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Audit fees, auditor choice and stakeholder influence: Evidence from a family-firm dominated economy

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  • Khan, Arifur
  • Muttakin, Mohammad Badrul
  • Siddiqui, Javed

Abstract

Despite the dominance of family-owned publicly listed companies in developing economies, prior research has paid relatively little attention to this area and the socio-economic context of these countries has been mostly ignored. This study contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence of the effects of family control and ownership on audit pricing and auditor choice in a developing economy context. Using 1058 firm-year observations of publicly listed companies in Bangladesh, where family firms are the most dominant form of public companies, we find that in comparison with non-family firms, our sample family firms pay significantly lower audit fees and choose lower quality auditors. However, for export-oriented industries, family firms seem to pay significantly higher audit fees and recruit better quality auditors compared to non-family firms. Collectively, our findings have important implications for audit markets in emerging economies in which the sustainability of family firms is crucial for overall economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Khan, Arifur & Muttakin, Mohammad Badrul & Siddiqui, Javed, 2015. "Audit fees, auditor choice and stakeholder influence: Evidence from a family-firm dominated economy," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 304-320.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:47:y:2015:i:3:p:304-320
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2015.03.002
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    1. Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar & Islam, Ariful & Singh, Abhijeet, 2022. "Busy auditors, financial reporting timeliness and quality," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(3).
    2. Mohammad Rajon Meah & Kanon Kumar Sen & Md. Hossain Ali, 2021. "Audit Characteristics, Gender Diversity and Firm Performance: Evidence from a Developing Economy," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 14(1), pages 48-70, June.
    3. Jannine Poletti‐Hughes & Beatriz Martínez Garcia, 2022. "Leverage in family firms: The moderating role of female directors and board quality," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 207-223, January.
    4. Nguyen, Lily & Vu, Le & Yin, Xiangkang, 2020. "The undesirable effect of audit quality: Evidence from firm innovation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    5. Bose, Sudipta & Podder, Jyotirmoy & Biswas, Kumar, 2017. "Philanthropic giving, market-based performance and institutional ownership: Evidence from an emerging economy," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 429-444.
    6. Saeid Homayoun & Maryam Hakimzadeh, 2017. "Audit Fee and Audit Quality: An Empirical Analysis in Family Firms," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(2), pages 469-476.
    7. Ferreira, João J. & Fernandes, Cristina I. & Schiavone, Francesco & Mahto, Raj V., 2021. "Sustainability in family business – A bibliometric study and a research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    8. Muttakin, Mohammad Badrul & Monem, Reza M. & Khan, Arifur & Subramaniam, Nava, 2015. "Family firms, firm performance and political connections: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 215-230.
    9. Mohamed M. El-Dyasty & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2021. "The effect of ownership structure and board characteristics on auditor choice: evidence from Egypt," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(4), pages 362-377, December.
    10. Soumaya Ayedi & Azhaar Lajmi & Emna Boumediene, 2019. "The effects of agency conflicts on audit quality demand: Evidence from Tunisia," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(3), pages 2175-2183.
    11. Muhammad Bilal Saeed & Syed Kashif Saeed, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Accounting Conservatism: Moderating role of Audit Quality and Disclosure Quality," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(2), pages 123-150, June.
    12. Santiago Lago-Peñas & Mercedes Mareque Álvarez-Santullano & Elena Rivo-López & Mónica Villanueva-Villar, 2017. "Determining factors for audit opinion in private family and non-family firms. Evidence from Spain," Working Papers. Collection C: Family business 1701, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    13. Dafydd Mali & Hyoung‐joo Lim, 2021. "Do Relatively More Efficient Firms Demand Additional Audit Effort (Hours)?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 31(2), pages 108-127, June.
    14. Ivo Hristov & Antonio Chirico & Francesco Ranalli & Riccardo Camilli, 2022. "La pianificazione della sostenibilit? nelle aziende familiari: il ruolo dei key value drivers," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(3), pages 109-134.
    15. Alhababsah, Salem & Alhaj-Ismail, Alaa, 2023. "Does shared tenure between audit committee chair and engagement partner affect audit outcomes? Evidence from the UK," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).

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