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Female directors, audit effort and financial reporting quality

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Shams PathanORCiD

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Abstract

© 2021 Asociación Española de Contabilidad y Administración de Empresas (AECA). This paper analyses the influence of female directors on the demand for audit effort and on financial reporting quality for a sample of Australian non-financial listed firms over the period 2004–2018. Our results suggest that gender diversity at the Board and the audit committee have a beneficial impact both on the demand of audit effort and on the outcomes of the audit process. This beneficial effect of female directors is attributable to non-executive directors. Long tenured and busy female directors and women chairing the board or the audit committee are revealed as especially influential at improving audit efforts and outcomes. We obtain further indication that audit effort and reporting quality improve from the first women added to the board not being necessary to attain a certain critical mass to generate these effects. Also, gender diversity improves the external auditor independence though the presence of lower of non-audit fees. The results are robust to endogeneity corrections. Evidence from the Australian market provides a positive argument for small and mid-cap Australian listed firms to follow the path of large Australian listed firms towards gender diversity.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Fernandez-Mendez C, Pathan ST

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting / Revista Española de Financiación y Contabilidad

Year: 2023

Volume: 52

Issue: 1

Pages: 125-166

Online publication date: 05/01/2022

Acceptance date: 12/11/2021

ISSN (print): 0210-2412

ISSN (electronic): 2332-0753

Publisher: Routledge

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/02102412.2021.2009298

DOI: 10.1080/02102412.2021.2009298


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