Auditor Size Research Articles

The effect of board and audit committee effectiveness on internal control disclosure under different regulatory environments in South Asia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the internal control disclosure (ICDISC) practices in South Asia and compare those disclosure practices across enforced setting (India) versus comply or explain setting (Pakistan and Bangladesh). Further, whether the audit firm size moderates the relationship between ICDISC practices and board & audit committee effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve these objectives, a sample of 100 non-financial companies was selected from Pakistan and India for three years’ period (2013-2015), whereas 93 companies were selected from Bangladesh based on market capitalization. The ICDISC index has been used which is based on the COSO framework.FindingsResults of univariate analysis show that public sector companies in South Asia tend to disclose significantly more internal control information as compared to private sector companies. In terms of enforcement variable, the results of Mann–Whitney test show that companies listed in enforced setting have disclosed significantly greater extent of overall as well as individual categories of ICDISC as compared to companies listed in comply or explain setting. Based on multivariate analysis results for overall sample, it was found that board and audit committee characteristics and ownership by government have positive significant effect on ICDISC except representation of female or foreigner on audit committee which was found negatively significant. In addition to this, listing on foreign stock exchange and enforcement effect emerged as significant variables to influence ICDISC. Finally, the results of additional analysis state that the role of board and audit committee for influencing ICDISC has been moderated by the external auditor size in South Asia. In addition, enforcement variable is highly positively significant for companies having non-big four audit firm.Research limitations/implicationsThese results imply that enforcement variable acts as an important alternative external control mechanism when companies do not have big four audit firm as their external auditors.Originality/valueThis is very first study on ICDISC in South Asia which explores the effect of enforcement and governance on ICDISC practices of firms. It also contributes toward the literature that the regulation on reporting of internal control can be effective in developing country only if there is strong penalty for non-compliance by regulatory authorities.

The Effect of Company Size, Operating Profit/Loss, and Reputation of KAP Auditor on Audit Delay

This associative-causal study aimed determine the effect of company size, operating profit/loss, and reputation of the Public Accountant Firm (Kantor Akuntan Publik/KAP) auditor on audit delay, simultaneously and partially; and which of both variables dominantly affect audit delay of banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The research population was all banking companies listed on the IDX, while the samples were 30 banking companies taken by purposive sampling technique. Data collection was done by documentation techniques. Data analysis was carried out by: (1) data test (classic assumption test), and (2) hypothesis test, including: multiple linear regression analysis, F test, and t test. The results showed: (1) company size, operating profit/loss, and reputation of KAP auditor simultaneously affect audit delay, (2) company size had a negative effect on audit delay, thus the larger size of the company would need shorter time on audit delay; the profit/loss of the company had a positive effect audit delay, thus when the company was profit would need longer time on audit delay; reputation of KAP auditor had no effects on audit delay, thus Big Four KAP and non Big Four KAP carried our audit need the same period time; (3) company size had a dominant effect on audit delay, thus the auditors carried out audit dominantly affected by company size.

The Importance of Social Capital to Individual Auditors

We examine the role that individual auditors’ social networks play in their careers. We focus on educational networks in China, as measured by the size of an auditor’s university alumni network, including those who are auditors in public accounting firms (auditor alumni) and those who are executives of public companies (executive alumni). These social networks widen auditors’ access to expertise, information, and potential clients, which should enhance their professional development and audit quality. We find that individual auditors with larger social networks: provide higher-quality audits; attract more clients and earn higher audit fees; exhibit a higher likelihood of receiving a promotion and moving to a higher-quality audit firm, and exhibit a lower likelihood of leaving public accounting. Consistent with expectations, connections to auditor (executive) alumni play a more prominent role for audit quality (client acquisitions and career advancement). Evidence surrounding an exogenous large expansion in auditor social networks reinforces the main results.

