IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jiaata/v41y2020ics1061951820300574.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Audit committee effectiveness and non-audit service fees: Evidence from UK family firms

Author

Listed:
  • Al-Okaily, Jihad
  • BenYoussef, Nourhene

Abstract

This study examines whether the presence of an ineffective audit committee at family and non-family firms can influence the firms’ non-audit service purchases from the incumbent auditor. Using a sample of 1736 observations of UK-listed companies from 2005 to 2013, we find a significant positive association between ineffective audit committees and non-audit service fees. This association is more pronounced for family than for non-family firms, suggesting that in the UK, family firms with ineffective audit committees tend to buy more non-audit services from their incumbent auditors than non-family firms. The results also show that family firms with ineffective audit committees pay higher non-audit service fees when their family members own shares or hold board positions, indicating that both types of involvement lead to larger non-audit service expenditures.

Suggested Citation

  • Al-Okaily, Jihad & BenYoussef, Nourhene, 2020. "Audit committee effectiveness and non-audit service fees: Evidence from UK family firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jiaata:v:41:y:2020:i:c:s1061951820300574
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2020.100356
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1061951820300574
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2020.100356?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. David Hay & Robert Knechel & Vivian Li, 2006. "Non‐audit Services and Auditor Independence: New Zealand Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5‐6), pages 715-734, June.
    2. Chen, Shuping & Chen, Xia & Cheng, Qiang & Shevlin, Terry, 2010. "Are family firms more tax aggressive than non-family firms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 41-61, January.
    3. Lawrence J. Abbott & Susan Parker & Gary F. Peters & K. Raghunandan, 2003. "An Empirical Investigation of Audit Fees, Nonaudit Fees, and Audit Committees," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 215-234, June.
    4. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    5. Joseph V. Carcello & Dana R. Hermanson & Terry L. Neal & Richard A. Riley, 2002. "Board Characteristics and Audit Fees," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 365-384, September.
    6. Rick Antle & Elizabeth Gordon & Ganapathi Narayanamoorthy & Ling Zhou, 2006. "The joint determination of audit fees, non-audit fees, and abnormal accruals," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 235-266, November.
    7. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    8. Simunic, Da, 1980. "The Pricing Of Audit Services - Theory And Evidence," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 161-190.
    9. Michael Dobler, 2014. "Auditor-provided non-audit services in listed and private family firms," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 29(5), pages 427-454, May.
    10. Michael Lubatkin & William S. Schulze & N Dino Richard, 2003. "Exploring the agency consequences of ownership dispersion among the directors of private family firms," Post-Print hal-02311676, HAL.
    11. Paul Klumpes & Iliya Komarev & Konstantinos Eleftheriou, 2016. "The pricing of audit and non-audit services in a regulated environment: a longitudinal study of the UK life insurance industry," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 278-302, April.
    12. Scott Whisenant & Srinivasan Sankaraguruswamy & K. Raghunandan, 2003. "Evidence on the Joint Determination of Audit and Non‐Audit Fees," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 721-744, September.
    13. Joseph P. H. Fan & T. J. Wong, 2005. "Do External Auditors Perform a Corporate Governance Role in Emerging Markets? Evidence from East Asia," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 35-72, March.
    14. K.V. Peasnell & P.F. Pope & S. Young, 2005. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management: Do Outside Directors Influence Abnormal Accruals?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1311-1346, September.
    15. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    16. Poutziouris, Panikkos & Savva, Christos S. & Hadjielias, Elias, 2015. "Family involvement and firm performance: Evidence from UK listed firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 14-32.
    17. Karla M. Johnstone & Jean C. Bedard, 2004. "Audit Firm Portfolio Management Decisions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 659-690, September.
    18. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, 2003. "Agency Problems in Large Family Business Groups," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 367-382, October.
    19. Jihad Al Okaily & Rob Dixon & Aly Salama, 2019. "Corporate governance quality and premature revenue recognition: evidence from the UK," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(1), pages 79-99, January.
    20. Reiner Quick & Matthias Sattler & Daniela Wiemann, 2013. "Agency conflicts and the demand for non-audit services," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(4), pages 323-344, April.
