Does corporate governance reduce audit report lag?

This study is to investigate the association between corporate governance and audit report lag as well as the extent of the influence of corporate governance on the audit report lag of listed companies on Vietnam's stock market. To examine the relationship between corporate governance and audit report lag, our study used the xtpcse regression analysis method through panel data of 586 enterprises listed on Vietnam's stock market over the 2010-2021 period, and also used quantile regression to re-evaluate our research results. Our findings suggest that the change of audit firm causes delay in the preparation and publication of the audit report. Moreover, enterprises that receive qualified opinions are expected to publish their audit report earlier than enterprises that receive unqualified opinions. Additionally, when the chief executive officer is concurrently the chairman of the board of directors and the board of directors has a low degree of independence in enterprises, the level of audit report lag falls. The empirical results of this study provide a solid foundation for policymakers and other stakeholders to make decisions in establishing effective mechanisms for corporate governance and determining public time-appropriate audit report.