effect of some control variables such us gender and performance.Practical implicationsThe findings of this article will help to fill the knowledge gap in relation with this research issue in developing countries especially in Tunisian context, because this investigation exposed more than ever the vital role of auditor on the audit report lag. This research will make investors and stakeholders aware of the importance of governance mechanisms put in place in firms to reduce audit report delays in emerging markets, like Tunisia. Then, this work can help researchers and encourage them to deeply and broadly investigate this issue on other emerging markets.Originality/valueThis study extends the existing literature by examining the relationship between different mechanisms of corporate governance and audit delay in an emerging context and which has been very little explored in this sense namely in the Tunisian context. On the empirical level, the study contributes by using a dynamic panel that has not been mentioned much in previous research. Dynamic panel models include lagged dependent variables. The presence of these variables makes it possible to model a partial adjustment mechanism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Rabea Baatwah ◽  
Zalailah Salleh ◽  
Jenny Stewart

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the characteristics of the audit committee (AC) chair affect audit report timeliness. In particular, the direct association between AC chair accounting expertise and audit report delay, and the moderating effect of other characteristics of AC chair on this association are examined. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the purpose of this study, the characteristics examined by this study are AC chair expertise, shareholding, tenure and multiple directorships. Furthermore, a sample of Malaysian companies during the period 2005–2011 and the fixed effects panel data method are utilized. Findings The results suggest that an AC chair with accounting expertise is associated with a reduction in audit delay. The reduction is more obvious when the chair holds shares in the company, but is weakened by longer tenure and multiple directorships. These results are robust after conducting several robust tests. Using mediating analysis, the authors also document that an AC chair with accounting expertise can enhance the timeliness of audit reports even when the quality of financial reporting is lower. The reported result is supported by additional analysis that finds that AC chairs with accounting expertise and AC chairs with accounting expertise and shareholding are significantly associated with shorter abnormal audit delay. Originality/value This study provides comprehensive analysis concerning the association between AC chair and audit report timeliness using a unique setting. It is among the limited evidence that reports the moderating effect of AC chair characteristics on the role of such chair on audit report timeliness.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mishari M. Alfraih ◽  
Abdullah M. Almutawa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyse the level of voluntary disclosure practices in the annual reports of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) listed firms and explore the association between corporate governance mechanisms and voluntary disclosure practices. Design/methodology/approach Panel data analysis was undertaken over a period from 2005-2008 with an aim to examine the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on voluntary disclosures made by 52 listed firms in their four years of annual reports. An unweighted voluntary disclosure index has been used for hand-collecting data from annual reports. Findings The findings show that the mean voluntary disclosure level over the four years is 23 per cent. Four out of eight corporate governance mechanisms examined found to be significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure, three negatively, one positively. Cross directorship, board size and role duality are negatively related to voluntary disclosure, while government ownership is positively related to voluntary disclosure. In contrast, the proportion of non-executive directors, family members on the board, the presence of an audit committee and the presence of the ruling family on the board have an insignificant influencer on voluntary disclosure practices. Practical implications The study provides an assessment of KSE-listed firm voluntary disclosure practices and its determents and highlights that that corporate governance attributes affect the voluntary disclosure practices of KSE-listed firms. Originality/value The findings of this study contribute to the arguments concerning the role of corporate governance mechanisms in improving the level of disclosure and information transparency.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 658-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef Hassan ◽  
Rafiq Hijazi ◽  
Kamal Naser

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between audit committee (AC) and a set of other corporate governance mechanisms in one of the emerging economies, United Arab of Emirates (UAE). In particular, the current study examines whether an effective AC can serve as a substitute or as a complement mechanism to board characteristics and ownership structure of Emirati listed non-financial companies. Design/methodology/approach Using substitution and complementary theories, a panel data from 48 nonfinancial companies listed on the UAE Stock Exchanges [Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market] during the period between 2011 and 2013 were used in the current study. A composite measure of four proxies has been used to measure the AC effectiveness, namely, AC size, independence, financial expertise and diligence. To test the hypotheses formulated for the study, a logistic regression model was used to identify the influence of a set of board characteristics and ownership structure variables on the effectiveness of the AC after controlling for firm size, auditor type, industry type and profitability. Findings While AC effectiveness appeared to be positively associated with board size and board independence, it is negatively associated with CEO duality. This points to a complementary governance relation. On the other hand, the negative relationship between AC effectiveness and each of institutional and government ownership suggests substitutive relations. Research limitations/implications The main shortcoming of the current study is that it examines the influence of a certain set of corporate governance factors on the effectiveness of AC. Other corporate governance mechanisms may, however, contribute to the effectiveness of AC. The findings of the study can be used by companies’ managements and regulators in the UAE to improve the corporate governance system. Originality/value To the best of researchers’ knowledge, this study provides the first evidence about the interaction among multiple governance mechanisms required by the code of corporate governance issued by the UAE Ministry of Economy in 2009. The current paper is expected to add to the limited AC literature in Middle East and North African countries in general and Arab World in particular.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-480
Author(s):  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Mahmoud Lari Dasht Bayaz ◽  
Shaban Mohammadi ◽  
Mohammad Seddigh Adibian ◽  
Seyed Hamed Fahimifard

