Determinants of audit fees: evidence from companies listed on ghana stock exchange.
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Date
2023
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KNUST
Abstract
If the auditor is unable to give a strong audit quality, this will have an effect on unfair financial statements, lowering investor trust in the market, increasing investment risk, and increasing working capital expenses. The main aim of the study is to examine the relationship between firm-level variables and audit fees among firms listed on the GSE. The research employed descriptive-analytic and exploratory. Descriptive analytics was used for analyzing and synthesizing historical data of the company's budget statements to recognize the trends and make meaning of them. On December 31, 2020, there were sixteen non-financial companies listed on the GSE, making up the study's target population, ten non-financial enterprises listed on the GSE were specifically chosen using the purposive sample technique. Although additional sources were also used, the annual reports and statements of accounts of the selected financial institutions served as the primary source of secondary data. The study employs multiple regression to find the relationship between the variables under investigation in the data analysis, cross-sectional and time-series data are combined. The study revealed that ROA has a negative and significant relationship with audit fee, it was also revealed that firm size and leverage has a positive and significant influence on audit fees. But the study revealed that audit firm tenure, have an insignificant influence on audit fee. Therefore study concludes that the firm-level variables affecting audit fees include profitability (ROA), firm size and leverage but it excludes audit firm tenure. It is recommended that businesses put into place a corporate governance framework of principles and procedures by which the board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in the consumer goods industry because profitability has a negative relationship with audit fees.
Description
A thesis submitted to the department of accounting and finance, institute of distance learning, kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science (accounting and finance)