Key Audit Matters Disclosure and Audit Report Lag: The Moderating Effect of Audit Firm Partner Gender Diversity

Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 04 شهریور 1404

نوع مقاله: Original Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijaaf.2025.94375.1571

نویسندگان

Mohsen Khotanlou¹؛ Mahdi Kazemioloum^{* 2}

¹Assistant Prof., Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

²Assistant Prof., Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

چکیده

In recent years, the mandatory implementation of Auditing Standard 701 has affected the audit process. The inclusion of the key audit matters (KAMs) section in the audit report, as mandated by Standard 701, may result in increased effort and additional time spent by auditors, potentially leading to delays in issuing the audit report. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of disclosing key audit matters on audit report lag, while considering the moderating effect of gender diversity among audit firm partners on this relationship. In this applied research, data from 124 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected over the period from 2018–2023. The research hypotheses were tested using panel data and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicate that a higher number of disclosed key audit matters leads to delays in audit report issuance. Additionally, the results suggest that gender diversity among audit firm partners moderates and weakens the relationship between key audit matters and audit report lag, aligning with the efficiency approach. The findings of this study highlight the impact of Standard 701 on the audit process in the Iranian context and underscore the role of auditor gender in the composition and selection of audit engagement partners. Based on these results, the implementation of Standard 701 and the inclusion of key audit matters result in delays in audit report issuance, indicating that auditors should consider this in planning the audit process and its time budget.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Audit Report Lag؛ Audit Firm Partner Gender Diversity؛ Key Audit Matters