Abstract
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This study examines whether audit report lag (ARL) is </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-language: KO;">determined</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> by </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-language: KO;">certain auditor-related factors</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-language: KO;">Understanding the determinants of ARL is important as ARL is the single most important factor in determining the timing of earnings releases and, therefore, improving the timeliness of companies&rsquo; announcements of earnings. Unlike prior studies, we are particularly interested in examining various auditor-related factors including audit and non-audit fees received from clients, auditor tenure, type of auditor and audit opinion. Using a recent Korean sample, w</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">e find that ARL </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-language: KO;">is negatively associated with non-audit fees paid to incumbent auditors, consistent with &ldquo;knowledge spillover&rdquo; from the provision of non-audit services. We also find that ARL is negatively associated with the use of Big 4 auditors and unqualified audit opinions. We are, however, not able to find significant associations between ARL and auditor tenure, or abnormal audit fees paid to incumbent auditors.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-language: KO;">Additional analyses provide evidence that abnormal audit hours and the provision of tax services, and services relating to the design of internal control systems, significantly reduce ARL.</span></span></p>
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