Workshop Title:

Determinants of Audit Quality in a Patriarchal Setting

Date:

February 21st, 2024 (GMT)

Organizer:

University of Aberdeen Business School

Keywords:

• Financial reporting quality
• Audit quality
• Female auditors
• Tehran Stock Exchange
• Iran

Workshop Chair:

Personal Bio:

Dr Naser Makarem is an assistant professor in accounting at the University of Aberdeen, UK. He is the leader of MSc Accounting and Finance programme and Partnerships Programmes Director at Aberdeen Business School. Dr Makarem teaches several courses in the area of financial accounting both in the UK and at overseas partners in China and Qatar. He supervises PhD students and has research interests in the broad area of financial reporting and particularly earnings management.

Dr Makarem's research mainly focuses on factors influencing corporate financial reporting. In particular, he studies how social, economic and political factors affect earnings management. He is also interested in changes in earnings management behaviour over time as well as the impact of regulatory environment and political and economic factors on such changes. He also studies how earnings manipulation is restricted by factors such as external audit and corporate governance.

Workshop Description:

Background:

Audit quality, which refers to the degree of assurance provided by auditors, plays a critical role in upholding the quality and integrity of financial reporting. The quality of audits directly influences the credibility and trustworthiness of the financial information shared with stakeholders. This, in turn, empowers investors to make well-informed decisions and reduces information asymmetry between management and shareholders.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in understanding the role of gender in audit quality, and research in this area continues to evolve. There is evidence that female auditors tend to identify a greater number of potential misstatements compared to their male counterparts. While further research is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms, the existing evidence suggests that having gender diversity and female representation can positively contribute to audit quality.

Goal / Rationale:

It is essential to recognize that the impact of gender on audit quality is a multifaceted issue. Audit quality is influenced by many factors such as gender, individual characteristics, the work environment, and cultural factors. The main focus of this study is to explore the relationship between female audit partners and audit quality in a patriarchal setting characterized by substantial gender disparities and the cultural and social hurdles faced by women. Considering the unique cultural and social challenges encountered by Iranian women, it is expected that these obstacles hinder their performance, potentially nullifying any potential positive impact on audit quality. By investigating the Iranian context, characterized by a patriarchal society and cultural and social challenges faced by women, the study expands our understanding of the role and impact of female auditors in such settings.

Scope and Information for Participants:

Gender studies is an interdisciplinary field that attracts interest from various disciplines so there would be an interest from a wide range of disciplines. This study examines the impact of gender on audit quality in a unique cultural setting. Audit quality has been a hot topic in the accounting academia in the past few decades. While naturally researchers who are interested in auditing and factors that influence auditing procedures and quality of audits would be the most relevant group of the audience, considering the nature of the topic, researchers and students in a wide range of business disciplines including accounting, management and finance would benefit from the workshop.

Venue:

University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK

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