PurposeThe main objective of the present study is to assess the potential impact of readability of financial statement notes on the auditor's report lag, audit fees and going concern opinion (GCO).Design/methodology/approachThe statistical population of this study includes all listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) for the period of 2012–2017. The systematic elimination method is used for sampling and multiple regression and EViews software are used for testing the hypothesis models.FindingsThe obtained results show that there is a significant and positive relationship between audit report lags and readability of financial statements. Moreover, it is also revealed that readability of financial statements is positively associated with audit fees. Furthermore, the findings suggest a negative correlation between readability indexes and issuing GCOs, denoting hard-to-read statements is considered as a risk factor by auditors. Finally, the observations of our robustness tests suggest that the association between audit report lag and readability of financial statements is robust.Originality/valueThis is the first conducted investigation concerning auditor's response to the readability of financial statement notes in TSE. The outcome of current paper may pave the way for revising and developing Iranian accounting standards in order to give a fairer and clearer picture of financial reports.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rifqi Abdillah ◽  
Agus Widodo Mardijuwono ◽  
Habiburrochman Habiburrochman

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the factors that affect an auditor’s efficiency in completing the audit process proxied by audit report lag. The factors used in this study are selected by looking at the characteristics of the company and the characteristics of an auditor. Design/methodology/approach Company characteristics were proxied by the audit committee effectiveness, financial condition, accounting complexity and profitability, whereas auditor characteristics were proxied with auditor reputation, audit tenure and auditors industry specialization. Populations of this study were all manufacturing companies listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange in 2014–2016. Based on the purposive sampling method, the number of samples obtained from 231 companies was 77. Multiple linear regression method was used to analyze this study. Hypothesis testing was done by statistical t-test (partial). Findings The results showed that partially variables of the audit committee effectiveness and profitability had a significant negative effect on audit report lag while the variable financial condition had a significant positive effect on audit report lag. Meanwhile, variables of the accounting complexity, auditor reputation, audit tenure and auditors’ industry specialization did not show significant influence on audit report lag. Originality/value This study tests both company’s and auditor’s characteristic on audit report lag that as far as authors know never been tested simultaneously.


Author(s):  
Mohamed H. Elmagrhi ◽  
Collins G. Ntim ◽  
Richard M. Crossley ◽  
John K. Malagila ◽  
Samuel Fosu ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which corporate board characteristics influence the level of dividend pay-out ratio using a sample of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises from 2010 to 2013 listed on the Alternative Investment Market. Design/methodology/approach The data are analysed by employing multivariate regression techniques, including estimating fixed effects, lagged effects and two-stage least squares regressions. Findings The results show that board size, the frequency of board meetings, board gender diversity and audit committee size have a significant relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. Audit committee size and board size have a positive association with the level of dividend pay-out, whilst the frequency of board meetings and board gender diversity have a significant negative relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. By contrast, the findings suggest that board independence and CEO role duality do not have any significant effect on the level of dividend pay-out. Originality/value This is one of the first attempts at examining the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy in the UK’s Alternative Investment Market, with the analysis distinctively informed by agency theoretical insights drawn from the outcome and substitution hypotheses.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 578-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basil Al-Najjar ◽  
Suzan Abed

Purpose – This paper aims to witness the importance of corporate governance mechanisms and investigates the relationship between the quality of disclosure of forward-looking information in the narrative sections of annual reports and the governance mechanisms for non-financial UK companies. Design/methodology/approach – Computerized content analysis using QSR NVivo 8 is used to measure the extent of forward-looking information in the narratives of the annual reports for 238 companies listed in the London Stock Exchange. Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to examine the impact of the corporate governance mechanisms on forward-looking information. Findings – The results show that board size and the independence of the audit committee are associated with the level of voluntary disclosure of forward-looking information. Research limitations/implication – One limitation of this study is that in controls for the effect of the financial crisis period, by selecting a representative year for a five-year period, 2006. The authors argument in using this year is based on the fact that the main variables of interest do not vary significantly with time, the cross-sectional analysis of the selected period will provide a fair view of the last five year-period. Practical implications – The authors report the importance of some governance practices in the UK, such as the role of the board members as well as the importance of audit committee independence. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature by using computerized content analysis to examine the relation between corporate governance mechanism and disclosure quality of forward-looking information using sample of companies before financial crisis period. The authors also examine governance mechanisms that are under-researched in the field of forward-looking disclosure.


Author(s):  
Eman Abdel-Wanis

This paper explores the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the nature of the relationship between cash holdings and audit fees, which helps provide an opportunity to identify whether these mechanisms enable to mitigate agency problems, and thus lower audit fees through a sample of 78 Egyptian listed firms in EGX 100 during the period 2014-2016 using panel data analysis. Results indicated that cash holding increases auditing fees. The board characteristics affect negatively on the relationship between cash holdings and audit fees. Also, ownership structure affects negatively on the relationship between cash holdings and audit fees. As well audit committee affects negatively on the relationship between cash holdings and audit fees. There results support the view that corporate governance mitigate on the relationship between cash holdings and audit fees.


Author(s):  
Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan ◽  
Mabel D’Costa

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether audit committee ownership affects audit report lag. Independent audit committees are responsible for overseeing the financial reporting process, to ensure that financial statements are both credible and released to external stakeholders in a timely manner. To date, however, the extent to which audit committee ownership strengthens or compromises member independence, and hence, influences audit report lag, has remained unexplored. Design/methodology/approach This paper hypothesizes that audit committee ownership is associated with audit report lag. Further, the author hypothesize that both the financial reporting quality and the going concern opinions of a firm mediate the effect of audit committee ownership on audit report lag. Findings Using data from Australian listed companies, the author find that audit committee ownership increases audit report lag. The author further document that financial reporting quality and modified audit opinions rendered by external auditors mediate this positive relationship. The results are robust to endogeneity concerns emanating from firms’ deliberate decisions to grant shares to the audit committee members. Originality/value The study contributes to both the audit report timeliness and the corporate governance literatures, by documenting an adverse effect of audit committee ownership.


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