IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/rafpps/v9y2010i4p363-381.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Audit quality attributes, client size and cost of equity capital

Author

Listed:
  • Guy D. Fernando
  • Ahmed M. Abdel‐Meguid
  • Randal J. Elder

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of certain audit quality attributes, namely auditor size, auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure on a client firm's cost of equity capital. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses empirical data to construct a measure ofex antecost of equity capital for each firm and year using analyst forecasts. Independent audit quality measures used are auditor size, auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure. Firm cost of equity capital is regressed against the three independent variables and appropriate control variables. Findings - The paper finds that auditor size (auditor is a member of the BigX), auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure are negatively associated with the client firm's cost of equity capital. However, the paper finds that this effect is limited only to small client firms, potentially reflecting the poor information environment associated with such firms. Practical implications - The study highlights the importance of audit quality attributes in determining the firm's cost of capital. It also highlights ways in which firms (especially small firms) can reduce the cost of equity capital by improving their information environment through the judicious selection of auditors. Originality/value - This is believed to be the first paper to examine whether the effects of three audit quality attributes (auditor size, auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure) on a firm's cost of capital are dependent on the client's size. The paper empirically shows that such effects are more pronounced for smaller clients.

Suggested Citation

  • Guy D. Fernando & Ahmed M. Abdel‐Meguid & Randal J. Elder, 2010. "Audit quality attributes, client size and cost of equity capital," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 363-381, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:rafpps:v:9:y:2010:i:4:p:363-381
    DOI: 10.1108/14757701011094571
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/14757701011094571/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/14757701011094571/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/14757701011094571?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 F. Larcker & Scott A. Richardson, 2004. "Fees Paid to Audit Firms, Accrual Choices, and Corporate Governance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 625-658, June.
    2. 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.
    3. Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell & Darius P. Miller, 2004. "Does Auditor Quality and Tenure Matter to Investors? Evidence from the Bond Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 755-793, September.
    4. Guillermo Llorente & Roni Michaely & Gideon Saar & Jiang Wang, 2002. "Dynamic Volume-Return Relation of Individual Stocks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1005-1047.
    5. 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.
    6. Obrien, Pc & Bhushan, R, 1990. "Analyst Following And Institutional Ownership," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28, pages 55-76.
    7. Newey, Whitney & West, Kenneth, 2014. "A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 33(1), pages 125-132.
    8. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    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. Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & van Zijl, Tony & Dunstan, Keitha & Karim, A.K.M. Waresul, 2015. "Corporate ethics and auditor choice – international evidence," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 57-65.
    2. Nguyen, Lily & Vu, Le & Yin, Xiangkang, 2020. "The undesirable effect of audit quality: Evidence from firm innovation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    3. Justin Logie & Warren Maroun, 2021. "Evaluating Audit Quality Using the Results of Inspection Processes Performed by an Independent Regulator," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 31(2), pages 128-149, June.
    4. Indrayati & Sumiadji & Jaswadi, 2022. "Implementing Public Accountant Professional Standards to Improve Audit Quality in Public Accountant Firms in East Java, Indonesia," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(1), pages 34-45, January.
    5. Phung Anh Thu & Thai Hong Thuy Khanh & Nguyen Tran Thai Ha & Nguyen Vinh Khuong, 2018. "Perceived Audit Quality, Earnings Management and Cost of Debt Capital: Evidence from the Energy Listed Firms on Vietnam s Stock Market," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(6), pages 120-127.
    6. Muhammad Jahangir Ali & Seema Miglani & Man Dang & Premkanth Puwanenthiren & Mazur Mieszko, 2022. "Do family firms pay less for external funding?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(2), pages 225-250, May.
    7. Veronica Grosu & Dorel Mateș & Monica-Laura Zlati & Svetlana Mihaila & Marian Socoliuc & Marius-Sorin Ciubotariu & Simona-Maria Tanasă, 2020. "Econometric Model for Readjusting Significance Threshold Levels through Quick Audit Tests Used on Sustainable Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-32, October.
    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. Mihai Carp & Costel Istrate, 2021. "Audit Quality under Influences of Audit Firm and Auditee Characteristics: Evidence from the Romanian Regulated Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Persakis, Anthony & Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2015. "Cost of capital, audit and earnings quality under financial crisis: A global empirical investigation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 3-24.
    11. Maroun, Warren & Atkins, Jill, 2014. "Section 45 of the Auditing Profession Act: Blowing the whistle for audit quality?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 248-263.

