IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v96y2019icp238-249.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is there a gender effect on the quality of audit services?

Author

Listed:
  • Garcia-Blandon, Josep
  • Argilés-Bosch, Josep Maria
  • Ravenda, Diego

Abstract

Should we expect a gender effect on the quality of audit services? Both the behavioural economics literature and the glass ceiling for women in the audit profession suggest an affirmative answer to this question. We conduct the study with a sample of Spanish-listed companies for the period between 2008 and 2015 and use the quality of the client's financial statements as a proxy for the quality of audit services. The results provide sound and consistent support for a positive female auditor effect on the quality of audit services. Although our figures suggest that men and women tend to audit different types of clients, the results are not driven by these differences. Moreover, the gender effect occurs from the very first year of the appointment of a female partner to replace a male auditor. This study may contribute to challenging stereotypes and may be informative for the ongoing political debate regarding the under-representation of women in senior management levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Garcia-Blandon, Josep & Argilés-Bosch, Josep Maria & Ravenda, Diego, 2019. "Is there a gender effect on the quality of audit services?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 238-249.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:96:y:2019:i:c:p:238-249
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318305769
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.024?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Grey, Christopher & Robson, Keith, 2005. ""Helping them to forget..": the organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 469-490, July.
    2. Lupu, Ioana, 2012. "Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women's careers in large accounting firms. Evidence from the French Big Four," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 351-369.
    3. Bengtsson, Claes & Persson, Mats & Willenhag, Peter, 2005. "Gender and overconfidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 199-203, February.
    4. Haynes, Kathryn, 2008. "Transforming identities: Accounting professionals and the transition to motherhood," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 620-642.
    5. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    6. Kris Hardies & Diane Breesch & Joël Branson, 2016. "Do (Fe)Male Auditors Impair Audit Quality? Evidence from Going-Concern Opinions," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 7-34, May.
    7. Rihab Khalifa, 2013. "Intra-professional hierarchies: the gendering of accounting specialisms in UK accountancy," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(8), pages 1212-1245, October.
    8. Connie L. Becker & Mark L. Defond & James Jiambalvo & K.R. Subramanyam, 1998. "The Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, March.
    9. Jere R. Francis & Dechun Wang, 2008. "The Joint Effect of Investor Protection and Big 4 Audits on Earnings Quality around the World," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 157-191, March.
    10. Richard A. Bernardi & Donald F. Arnold, 1997. "An Examination of Moral Development within Public Accounting by Gender, Staff Level, and Firm," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(4), pages 653-668, December.
    11. Jyrki Niskanen & Jukka Karjalainen & Mervi Niskanen & Jussi Karjalainen, 2011. "Auditor gender and corporate earnings management behavior in private Finnish firms," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(9), pages 778-793, October.
    12. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    13. Charness, Gary & Gneezy, Uri, 2012. "Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Risk Taking," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 50-58.
    14. Jane Broadbent & Linda Kirkham, 2008. "Glass ceilings, glass cliffs or new worlds?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 465-473, May.
    15. Owhoso, Vincent & Weickgenannt, Andrea, 2009. "Auditors’ self-perceived abilities in conducting domain audits," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 3-21.
    16. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Jong Chool Park & Qiang Wu, 2015. "Gender Differences in Financial Reporting Decision Making: Evidence from Accounting Conservatism," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 1285-1318, September.
    17. Jeffrey S. Paterson & Adrian Valencia, 2011. "The Effects of Recurring and Nonrecurring Tax, Audit†Related, and Other Nonaudit Services on Auditor Independence," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1510-1536, December.
    18. Jerry Sun & Guoping Liu & George Lan, 2011. "Does Female Directorship on Independent Audit Committees Constrain Earnings Management?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 369-382, March.
    19. Dechow, Patricia M., 1994. "Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance : The role of accounting accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-42, July.
    20. Jianakoplos, Nancy Ammon & Bernasek, Alexandra, 1998. "Are Women More Risk Averse?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 620-630, October.
    21. William F. Messier, Jr. & Vincent Owhoso & Carter Rakovski, 2008. "Can Audit Partners Predict Subordinates' Ability to Detect Errors?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1241-1264, December.
    22. Jean C. Bedard, 2012. "Discussion of “Audit Partner Specialization and Audit Fees: Some Evidence from Swedenâ€," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 341-348, March.
    23. Jeacle, Ingrid, 2011. "A practice of her own: Female career success beyond the accounting firm," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 288-303.
    24. Hichem Khlif & Imen Achek, 2017. "Gender in accounting research: a review," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(6), pages 627-655, June.
    25. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Skinner, Douglas J., 1994. "Accounting choice in troubled companies," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 113-143, January.
    26. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    27. Almer, Elizabeth Dreike & Lightbody, Margaret G. & Single, Louise E., 2012. "Successful promotion or segregation from partnership? An examination of the “post-senior manager” position in public accounting and the implications for women's careers," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 122-133.
    28. Kirkham, Linda M. & Loft, Anne, 1993. "Gender and the construction of the professional accountant," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 507-558, August.
    29. Puja Ladva & Jane Andrew, 2014. "Weaving a web of control," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(4), pages 634-654, April.
    30. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Lambert, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," Post-Print hal-00687845, HAL.