Assessment of Factors Affecting Audit Quality: “A Study of Selected Companies Listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange”

This study sought to establish the factors affecting audit quality in listed companies in Ghana. A cross-sectional method was used in the analysis in which a linear regression model was also used to establish the impact of the independent variables namely; auditor size, the existence of audit committee and the logarithm of the auditor fees on the independent variable audit quality. The logarithm of audit fees was taken to normalize the data. The dependent variable “leverage ratio” (total debts divided by total assets of the company) used to measure debt pressure by the companies and also used as a proxy for the audit quality because high debts in relation to company assets can lead to bankruptcy. Twenty- five (25) companies listed on the Ghana Stock exchange were used as the sample of the study. The results of the analysis indicated that logarithm of audit fees, existence of audit committee, and auditor size were all significant in influencing the leverage of the companies and thus audit quality. The size of audit firm had a negative impact on audit quality, while the companies that do not have audit committees are more likely to have poor audit quality. The logarithm of audit fees was positively related with the audit quality. It is recommended that audit fees should be regulated by The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) as well as taking action against audit companies which do not adhere to auditing standards and the officials of companies who are involved in misstating the financial statements and other financial records with the intention of concealing the true and actual facts of the financial position of the company.

External Auditor Selection Choice: A Multinomial Logistic Regression Approach

This research work examines the factors that determine the selection of external auditor among Global Brand listed companies in Nigeria. The variables of Audit Big 4 firms which include Deloitte, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, (KPMG) and Price Water House Coopers (PWC) where selected as choice target for this research work. Big four audit firm of Ernst’s & Young (E&Y) was excluded in the sample as it is found not to have provided audit services to any of the selected global brand listed company in Nigeria during the period covered by this study. The study employed the methodology of Multinomial Probit Regression (MPR) analysis in X-raying the data. Empirical evidence shows that there is a significant positive relationship between firm size and choice of external auditor’s selection for the big four audit firms of KPMG and Deloitte. The study also provides a revelation that the relationship between the variable of firm size is negative and statistically significant with audit firm of Price Water House Coopers (PWC). The research work carefully recommends that global brand companies in Nigeria with interest to hire audit services of Deloitte and KPMG must ensure that its total asset is significantly large. But suffice to state here that this may not apply to the audit firm of Price Water House Copper Corporation where the variable of audit fee is a significant determinant in the quest for employing it audit services.

Effective audit committee, audit quality and earnings management: evidence from the Ghana Stock Exchange

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of audit committee effectiveness and audit quality (auditor size) on earnings management by firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The study uses 180 firm-year observations for the period 2013-2017 for firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis. The results of multivariate regression analysis indicated that audit committee financial expertise, audit committee prior experience, audit committee size and audit quality have significant negative relationship with discretionary accruals (DACC) as a proxy for earnings management. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between audit committee independence and audit committee meeting (ACMT) and the level of discretionary accruals. This paper is important because it offers useful information that is of great value to policy makers, academics and other stakeholders. This study is one of the few to measure the influence of audit committee effectiveness and audit quality (auditor size) on earnings management.

Effective audit committee, audit quality and earnings management: evidence from the Ghana Stock Exchange

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of audit committee effectiveness and audit quality (auditor size) on earnings management by firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The study uses 180 firm-year observations for the period 2013-2017 for firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis. The results of multivariate regression analysis indicated that audit committee financial expertise, audit committee prior experience, audit committee size and audit quality have significant negative relationship with discretionary accruals (DACC) as a proxy for earnings management. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between audit committee independence and audit committee meeting (ACMT) and the level of discretionary accruals. This paper is important because it offers useful information that is of great value to policy makers, academics and other stakeholders. This study is one of the few to measure the influence of audit committee effectiveness and audit quality (auditor size) on earnings management.

Corporate Governance Practices and Audit Quality: Do They Matter for the Cost of Debt?

This paper sheds light on the effect of corporate governance practices and audit quality on the cost of debt. Particularly, we investigate the effect of the ownership structure and the audit committee independance, as well as the reputation of the external auditor, on the cost of debt. Based on a sample of Tunisian listed companies over the period 2007 to 2016 and using OLS regression models estimated with robust standard errors, our findings show that the cost of debt is inversely related to the director board size and the ownership concentration. Tunisian debtholders favour monitoring mechanisms that are likely to limit managerial opportunism and consider board monitoring effectiveness and the presence of blockholders as a source of greater assurance. The results also reveal evidence of a debt pricing effect of audit quality as measured by auditor size (Big4). The findings report, however, that the board composition and the presence of managerial shareholders, as well as the independence of audit committee have non-significant effect on the cost of debt.

