The impact of ownership structure on external audit quality: A comparative study between Egypt and Saudi Arabia

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the ownership structure, which includes concentration ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership in the light of the debt ratio and company size as controlling variables in limiting the earnings management practices of the Jordanian industrial companies for the period 2012–2016. The hypotheses of the study were tested using the multiple regression models. Among the most prominent findings of the study are: the explanatory factor (R2) for the independent and control variables accounts for 38% of the change in the earnings management of the Jordanian industrial companies, moreover, a significant effect of the concentration ownership was found in the limitation of earnings management practices; while, there was no significant influence of institutional ownership and foreign ownership on the earnings management practices in Jordanian industrial companies. Major limitation to this study is the only considered listed industrial Jordanian firms. Thus, the generalization of the results to other sectors and diverse economic conditions and regulations may be constrained. Finally, Jordanian policymaker reform policies motivate companies to increase their interest on concentration ownership structure, as the study showed the significant effect of the concentration ownership in the limitation of earnings management practice.

This literature review evaluates empirical studies which concentrate on economic effects on joint audits from an international perspective. We briefly introduce the theoretical and empirical joint audit framework that comprises an adequate structure of the state-of-the-art of empirical research in this field. This is followed by a discussion of the following output factors of joint audits: (1) audit quality; (2) audit costs and (3) audit market concentration. We will summarize the key findings in each area, and provide a description of the analyzed proxies. Finally, we will discuss the current limitations of the studies and give useful recommendations for future empirical research activities in this topic.

This study investigated the influence of Corporate governance on the timeliness of financial reports of listed banks in Nigeria. In order to provide answers to the research questions raised in this study, data were generated from the annual report of the listed banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange considering the period 2008–2015. The study used Board size, Board Independence and Foreign Executives on the board as proxies for corporate governance. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and panel data regression analysis. It was observed that board size had a non-significant negative relationship with the timeliness of financial reports. Also, the study observed that board independence also had a non-significant negative relationship with the timeliness of financial reports. Finally, it was observed that foreign executives on the board had a significant positive relationship with the timeliness of financial reports. The study thus recommends that the existing legal framework in Nigeria should be developed that clearly specifies the rights and obligations of a bank, its management and, of course, other stakeholders.