    31. Basu, Sudipta, 1997. "The conservatism principle and the asymmetric timeliness of earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 3-37, December.
    32. Sunden, Annika E & Surette, Brian J, 1998. "Gender Differences in the Allocation of Assets in Retirement Savings Plans," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 207-211, May.
    33. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    34. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-16.
    35. Allen D. Blay & Marshall A. Geiger, 2013. "Auditor Fees and Auditor Independence: Evidence from Going Concern Reporting Decisions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 579-606, June.
    36. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    37. William R. Kinney & Zoe‐Vonna Palmrose & Susan Scholz, 2004. "Auditor Independence, Non‐Audit Services, and Restatements: Was the U.S. Government Right?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 561-588, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Owusu, Andrews & Zalata, Alaa Mansour, 2023. "Credit rating agency response to appointment of female audit partners: Evidence from the UK," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    2. Andrews Owusu & Alaa Mansour Zalata & Kamil Omoteso & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "Is There a Trade-Off Between Accrual-Based and Real Earnings Management Activities in the Presence of (fe) Male Auditors?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(4), pages 815-836, February.
    3. Owusu, Andrews & O'Sullivan, Noel & Kwabi, Frank & Holmes, Mark, 2024. "Why Do Female Lead Auditors Charge a Fee Premium? Evidence from the UK Audit Market," CAFE Working Papers 26, Centre for Accountancy, Finance and Economics (CAFE), Birmingham City Business School, Birmingham City University.
    4. Patrick Velte, 2023. "The impact of external auditors on firms’ financial restatements: a review of archival studies and implications for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 959-985, September.
    5. Jie Hao & Viet Pham & Meng Guo, 2022. "The Gender Effects of Audit Partners on Audit Outcomes: Evidence of Rule 3211 Adoption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 275-304, May.
    6. Madhurima Basu & Anubha Shekhar Sinha, 2021. "Unravelling the Glass Ceiling Phenomenon Using Critical Hermeneutics," Working papers 426, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    7. Carrera, Nieves & Mareque, Mercedes, 2023. "Does gender affect qualifying decisions? Evidence from public sector audits," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Tarek Abdelfattah & Mohamed Elmahgoub & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2021. "Female Audit Partners and Extended Audit Reporting: UK Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 177-197, November.
    9. Abbasi, Kaleemullah & Alam, Ashraful & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin, 2020. "Audit committees, female directors and the types of female and male financial experts: Further evidence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 186-197.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    2. Andrews Owusu & Alaa Mansour Zalata & Kamil Omoteso & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "Is There a Trade-Off Between Accrual-Based and Real Earnings Management Activities in the Presence of (fe) Male Auditors?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(4), pages 815-836, February.
    3. Mehdi Nekhili & Fahim Javed & Haithem Nagati, 2022. "Audit Partner Gender, Leadership and Ethics: The Case of Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 233-260, May.
    4. Amondarain, Josune & Aldazabal, M. Edurne & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2023. "Gender differences in the auditing stereotype and their influence on the intention to enter the profession," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    5. Sian, S. & Agrizzi, D. & Wright, T. & Alsalloom, A., 2020. "Negotiating constraints in international audit firms in Saudi Arabia: Exploring the interaction of gender, politics and religion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Bitbol-Saba, Nathalie & Dambrin, Claire, 2019. "“It’s not often we get a visit from a beautiful woman!” The body in client-auditor interactions and the masculinity of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Daniela Hohenfels & Reiner Quick, 2020. "Non-audit services and audit quality: evidence from Germany," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 959-1007, October.
    8. Sheerin, Corina & Garavan, Thomas, 2022. "Female leaders as ‘Superwomen’: Post-global financial crisis media framing of women and leadership in investment banking in UK print media 2014–2016," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Kokot-Blamey, Patrizia, 2021. "Mothering in accounting: Feminism, motherhood, and making partnership in accountancy in Germany and the UK," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Elizabeth D. Almer & M. Kathleen Harris & Julia L. Higgs & Joseph R. Rakestraw, 2021. "Partner Gender Differences in Prestige of Clients Served at the Largest U.S. Audit Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 401-421, October.
    11. Owusu, Andrews & Zalata, Alaa Mansour, 2023. "Credit rating agency response to appointment of female audit partners: Evidence from the UK," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    12. Alaa Mansour Zalata & Collins Ntim & Ahmed Aboud & Ernest Gyapong, 2019. "Female CEOs and Core Earnings Quality: New Evidence on the Ethics Versus Risk-Aversion Puzzle," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 515-534, December.
    13. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    14. Mara Del Baldo & Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women’s Role in the Accounting Profession: A Comparative Study between Italy and Romania," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    15. Agrizzi, Dila & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Alsalloom, Abeer, 2021. "Spatiality and accounting: The case of female segregation in audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    16. Belaounia, Samia & Tao, Ran & Zhao, Hong, 2020. "Gender equality's impact on female directors’ efficacy: A multi-country study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    17. Li, Yiwei & Zeng, Yeqin, 2019. "The impact of top executive gender on asset prices: Evidence from stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 528-550.
    18. Jeffrey R. Cohen & Derek W. Dalton & Lori L. Holder-Webb & Jeffrey J. McMillan, 2020. "An Analysis of Glass Ceiling Perceptions in the Accounting Profession," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 17-38, June.
    19. Jeroen van Raak & Erik Peek & Roger Meuwissen & Caren Schelleman, 2020. "The effect of audit market structure on audit quality and audit pricing in the private‐client market," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 456-488, March.
    20. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:96:y:2019:i:c:p:238-249. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.