External Auditor Selection Choice: A Multinomial Logistic Regression Approach

This research work examines the factors that determine the selection of external auditor among Global Brand listed companies in Nigeria. The variables of Audit Big 4 firms which include Deloitte, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, (KPMG) and Price Water House Coopers (PWC) where selected as choice target for this research work. Big four audit firm of Ernst’s & Young (E&Y) was excluded in the sample as it is found not to have provided audit services to any of the selected global brand listed company in Nigeria during the period covered by this study. The study employed the methodology of Multinomial Probit Regression (MPR) analysis in X-raying the data. Empirical evidence shows that there is a significant positive relationship between firm size and choice of external auditor’s selection for the big four audit firms of KPMG and Deloitte. The study also provides a revelation that the relationship between the variable of firm size is negative and statistically significant with audit firm of Price Water House Coopers (PWC). The research work carefully recommends that global brand companies in Nigeria with interest to hire audit services of Deloitte and KPMG must ensure that its total asset is significantly large. But suffice to state here that this may not apply to the audit firm of Price Water House Copper Corporation where the variable of audit fee is a significant determinant in the quest for employing it audit services.

Audit Market Consolidation and Client Innovation

Examining a drastic evolution of the audit market in China, we find that auditor mergers enhance clients’ innovation. This effect is more pronounced when the acquirer in a merger is an international Big 4 auditor or when a merger leads to a greater increase in auditor size, supporting the positive certification effect of large auditors. Further cross-sectional analyses show that the innovation-enhancing effect of auditor mergers takes place via alleviating financial constraints and mitigating managerial myopia. In sum, we offer first-hand evidence that large auditors stemming from audit market consolidation bring benefits to the real economy and contributes to economic growth.

The Change Of The Auditor Towards The Big Four Auditing Firms In Mexico

In this paper, we present the results of an empirical study which analyzes the reasons why some companies with certain corporate characteristics, after having changed their external auditor, choose one of the Big Four auditing firms in Mexico. For this purpose, we have estimated a logistic regression model, using an observable sample of 972 annual reports, belonging to a total of 135 companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, during the period from 2000 to 2007. The results indicate that the reputation of the external auditor, the quality of the audit, the brand of the audit firm and the size of the external auditor, are some of the reasons why some companies with certain corporate characteristics, after having changed their external auditor, choose one of the Big Four auditing firms in Mexico, better known in the business world, such as the “Big Four” .

The Impact of Firm Characteristics on Corporate Internet Reporting: Evidence from Sri Lankan Listed Companies

Corporate Internet Reporting (CIR) is a significant communication phenomenon in the world. Research indicates that there are several CIR issues in developing countries as well as there is a dearth of the studies in the Sri Lankan context. Accordingly, this study is designed to identify the current level of CIR and what are the significant firm characteristics that impact CIR in the Sri Lankan context using a quantitative research approach using secondary data. The level of corporate internet reporting is measured using a disclosure index on CIR. Multiple ordinary least squares regression, multiple ordinal regression and correlation analyses are used to identify the significant determinants of CIR. The results indicate that of 100 companies examined, despite 83% of Sri Lankan companies have their own corporate websites, the overall level of CIR is only 16.2%. The content disclosure sub-score is on average 12.52% and the level of presentation format disclosure sub-score of CIR is 26.88%. Further, the explanatory analyses suggest that variables, auditor size, market capitalization,and the representation of hotel, travel and service industry are significant firm characteristics that impact the level of CIR. Overall, however, mixed evidence is noted. This study addresses the knowledge gap in identifying levels of CIR and firm characteristics and expected to have significant policy implications.

Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Quality: Evidence From Indonesia Stock Exchange

This research was conducted to test the effect of audit quality on earnings quality. Its observed data consisted of 116 annual data of manufacturing companies listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange within 2011-2014. The proxies of audit quality are auditor size, audit tenure and audit specialization. The earnings quality was formed from the attributes of accrual quality, persistence, predictability, and income smoothing. The analysis techniques for this research involved (1) an confirmatory factor analysis to form the earnings quality and (2) multiple regression analysis to test the effect of the auditor size, audit tenure and audit specialization on earnings quality. Analysis results showed that earnings quality is formed by the attributes of persistence and predictability. Research results showed that auditor size and audit tenure have effect on earning quality, while audit specialization do not.

The auditor’s opinion modifications around domestic and global financial crises

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of company characteristics such as the level of financial distress, client size and type of auditor on the propensity to issue modified audit opinions and to assess comparative differences in audit opinions during two significant economic crises in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachLogistic regression model is used to test the incremental contribution of each company characteristic on issuing the type of audit opinion for crisis periods. Additionally, to understand the reasons for differences in audit opinions between two types of crisis periods, the authors adopt Francis and Krishnan’s (2002) approach in which an auditor’s propensity to issue modified opinion may be jointly based on changes in client characteristics and auditor reporting strategies in that period.FindingsThe results indicate that there is a positive relationship between financial distress and the likelihood of receiving modified opinions in both crisis periods. Additionally, client size affects audit opinions negatively in both periods significantly. Auditors show higher propensity to issue a modified opinion during the domestic than the global financial crisis period, which could be explained by the changes in client characteristics more than their reporting strategy.Practical implicationsThis study provides supportive evidence that the company characteristics including the financial distress can be very useful predictors for the auditors’ decisions while issuing their opinions.Originality/valueThe findings of different auditor behaviors during crises periods and possible reasons are the main contributions of this study for international and domestic regulators, investors, audit firms, academics and standard setters in emerging economies.

Foreign Monitoring and Audit Quality: Evidence from Korea

This study investigates the effects of both foreign majority shareholders and foreign investors’ participation in the board of directors on audit quality, as reflected by auditor size and audit fees. In addition, the study examines the moderating effect of an agency problem on the relationship between foreign investors and the monitoring of audit quality. Using 1574 non-financial firm-year observations listed on the Korea Stock Exchange from 2000 to 2003, we find that the presence of foreign investors such as foreign block shareholders and foreign outside directors increases audit quality. At the same time, the monitoring role of foreign block shareholders is more powerful than that of foreign external directors. Moreover, the foreign block shareholders in professional management-controlled firms exert a more profound influence on audit quality than do those in owner-controlled ones. These test results imply that foreign investors with independence, expertise, and monitoring incentives could play an important role in improving the corporate governance system in Korea, which in turn would not only enhance firm value, but also strengthen the sustainability of Korean companies.

The impact of external auditor size on the relationship between audit committee effectiveness and earnings management

This research aims to explore new evidence on the nature of the relationship between the effectiveness of audit committee and earnings management in one of the emerging economies, Jordan. In addition, it investigates how external auditor size might moderate this relationship. For this purpose, a panel data consisting of 64 industrial firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) is used, covering the period between 2009 and 2014. An index consisting of four characteristics is developed to measure the effectiveness of audit committee, namely audit committee independence, size, meetings and financial expertise. Results show that audit committee effectiveness has a significant and negative impact on earnings management. Moreover, a positive interaction effect of external auditor size and audit committee effectiveness on earnings management is found, which is supportive of the substitute relationship between the external auditor size and effective audit committee in reducing earnings management. Policy makers and professional accounting bodies in Jordan might benefit from these results, as they show that legislative reforms can motivate firms to adopt good governance practices to mitigate earnings management.

