Examining the Effect of Auditor Characteristics on Audit Report Delay
Keywords:
Audit report delay, auditor characteristics, auditor industry specialization, auditor tenure, Tehran Stock ExchangeAbstract
This study aims to examine the effect of auditor characteristics, including auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure, on audit report delay among firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. This research is applied, quantitative, and ex post facto in nature, employing an analytical–correlational design. The statistical population consists of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2013–2019, from which a purposive sample of 108 firms was selected. Data were collected from audited financial statements and independent audit reports and analyzed using panel data regression techniques. Regression results indicate that neither auditor industry specialization nor auditor tenure has a statistically significant effect on audit report delay, despite both variables exhibiting negative coefficients. Diagnostic tests confirm acceptable model adequacy and the absence of significant autocorrelation. The findings suggest that, within the Iranian capital market, selected auditor characteristics do not play a decisive role in explaining audit report delay, highlighting the greater importance of firm-specific, institutional, and environmental factors in determining audit timeliness.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Somayeh Arab (Author); Reza Sotudeh (Corresponding author); Abbasali Haqparast, Alireza Hirad (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
