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Does gender diversity in the audit committee influence key audit matters' readability in the audit report? UK evidence

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  • Patrick Velte

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the percentage of women on audit committees (WOAC) in UK firms and auditors' disclosures on key audit matters (KAM) from 2014 to 2015. The results show that firms with a higher percentage of WOAC have higher readability of KAM disclosures as measured by the Flesch reading ease index. By modifying our dependent and independent variables, sensitivity tests (Blau index and Fog readability index) also corroborate the expectation that WOAC will lead to greater readability of KAM disclosures, with stricter monitoring activities and greater risk avoidance in the audit committee. We provide a useful contribution to recent empirical sustainable corporate governance literature for practices, researchers, and regulators.

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  • Patrick Velte, 2018. "Does gender diversity in the audit committee influence key audit matters' readability in the audit report? UK evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 748-755, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:25:y:2018:i:5:p:748-755
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1491
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sau Yu Ong & Robyn Moroney & Xinning Xiao, 2022. "How do key audit matter characteristics combine to impact financial statement understandability?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 805-835, March.
    2. Duboisée de Ricquebourg, Alan & Maroun, Warren, 2023. "How do auditor rotations affect key audit matters? Archival evidence from South African audits," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    3. Guo, Mengmeng & Su, Yun & Zhao, Rui, 2024. "The effect of expanded audit report on IPO underpricing: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    4. Sonia Boukattaya & Zied Ftiti & Maher Jeriji & Waël Louhichi, 2024. "Does committees' gender diversity affect firms' environmental and social performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3550-3568, May.
    5. Nicolás Gambetta & Laura Sierra‐García & María Antonia García‐Benau & Josefina Novejarque‐Civera, 2023. "The Informative Value of Key Audit Matters in the Audit Report: Understanding the Impact of the Audit Firm and KAM Type," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(2), pages 114-134, June.
    6. Hüseyin Temiz & Merve Acar, 2023. "Board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in different disclosure environments," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2247-2264, September.
    7. Ibrahim Emair Albawwat & Mohammad Nawaf Al harasees, 2019. "Gender Attributes of Audit Committee Members and the Quality of Financial Reports," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 9(3), pages 24-37, July.
    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. Sierra-García, Laura & Gambetta, Nicolás & García-Benau, María A. & Orta-Pérez, Manuel, 2019. "Understanding the determinants of the magnitude of entity-level risk and account-level risk key audit matters: The case of the United Kingdom," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 227-240.
    10. Khine Kyaw & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn & Chaiyuth Padungsaksawasdi, 2022. "Does board gender diversity improve the welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 200-210, January.
    11. Ilyass Chaker, 2022. "Les caractéristiques des comités d'audit : Déterminants de la performance financière et de la qualité informationnelle ?," Post-Print hal-03680709, HAL.
    12. Nicolás Gambetta & Laura Sierra García & María Antonia García Benau & Josefina Novejarque Civera, 2022. "The informative value of Key Audit Matters in the audit report," Documentos de Investigación 129, Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales.

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