Factors Associated with Audit Committee Meeting Frequency: Evidence from Kuwait

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to examine factors influencing Audit Committee (AC) meeting frequency in the Kuwaiti market. In particular, this study aims at investigating whether AC meeting frequency is significantly related to ownership concentration, board ownership, board characteristics, AC characteristics, and certain firm organizational characteristics. A regression model is used to examine the research questions of interest using data related to firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). The study’s results show that AC meeting frequency is positively related to ownership concentration, the audit firm type, and firm’s affiliation to the finance industry, but is negatively related to board independence and firm’s financial leverage. The results, however, reveals no significant relationship between AC meeting frequency and board size, or any of the AC characteristics examined.