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1 – 10 of 39Tamer Elswah, Eid Abozaid and Ahmed Diab
The various factors influencing audit fees are still unclear, which may undermine the possibility of attaining fair audit pricing. Against this concern, this study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The various factors influencing audit fees are still unclear, which may undermine the possibility of attaining fair audit pricing. Against this concern, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the auditee’s corporate characteristics and audit fees. In addition, it reveals if accounting comparability, as a proxy for financial reporting quality, mediates such a relationship by bringing evidence from an emerging market.
Design/methodology/approach
This study depends on data from nonfinancial companies listed on the Egyptian stock exchange from 2016 to 2019. It adopts multiple regression models to test the impact of corporate characteristics and accounting comparability on audit fees and uses path analysis to test the indirect effect of the audit clients’ characteristics on audit fees through accounting comparability.
Findings
The authors found a significant positive (negative) effect of firm profitability on audit fees (accounting comparability). Further, accounting comparability has a significant negative effect on audit fees. The authors also found that accounting comparability partially mediates the significant relationship between profitability and audit fees. However, the authors found no significant association between leverage and audit fees. Finally, the authors found that accounting comparability does not mediate the relationship between leverage and audit fees.
Practical implications
This study’s findings can benefit audit practitioners in Egypt by showing the main factors affecting audit fees, especially audit clients’ attributes. The current findings also guide professional bodies responsible for issuing accounting and audit standards regarding the importance of financial reporting quality for audit pricing decisions.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by examining the mediating effect of accounting comparability concerning the corporate characteristics-audit fees relationship in developing African countries such as Egypt. This study’s findings can benefit audit practitioners in Egypt by showing the main factors affecting audit fees, especially audit clients’ attributes. The current findings also guide professional bodies responsible for issuing accounting and audit standards regarding the importance of financial reporting quality for audit pricing decisions.
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Saleh Aly Saleh Aly, Ahmed Diab and Samir Ibrahim Abdelazim
This study aims to investigate the impact of audit fees on audit quality, the impact of audit quality on firm value and whether these effects are conditional on audit tenure by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of audit fees on audit quality, the impact of audit quality on firm value and whether these effects are conditional on audit tenure by bringing evidence from an emerging market.
Design/methodology/approach
Different regression techniques are used, such as logistic regression, probit regression, ordinary least squares regression and fixed effects regression. The authors used panel data of 80 nonfinancial Egyptian-listed firms over 2016–2020.
Findings
The authors found a significant positive relationship between audit fees and audit quality and a significant positive relationship between audit quality and firm value. Furthermore, the authors found that the positive relationship between audit fees and audit quality is less pronounced for higher audit tenure firms. Finally, the authors also found that the positive relationship between audit quality and firm value is stronger for lower audit tenure firms.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to bring evidence from an emerging African market about the joint association between audit tenure, audit fees, audit quality and firm value. It provides beneficial insights to regulators regarding the possibility and the benefits of improving audit quality, which is critically needed in contexts with weak governance systems.
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Amal Mohamed El-Moursy, Zeinab Mohmed Abdel Mageid, Manar Yahia Ismail Abd El-Aziz, Nour Asser and Osama Hakeim
Wearing clothes requires specifications for feeling comfortable, derived from the fibres, fabrics and finishing properties. This study aims to deal with the effect of economic…
Abstract
Purpose
Wearing clothes requires specifications for feeling comfortable, derived from the fibres, fabrics and finishing properties. This study aims to deal with the effect of economic blends containing hollow fibres, bamboo and cotton/polyester waste on the mechanical properties of the produced fabrics and the appropriate end use.
Design/methodology/approach
This research included two blends: one consisted of cotton/polyester wastes blended with bamboo and the other to which Chorisia fibres were added. Two weft counts 10,6/1 Ne were made from each blend, which were used to produce four fabric samples (S1 Chorisia-free and S2 with Chorisia); additionally, another two samples were dyed that contain Chorisia (S3) from each count. The six samples were tested by Kawabata Evaluation System (KES).
Findings
The samples gave a good total hand value (THV) for use as men's winter suits, where the thicker count 6/1, with and without Chorisia had better properties, also both counts 6, 10/1 with dye. The hollow fibres affected the fabrics’ properties, including thickness, shear, bending, thermal conductivity and weight. Both blends had a positive effect on THV.
Research limitations/implications
Cotton/polyester waste, Chorisia and bamboo fibres were tested, and 2% Remazol Yellow GNL dye was used.
Practical implications
The ratio of blending, weft counts and dye affected the fabric’s properties, with consequences for the use of the Kawabata system and its applications.
Social implications
The fabrics used in this research may be considered to be economical and have good THV.
