Female Audit Partners and Extended Audit Reporting: UK Evidence

Abdelfattah, Tarek and Elmahgoub, Mohamed and Elamer, Ahmed A. (2020) Female Audit Partners and Extended Audit Reporting: UK Evidence. Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544

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Abstract

This study investigates whether audit partner gender is associated with the extent of auditor disclosure and the communication style regarding risks of material misstatements that are classified as key audit matters (KAMs). Using a sample of UK firms during the 2013–2017 period, our results suggest that female audit partners are more likely than male audit partners to disclose more KAMs with more details after controlling for both client and audit firm attributes. Furthermore, female audit partners are found to use a less optimistic tone and provide less readable audit reports, compared to their male counterparts, suggesting that behavioural variances between female and male audit partners may have significant implications on their writing style. Therefore, this study offers new insights on the role of audit partner gender in extended audit reporting. Our findings have important implications for audit firms, investors, policymakers and governments in relation to the development, implementation and enforcement of gender diversity.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1007/s10551-020-04607-0
Dates:	Date Event 19 August 2020 Accepted 15 September 2020 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Auditor gender, Key audit matters, Gender differences, Extended audit reporting, Tone, Readability, UK
Subjects:	CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-02 - business studies CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-08 - accounting
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Accountancy, Finance and Economics > Centre for Accountancy Finance and Economics Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Accountancy, Finance and Economics Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Business, Digital Transformation & Entrepreneurship
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2020 11:05
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2024 12:06
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9932

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