Investigating the Impact of Gender Diversity in the Audit Committee on the Audit Fees of Companies Listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

Abstract

Abstract Gender diversity leads to increased communication and taking into account the diverse perspectives and effectiveness of the board and audit committee. A high level of women's responsibility and their better attendance at meetings than mens improves the behavior and effectiveness of the sessions. According to the studies, the presence of women's representative in the Audit Committee could help to improve effectiveness and regulatory activities, and subsequently modify audit fees. For this purpose, this study examines the impact of the presence of at least one female representative on the Audit Committee's audit pricing right. For this experimental study, a sample of 136 participants (544 observations) listed on the TSE during the years 2012 to 2016 and their data was analized using regression analysis with panel data approach. The results show that the presence of at least one female member of Audit Committee may reduce audit fees. This finding is consistent with supply side perspective.

Keywords

• Audit committee
• Audit fees
• Auditing
• Corporate Governance
• Gender Diversity