Originality/value
The study proved the usefulness of fabrics made of two blends. The Chorisia component may be seen as a good alternative to cotton fibres to reduce the cost of producing high-consumption winter suit fabrics.
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This study investigates the influence of the surrounding institutional context, with a particular focus on the professional perspective, on accounting education in two leading…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the influence of the surrounding institutional context, with a particular focus on the professional perspective, on accounting education in two leading developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), by focusing on public universities’ undergraduate level in the two countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an interpretative approach, this study uses data collected mainly through interviews with the members of the key accounting professional and regulatory bodies, accounting professors and accounting graduates in Egypt and KSA. Theoretically, this study uses insights from the institutional theory to understand the institutional context shaping accounting education in the two examined settings.
Findings
Despite sharing several cultural aspects, we noticed differences in accounting education in the two MENA countries. We explained how the dominant institutional perspective in these contexts (i.e. the professional perspective) affects accounting education, resulting in various implications for accounting graduates and the accounting profession. In Egypt, we noticed a retreatment of the professional perspective due to the dominance of an economic perspective informed by the worse economic conditions in the country, negatively affecting accounting education. In contrast, accounting education in KSA is primarily driven by the professional context aided by the availability of facilities and resources as well as the centrality of the role played by professionals and regulators in accounting education, which has directed accounting educators towards incorporating professional knowledge into accounting curricula.
Practical implications
By highlighting the influence of the professional context on accounting education in a particular developing country, the findings of this study can guide regulators and policymakers in other developing countries concerning developing their accounting education programmes. Furthermore, professionals should allow accounting academics to contribute to developing the accounting profession and employers should support accounting students’ training and development.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by examining the situation of accounting education beyond Western developed contexts, presenting an extensive theoretical explanation of the salient institutional perspectives shaping that situation.
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Aref M. Eissa, Tamer Elgendy and Ahmed Diab
This study investigates the effect of earnings management (EM) and institutional ownership (IO) on investment efficiency (IE). It also investigates the effect of IO, as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the effect of earnings management (EM) and institutional ownership (IO) on investment efficiency (IE). It also investigates the effect of IO, as a governance mechanism, on the relation between EM and IE.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines a sample of Egyptian firms listed on EGX100 during the period 2014–2019. The data are collected manually from firms’ annual reports and governance reports obtained from Egypt for Information Dissemination Company. We depend on the t-test, Pearson correlation, and OLS regression to test our hypotheses.
Findings
The results revealed a negative relationship between EM and IE. In contrast, IO has a significant and positive effect on IE. The results also show that IO mitigates the negative implications of EM for IE. Additionally, we find robust evidence for the governance role of pressure-insensitive IO, as it has a positive effect on IE and on mitigating the negative effects of EM on IE.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effect of IO as a governance mechanism on the relationship between EM and IE. The results of this study can be of interest to investors, regulators, and policy-makers due to highlighting the potential implications of EM and IO for firms’ investment decisions in Egypt–one of the important emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa.
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Zayyad Abdul-Baki and Ahmed Diab
The purpose of this study is to examine both the responses of auditees to corporate governance audit (CGA) regulation and the practices of CGA auditors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine both the responses of auditees to corporate governance audit (CGA) regulation and the practices of CGA auditors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed method. Content analysis of 200 annual and CGA reports was carried out for 13 years, from 2008 to 2021, split into voluntary disclosure and mandatory disclosure periods. Quantitative analysis was also conducted using Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's tests. Data gathered were interpreted through the lens of isomorphism and Oliver's (1991) strategic responses to institutional processes.
Findings
The study revealed that in the voluntary disclosure period, auditees responded mainly with acquiescence, motivated by mimetic isomorphic pressure. In the mandatory disclosure period, auditee responses ranged from acquiescence to dismissal of corporate governance regulation (i.e. coercive isomorphic pressure). Auditor reporting of CGA findings was found to be heterogeneous, suggesting that normative and mimetic isomorphism did not homogenize auditor practices.
Practical implications
The absence of uniform auditee responses to CGA regulation during the mandatory disclosure period suggests that the purpose of mandating the regulation has not yet been achieved and may signal inadequate coercive isomorphic pressure from the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN). Similarly, heterogeneous reporting of CGA findings by corporate governance auditors inhibits the comparability of audit findings, limiting their value for information users.
Originality/value
This study examines corporate governance auditor practices and auditee responses to corporate governance audit regulation.