    21. Rick Antle & Elizabeth Gordon & Ganapathi Narayanamoorthy & Ling Zhou, 2002. "The Joint Determination of Audit Fees, Non-Audit Fees, and Abnormal Accruals," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2502, Yale School of Management, revised 02 May 2006.
    22. Mark S. Beasley & Joseph V. Carcello & Dana R. Hermanson & Terry L. Neal, 2009. "The Audit Committee Oversight Process," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 65-122, March.
    23. Michael Lubatkin & Eric Gedajlovic & William S. Schulze, 2004. "Crossing the threshold from founder management to professional management : A governance perspective," Post-Print hal-02311640, HAL.
    24. K.V. Peasnell & P.F. Pope & S. Young, 2005. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management: Do Outside Directors Influence Abnormal Accruals?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7-8), pages 1311-1346.
    25. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Gopal Krishnan & Marietta Peytcheva, 2019. "The Risk of Fraud in Family Firms: Assessments of External Auditors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 261-278, June.
    27. Dechun Wang, 2006. "Founding Family Ownership and Earnings Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 619-656, June.
    28. Michael Lubatkin & William S. Schulze & Richard N. Dino, 2003. "Exploring the agency consequences of ownership dispersion among the directors of private family firms," Post-Print hal-02276698, HAL.
    29. Sameer T. Mustafa & Nourhene Ben Youssef, 2010. "Audit committee financial expertise and misappropriation of assets," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(3), pages 208-225, March.
    30. Ali, Ashiq & Chen, Tai-Yuan & Radhakrishnan, Suresh, 2007. "Corporate disclosures by family firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1-2), pages 238-286, September.
    31. Simunic, Da, 1984. "Auditing, Consulting, And Auditor Independence," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 679-702.
    32. Leung, Sidney & Richardson, Grant & Jaggi, Bikki, 2014. "Corporate board and board committee independence, firm performance, and family ownership concentration: An analysis based on Hong Kong firms," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 16-31.
    33. Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Lester, Richard H. & Cannella Jr., Albert A., 2007. "Are family firms really superior performers?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 829-858, December.
    34. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    35. Mahbub Zaman & Mohammed Hudaib & Roszaini Haniffa, 2011. "Corporate Governance Quality, Audit Fees and Non-Audit Services Fees," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1-2), pages 165-197, January.
    36. Ahsan Habib, 2012. "Non-Audit Service Fees and Financial Reporting Quality: A Meta-Analysis," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 48(2), pages 214-248, June.
    37. Wu, Chloe Yu-Hsuan & Hsu, Hwa-Hsien & Haslam, Jim, 2016. "Audit committees, non-audit services, and auditor reporting decisions prior to failure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 240-256.
    38. 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.
    39. Eric Gedajlovic & Michael H. Lubatkin & William S. Schulze, 2004. "Crossing the Threshold from Founder Management to Professional Management: A Governance Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 899-912, July.
    40. Quick, Reiner & Warming-Rasmussen, B., 2009. "Auditor Independence and the Provision of Non-Audit Services: Perceptions by German Investors," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 39453, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    41. Nourhene BenYoussef & Saqib Khan, 2018. "Timing of earnings restatements: CEO equity compensation and market reaction," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(2), pages 341-365, June.
    42. Quick, Reiner & Sattler, M. & Wiemann, D., 2013. "Agency conflicts and the demand for non-audit services," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 63547, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    43. Annalisa Prencipe & Sasson Bar-Yosef & Henri C. Dekker, 2014. "Accounting Research in Family Firms: Theoretical and Empirical Challenges," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 361-385, September.
    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. Anggita Langgeng WIJAYA & Ima Widha RATNASARI, 2023. "The Effect of the Audit Committee on the Firm Value of State-Owned Enterprises in Indonesia: The Mediation Role of Financial Performance," CECCAR Business Review, Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania (CECCAR), vol. 4(6), pages 60-72, June.
    2. Habiba Al-Shaer & Muhammad Farhan Malik & Mahbub Zaman, 2022. "What do audit committees do? Transparency and impression management," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(4), pages 1443-1468, December.
    3. Marius Eugen Rogoz & Dragos Andrei Stoica & George-Aurelian Tudor, 2022. "Corporate Governance In The Setting Up And Operation The Audit Committees Of Bse Listed Companies," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 2, pages 18-31, April.

