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The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of e-trust and e-satisfaction in the relationship between e-service quality and e-loyalty in the context of e-government services.

The data were collected via an online questionnaire of Jordanian citizens. The structural equation model based on partial least squares was used to test hypotheses.

The findings showed that e-service quality has a positive and significant effect on e-loyalty. E-service quality has a positive and significant effect on both e-trust and e-satisfaction. E-trust and e-satisfaction have a positive and significant effect on e-loyalty. E-trust has a positive effect on e-satisfaction. Finally, regarding the mediating effect of e-trust and e-satisfaction, e-trust and e-satisfaction partially mediate the relationship between e-service quality and e-loyalty in the context of e-government services, and hence all hypotheses were accepted.

The results of this research aid governmental policymakers in implementing information and communication technology strategies that streamline citizens’ transactions and promote their active engagement in e-government initiatives. Additionally, the government has suggested improving awareness campaigns and providing training for employees to enhance the quality of e-services provided to citizens.

This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of the COVID-19 epidemic on the relationship between key audit matter (KAM) and auditing quality.

The authors use the ordinary least squares regression on data from 942 firm-year observations of Jordanian non-financial institutions across the period (2017–2022) to test the hypotheses. The authors use content analysis method to measure levels of KAM disclosure.

The investigation’s findings highlight the importance of KAM disclosure in achieving audit quality in line with international standard on auditing no. 701 (ISA-701) requirements. COVID-19 is also found to have a positive relationship with audit quality, further confirming the crisis’s devastating impact on audit complexity and risks and providing evidence for the need for supplementary, high-quality audit services. Due to the correlation between KAM disclosure and increased auditor workload and responsibility, the analysis reveals that the COVID-19 factor strengthens the link between KAM disclosure and audit quality.

This study has the potential to be used as a basis for the creation of a new regulation or standard regarding the reporting of unfavourable events in financial filings. This study’s findings provide standard-setters, regulators and policymakers with current empirical data on the effects of implementing ISA-701’s mandate for external auditors to provide more information on KAM. The COVID-19 crisis offers a suitable setting in which to examine the value of precautionary disclosures in times of economic uncertainty, as well as the significance of confidence interval disclosures and the role of external auditing in calming investor fears. This analysis is helpful for stakeholders, regulatory agencies, standard-setters and readers of audit reports who are curious about the current state of KAM disclosures and the implementation of ISA-701. The results may have ramifications for academia in the form of a call for more evidence expanding this data to other burgeoning fields to have a clear explanation of the real impact of reporting KAM on audit practices.

To the authors’ awareness, this research is one of the few empirical studies on the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on auditing procedures, and more specifically, the effect of disclosures on KAM by external auditors on audit quality. This study’s findings represent preliminary scientific evidence linking the pandemic to business performance. Minimal research has been done on how auditors in developing nations react to pandemic investor protection and how auditors’ enlarged reporting responsibilities affect them. The vast majority of auditing studies have been conducted in a highly regulated system, so this research contributes by examining audit behaviour in a weak legal context.