    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. Andy Lardon & Marc Deloof, 2014. "Financial disclosure by SMEs listed on a semi-regulated market: evidence from the Euronext Free Market," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 361-385, February.
    2. Hamid Mehran & Stavros Peristiani, 2010. "Financial Visibility and the Decision to Go Private," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(2), pages 519-547, February.
    3. Nicola Cetorelli & Stavros Peristiani, 2015. "Firm Value and Cross Listings: The Impact of Stock Market Prestige," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-31, March.
    4. Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell & Darius P. Miller, 2004. "Does Auditor Quality and Tenure Matter to Investors? Evidence from the Bond Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 755-793, September.
    5. Tomasz Wójtowicz, 2017. "High-volume return premium on the stock markets in Warsaw and Vienna," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 48(4), pages 375-402.
    6. Bley, Jorg & Saad, Mohsen & Samet, Anis, 2019. "Auditor choice and bank risk taking," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 37-52.
    7. Jeong-Bon Kim & Mikhail Pevzner & Xiangang Xin, 2019. "Foreign institutional ownership and auditor choice: Evidence from worldwide institutional ownership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 83-110, February.
    8. Anginer, Deniz & Mansi, Sattar & Warburton, A. Joseph & Yildizhan, Celim, 2011. "Firm Reputation and Cost of Debt Capital," MPRA Paper 64965, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Jun 2015.
    9. Dang, Man & Puwanenthiren, Premkanth & Truong, Cameron & Henry, Darren & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2022. "Audit quality and seasoned equity offerings methods," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Wang, Zijun, 2021. "The high volume return premium and economic fundamentals," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 325-345.
    11. Jagjeev Dosanjh, 2017. "Exchange Initiatives and Market Efficiency: Evidence from the Australian Securities Exchange," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 1-2017, January-A.
    12. Balasingham Balachandran & Robert Faff & Lily H. G. Nguyen & Premkanth Puwanenthiren, 2020. "The impact of audit quality in rights offerings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2007-2037, September.
    13. Huq, Asif & Hartwig, Fredrik & Rudholm, Niklas, 2018. "Do audited firms have lower cost of debt?," HUI Working Papers 132, HUI Research.
    14. Frieder, Laura & Subrahmanyam, Avanidhar, 2001. "Brand Perceptions and the Market for Common Stock, forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative," University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson Graduate School of Management qt2kt3g862, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA.
    15. Asif M. Huq & Fredrik Hartwig & Niklas Rudholm, 2022. "Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 153-175, June.
    16. Bianchi, Daniele & Babiak, Mykola & Dickerson, Alexander, 2022. "Trading volume and liquidity provision in cryptocurrency markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    17. Lin, Yongjia Rebecca & Fu, Xiaoqing Maggie, 2017. "Does institutional ownership influence firm performance? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 17-57.
    18. repec:uts:finphd:34 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Rizzo, Emanuele, 2018. "Essays on corporate governance and the impact of regulation on financial markets," Other publications TiSEM b5158260-ea13-4763-b992-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Datta, Sudip & Gruskin, Mark & Iskandar-Datta, Mai, 2024. "Auditor certification and long-run performance of IPO stocks," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    21. Syrine Sassi & Narjess Toumi, 2018. "Product market competition and analyst following," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(1), pages 55-88, March.

    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:eme:rafpps:v:9:y:2010:i:4:p:363-381. 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.