    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. Shan, Yuan George & Troshani, Indrit & Tarca, Ann, 2019. "Managerial ownership, audit firm size, and audit fees: Australian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 18-36.
    2. Michael Carney & Marc Van Essen & Eric R. Gedajlovic & Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens, 2015. "What do we know about Private Family Firms? A Meta–Analytical Review," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(3), pages 513-544, May.
    3. 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).
    4. Esra Memili & Kaustav Misra, 2015. "Corporate Governance Provisions, Family Involvement, and Firm Performance in Publicly Traded Family Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-36, July.
    5. Jara-Bertin, Mauricio & López-Iturriaga, Félix J., 2008. "Earnings Management and Contest to the Control: An Analysis of European Family Firms," MPRA Paper 9660, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ghosh, Aloke(Al) & Tang, Charles Y., 2015. "Assessing financial reporting quality of family firms: The auditors׳ perspective," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 95-116.
    7. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Andros Gregoriou, 2010. "‘Family’ Ownership, Tunnelling And Earnings Management: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 705-730, September.
    8. Sang Cheol Lee & Jaewan Park & Mooweon Rhee & Yunkeun Lee, 2018. "Moderating Effects of Agency Problems and Monitoring Systems on the Relationship between Executive Stock Option and Audit Fees: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
    9. De Massis, Alfredo & Kotlar, Josip & Campopiano, Giovanna & Cassia, Lucio, 2013. "Dispersion of family ownership and the performance of small-to-medium size private family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 166-175.
    10. San Martin-Reyna, J.M. & Duran-Encalada, Jorge A., 2012. "The relationship among family business, corporate governance and firm performance: Evidence from the Mexican stock exchange," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 106-117.
    11. Raúl Barroso & Chiraz Ben Ali & Cédric Lesage, 2018. "Blockholders’ Ownership and Audit Fees: The Impact of the Corporate Governance Model," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 149-172, January.
    12. Reshma Kumari Tiwari & Jasojit Debnath, 2021. "Joint Provision of Non-audit Services to Audit Clients: Empirical Evidences from India," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 46(3), pages 153-165, September.
    13. John M. Barrios & Marco Fasan & Daniele Macciocchi, 2013. "CEO turnover, earnings management and value relevance. A theoretical analysis on the Italian context," Working Papers 11, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    14. Wright, Mike & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2011. "Family firms: A research agenda and publication guide," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 187-198.
    15. Praet, Alain, 2013. "Family firms and the divestment decision: An agency perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 34-41.
    16. Chih-Wei Peng & Huei-Ru Tsai & Kuo-Chih Cheng & Tsung-Fu Chuang, 2023. "Do the Choices of Family Business CEOs Affect Investment Decisions?," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 13(6), pages 1-3.
    17. De Fuentes, Cristina & Porcuna, Rubén, 2016. "Main drivers of consultancy services: A meta-analytic approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4775-4780.
    18. George Drogalas & Michail Nerantzidis & Dimitrios Mitskinis & Ioannis Tampakoudis, 2021. "The relationship between audit fees and audit committee characteristics: evidence from the Athens Stock Exchange," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(1), pages 24-41, March.
    19. Stockmans, Annelies & Lybaert, Nadine & Voordeckers, Wim, 2013. "The conditional nature of board characteristics in constraining earnings management in private family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 84-92.
    20. Elisabete F. Simões Vieira, 2016. "Earnings Management in Public Family Firms under Economic Adversity," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 26(2), pages 190-207, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agency problem; Audit committee; Auditor independence; Corporate governance; Family firms; Non-audit service fees; UK;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jiaata:v:41:y:2020:i:c:s1061951820300574. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-international-accounting-auditing-and-taxation .

    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.