Examining the impact of external auditors on firm value: evidence of listed firm on ghana stock exchange

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Date
2023
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KNUST
Abstract
The primary aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between external auditors and firm value among firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The study proxied external auditors with audit firm and audit fees while firm value proxied by Tobin’s Q. The control variables in the study are firm size, firm age, and industry type. A quantitative research approach was used to examine the effect of external auditors on firm value among firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The study focuses on the effect of external auditors on firm value and control for other firm-specific factors such as size, age, and industry sector. Secondary data was gathered from these listed firms from 2010 to 2021 based on the availability of data. The study performed Hausman test which chose the fixed effect model as the appropriate model over the random effect model. Thus, the study adopted the fixed effect model to help achieve the objectives of the study. The study used a dynamic model to account for heteroscedasticity, endogeneity, serial correlation, and the propensity of firm value to endure over time, using the generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimator. After testing the hypotheses of the study, the researcher found a statistically significant negative relationship between audit fees and the value of listed firms on the Ghana stock exchange. However, it revealed a significant positive relationship between the choice of audit firm and the value of the listed firm. This confirms other previous studies that analyses the nexus of audit firm and the value of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The researcher suggested that further studies should incorporate how audit quality affects the link between audit fees and firm value
Description
Master of business administration (accounting)
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