(The thesis) ... highlights the need to strengthen the governance structures of firms operating in developing countries as these structures affect their commitment to credible financial reporting.
Gordon Mwintome
Ph.d.-kandidat
Gordon Mwintome fra Handelshøyskolen ved UiA disputerer for ph.d.-graden med avhandlingen «Essays on Auditor Choice and Audit Disclosures» mandag 27. juni 2022.
Han har fulgt doktorgradsprogrammet ved Handelshøyskolen ved UiA.
Recently, regulators worldwide have sought to improve transparency around the audit process by implementing significant changes to auditor reporting (e.g., key audit matters (KAMs) by the IAASB and critical audit matters (CAMs) by the PCAOB).
While the revisions are being implemented internationally, little is known about how audit disclosures are affected by auditor characteristics.
As auditors are the main actors in the audit process, audit results tend to be affected by the auditors’ characteristics.
In this dissertation, I examined questions relating to auditor choice and how audit results are affected by auditor characteristics. The questions are examined in three studies summarized as follows:
The first study examines the relationship between ownership and choice of external auditors of firms in developing countries and the moderating effect of the strength of country-level institutions. The results show that firms with ownership structures with external stakeholders tend to appoint perceived high-quality auditors. These results are stronger in countries with improving country-level institutions.
The second study investigates how auditor industry specialization and audit committee independence are associated with the reporting of KAMs by auditors. The results show that industry specialized auditors disclose fewer KAMs in their reports while firms with more independent audit committees receive a greater number of KAMs.
The third study explores the influence of audit firm and partner changes on different KAMs attributes like their number, details, and readability. The results show that new audit firms were associated with a greater number of KAMs, but their readability and level of details did not change. New audit partners were associated with fewer KAMs which included more details and were more readable.
Overall, the research provides novel insights for corporate boards, practice, research, policy and regulation.
It highlights the need to strengthen the governance structures of firms operating in developing countries as these structures affect their commitment to credible financial reporting.
It also highlights that auditor changes that occur at the firm and partner level are not uniform and should be taken into consideration when standards requiring these changes are considered.
Prøveforelesning og disputas finner sted i Auditorium I1 066 - Ketil Moes hus, Campus Kristiansand og digitalt i konferanseprogrammet Zoom (lenke under).
Disputasen blir ledet av dekan Roger Henning Normann, Handelshøyskolen ved Universitetet i Agder.
Oppgitt emne for prøveforelesning: «The role of auditors and auditing committees in developed versus developing economies»
Tittel på avhandling: «Essays on Auditor Choice and Audit Disclosures»
Søk etter avhandlingen i AURA - Agder University Research Archive, som er et digitalt arkiv for vitenskapelige artikler, avhandlinger og masteroppgaver fra ansatte og studenter ved Universitetet i Agder. AURA blir jevnlig oppdatert.
Kandidaten: Gordon Mwintome (1989, Ghana ) Bachelor- og mastergrad fra Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi-Ghana.
Førsteopponent: Professor Minna Martikainen, University of Vaasa, Finland
Annenopponent: Førsteamanuensis Carmen Olsen, Høgskulen på Vestlandet, Norge
Bedømmelseskomitéen er ledet av professor emeritus Lars Oxelheim, Handelshøyskolen ved Universitetet i Agder
Veileder i doktorgradsarbeidet var professor Anna Alon, Universitetet i Agder.
Disputasleder inviterer til spørsmål ex auditorio i innledningen i disputasen Tidsfrist for å stille spørsmål er senest i løpet av pausen mellom opponentene. Den som stiller spørsmål bør ha lest avhandlingen. Kontaktpersonens e-post er tilgjengelig i chat-funksjonen under disputasen, og spørsmål ex auditorio fra online publikum kan sendes til Gunvor Guttormsen på e-post gunvor.guttormsen@uia.no Ved spørsmål ex auditorio fra salen henvender spørsmålsstiller seg til disputasleder senest i pausen mellom opponentene.