The impact of non-timely 10-Q filings and audit firm size on audit fees

PurposePrior studies suggest that non-timely 10-Q filings indicate higher potential risks than non-timely 10-K filings. Furthermore, larger audit firms tend to be more risk-averse and conservative about reporting. Inspired by these research streams, this paper aims to investigate the influence of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees and the impact of audit firm size on this association.Design/methodology/approachThe cross-sectional audit fee regression model used in this study is similar to that used in prior audit fee research (Simunic, 1980; Francis et al., 2005; Hay et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2013). The model includes the following five major characteristics that would influence auditors’ fee decisions: auditee size (LNAT), complexity (REIVAT, FOREIGN, SEG), financial condition (LOSS, ROA, GROWTH, ZSCORE), special events (ICW, RESTATE, INITIAL, GC) and auditor type (BIG4). To examine the effect of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees, the variable NT10Q is included in the audit fee model.FindingsThe results indicate that when both non-timely 10-K and non-timely 10-Q filings are included in the regression model, only non-timely 10-Q filings are significantly associated with higher audit fees, suggesting that the presence of non-timely 10-Q filings signals more serious underlying problem than non-timely 10-K filings in the audit fees decision processes. In addition, we find that audit fees for firms audited by Big 4 auditors are 26.4 per cent higher when those firms file non-timely 10-Q reports, whereas there is no significant association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees for firms audited by non-Big 4 auditors.Practical implicationsAs no attention has been paid to the investigation of the impact of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees, with the aim of filling the gap of this specific research area, this study examines the association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees and the influence of audit firm size on this association.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is threefold: first, it is the first study to examine the association between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees. The results show that non-timely 10-Q filings are a better and earlier indicator of audit risk than non-timely 10-K filings. Second, the results reveal that the relationship between non-timely 10-Q filings and audit fees is affected by audit firm size. Specifically, Big 4 auditors tend to charge higher audit fees in the presence of non-timely 10-Q filings, reflecting that they are more sensitive to audit risk than smaller audit firms are. Third, an examination of the quarterly effect of non-timely 10-Q filings on audit fees indicates a stronger effect from the first quarter’s non-timely 10-Q filings, compared to the second or third quarter.

Pengaruh Firm Size, Subsidiaries, dan Auditor Size terhadap Audit Fee

The aims of this study is to determine the effect of firm size, subsidiaries,and auditor size to the audit fee. This study tested the company listedin Indonesia Sharia Stock Index (ISSI) for the year 2013-2016. Thisstudy obtained 37 companies as a sample in four years. Data wereanalyzed using multiple linear regression analysis model. The resultsof this study showed that firm size, subsidiaries, and auditor size havepositive and significant impact on audit fees. In this study the entirehypothesis can be accepted.Keywords: firm size, existence of a subsidiary, size of the Public Accounting Firm and audit feesJEL Classification: G38, M42, M410

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KUALITAS AUDIT PADA PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR

The objective of this research is to obtain empirical evidence of auditor size, leverage, company growth, company size, institutional ownership, managerial ownership and company agesas independent variables to audit quality as dependent variable in Indonesian manufacturing companies.The research period is three years from 2012-2014 and population in this research is all listed companies in Indonesian Stock Exchange. Samples are obtained through purposive sampling method, which only 65 of listed manufacturing companies in Indonesian manufacturing companies meet the sampling criteria, resulting 195 data. Multiple linear regressions and hypothesis testing are used as the data analysis method in this research. The result of this research shows that leverage statistically have effect on the audit quality. While auditor size, company growth, company size, institutional ownership, managerial ownership and company ages have no effect on audit quality.

Auditor Size and Going Concern Reporting

SUMMARY Auditing theory predicts that larger auditors will be more likely to issue a going concern opinion to a distressed client. However, the existing empirical evidence on this issue is mixed. We attribute these mixed results to a failure to adequately control for clients' financial health. We demonstrate how properly controlling for clients' financial health reveals a positive relationship between auditor size and the propensity to issue a going concern opinion. We corroborate our findings by replicating a related study and showing how the results change when financial health variables are added to the model. In supplemental analysis, we find that Big 4 auditors are more likely than mid-tier auditors (Grant Thornton and BDO Seidman) to issue going concern opinions to distressed clients. We also find that, compared to other auditors, the Big 4 are less likely to issue false-positive (Type I error) going concern opinions. We find no evidence that the Big 4 are more or less likely to fail to issue a going concern opinion to a client that eventually files for bankruptcy (Type II error). Our results are robust to the use of a variety of matching techniques. JEL Classifications: M41; M42.