Gender and ethnicity of CEO and audit committee members (directors) and audit fees and audit delay

What is it about?

Firms with female and ethnic minority CEOs pay significantly higher audit fees than those with male Caucasian CEOs. The authors also find that firms with a higher percentage of ethnic minority directors on their audit committee pay significantly higher audit fees. Firms with female CEOs have shorter audit delay than firms with male CEOs and firms with a higher percentage of female and ethnic minority directors on their audit committee are associated with shorter audit delay.

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Why is it important?

This study suggests that gender and ethnic diversity could improve audit quality and the firms’ overall financial reporting quality