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

Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

مقاله 4، دوره 10، شماره 1 - شماره پیاپی 34، بهار 2026، صفحه 67-89   

نوع مقاله: Original Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijaaf.2026.47154.1571

نویسندگان

Mohsen Khotanlou؛ Mahdi Kazemioloum^*

Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

چکیده

Recent changes to Auditing Standard 701 have affected audits in recent years. As per Standard 701, auditors are required to include the key audit matters (KAMs) part in the audit report. However, this section may require them to spend more time and effort, potentially delaying the issuance of the audit report. Consequently, this study examined how the disclosure of key audit matters affects the audit report lag, while simultaneously considering the moderating effects of gender diversity among audit firm partners. 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. Findings showed that audit report issuance is delayed when key audit matters are disclosed. 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 research results were further validated through a robustness test that split the research samples into two time periods: before and after the need for Auditing Standard 701. More transparency about the audit process follows from disclosing important audit matters, which prompts auditors to investigate them more thoroughly, requiring additional work and adding time to the audit reporting process. There is an increase in audit report lag because auditors need to spend more time and effort to support disclosures on important audit concerns, which are intended to reduce litigation risk and improve audit quality. The results also suggest that the personality traits and gender characteristics of audit partners, as well as differences in risk tolerance between male and female auditors, can influence the disclosure of key audit matters and, consequently, the issuance of audit reports. 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 the issuance of audit reports, indicating that auditors should consider this when planning the audit process and its time budget.

کلیدواژه‌ها

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

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