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This study objective is twofold. This study aims to present an institutional analysis of the implications of job localization programs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries…
Abstract
Purpose
This study objective is twofold. This study aims to present an institutional analysis of the implications of job localization programs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Further, it highlights the impacts of these programs on the accounting profession.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based primarily on the desktop research method, where data is collected from the review of previous studies, published data on Internet Websites and reports released by International organizations such as the United Nations. In addition, the study benefitted from conducting six interviews with government officials from GCC countries. Theoretically, this study draws upon insights from the institutional logics theory to discern higher-order institutions deriving job localization decisions in the GCC region.
Findings
This paper explained how job localization policies in the GCC region are informed by three central logics: economic, socio-political and professional. Despite contributing to achieving some socio-political goals for policymakers, these policies could have serious consequences for the practice of the professions and, hence, the local business environment. Besides, this paper highlighted the serious localization policies' impacts on the accounting profession, especially the quality of the workforce (accountants) and their job readiness.
Practical implications
This study highlights the various implications of job localization policies for locals, foreigners, public and private sector entities and governments. Besides, it has recommended some actions to mitigate the negative influences of such policies on the surrounding society.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by following an interpretative approach in explaining the localization of the accounting profession from an institutional perspective by bringing new evidence from GCC emerging markets.
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Musa Hasan Ghazwani, Mark Whittington and Ahmed Diab
This study aims to examine anti-corruption disclosure (ACD) following government legislation, specifically the UK Bribery Act, 2010, through focusing on the UK extractive industry.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine anti-corruption disclosure (ACD) following government legislation, specifically the UK Bribery Act, 2010, through focusing on the UK extractive industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses content analysis for data analysis with an ACD checklist developed to capture ACD in annual reports during the period 2003–2019.
Findings
The study found an increase in ACD following 2010, with companies answering ACD questions and addressing categories that they previously ignored.
Originality/value
Most of the previous studies have examined voluntary ACD; this study contributes to the literature by applying an index developed from government regulation to investigate the difference that regulation can make to disclosure. Hence, this study provides evidence of how, from an institutional perspective, legislation plays an important role in facilitating and endorsing anti-corruption reporting.
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Zayyad Abdul-Baki, Ahmed Diab and Abdelrhman Yusuf
We investigate how existing investment in strong external corporate governance mechanism—use of Big 4 audit firms—affect compliance with corporate governance audit (CGA…
Abstract
Purpose
We investigate how existing investment in strong external corporate governance mechanism—use of Big 4 audit firms—affect compliance with corporate governance audit (CGA) regulation in Nigeria and Kenya. While both countries are characterized by weak enforcement, they differ in their corporate governance audit regulatory strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts neo-institutional theory as a theoretical framework and uses logit and probit models and generalized estimating equations as empirical models to test the hypotheses developed.
Findings
The study finds that persuasive coercive isomorphism provides reputational benefits to clients of multinational audit firms in Kenya and encourages them to conduct and report their CGA. In Nigeria, clients of multinational audit firms are less likely to conduct CGA as there is no persuasive coercive isomorphism in place. We also find many internal corporate governance variables to positively influence CGA.
Practical implications
The success of any regulation is dependent on the level of compliance by regulated entities. As clients of multinational audit firms usually have the motivation and resources to employ such high quality audit firms, it is expected that if they are well motivated, they will commit similar level of resources to conducting CGA. In Nigeria, the Financial Reporting Council should develop some persuasive measures to encourage clients of multinational audit firms to conduct CGA. In both Nigeria and Kenya, enforcement of internal corporate governance frameworks should be strengthened.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore how regulatory strategies affect strategic responses of regulated entities to CGA regulation, introducing a new dimension to the ESG literature.
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Mohamed Esmail Elmaghrabi and Ahmed Diab
This study aims to examine the association between anti-corruption corporate disclosure and earnings management practices by bringing evidence from a developed market.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the association between anti-corruption corporate disclosure and earnings management practices by bringing evidence from a developed market.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data from non-financial FTSE 100 Shares in 2016 and 2017. This study develops a disclosure index to capture the anti-corruption disclosures and run pooled, fixed effects and generalized methods of moments regression models to explore the anti-corruption disclosure–earnings management association. This study also disentangles discretionary accruals into positive and negative, use adjusted discretionary accrual computation and take a more conservative view on discretionary accruals computation as an additional analysis.
Findings
The results show a negative and significant association between anti-corruption disclosure and earnings management practices. When disentangling discretionary accruals (overvalued/positive and undervalued/negative), the authors found that higher anti-corruption disclosures were negatively associated with positive discretionary accruals, but not associated with negative discretionary accruals. The additional analysis confirmed the previous results, showing that anti-corruption disclosures are perceived as a substantive practice, rather than a mere disclosure practice for legitimacy reasons.
Originality/value
This study contributes to debate on the symbolic versus the substantive uses of anti-corruption disclosures in the UK context.
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