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Does Board Independence Affect Audit Fees? Evidence from Recent Regulatory Reforms

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  • John Ziyang Zhang
  • Yangxin Yu

Abstract

To enhance board oversight, since 2002, US legislation has required listed companies to have a majority independent board. This paper uses this legislative change to examine the relation between board independence and audit fees. To provide a clean estimate of this relation, we adopt a difference-in-difference approach using a sample matched on client firm characteristics. We find that greater board independence is insignificantly associated with a change in audit fees when client firms operate in a weak information environment. When the information environment is strong, greater board independence is associated with an increase in audit fees. Our results are consistent with the nascent theory emphasizing information asymmetry and provide insight into the effectiveness of the mandated board independence in relation to audit quality.

Suggested Citation

  • John Ziyang Zhang & Yangxin Yu, 2016. "Does Board Independence Affect Audit Fees? Evidence from Recent Regulatory Reforms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 793-814, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:25:y:2016:i:4:p:793-814
    DOI: 10.1080/09638180.2015.1117007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Smith, Deborah Drummond & Gleason, Kimberly C. & Kannan, Yezen H., 2021. "Auditor liability and excess cash holdings: Evidence from audit fees of foreign incorporated firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
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    4. Minfeng Yu & Yi Si & Gaoliang Tian & Lei Zhang, 2023. "Climate risk and audit fees: An international study," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 4989-5025, December.
    5. Masoud, Najeb & Al-Utaibi, Ghassan, 2022. "The determinants of cybersecurity risk disclosure in firms’ financial reporting: Empirical evidence," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 131-140.

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