The Impact of Client Characteristics on the Selection of the Audit Firm: An Empirical Study on the Egyptian Listed Companies

المؤلف

Faculty of Commerce, Damanhour University

المستخلص

Auditor selection can be regarded as a matter of audit quality. This Research aims to identify the factors which affect the choice of the Audit Firm in case of an emerging capital market as Egypt. It provides empirical evidence on the association between the Audit Firm selection and their client firms’ characteristics based on a sample of 101 firms listed in the Egyptian Stock of Exchange for the year ended 2013. Our findings indicate that certain firm’s characteristics affect the choice of the Audit Firm. Actually, Firms’ Size, Profitability, Foreign shareholdings, and the existence of a Foreign Board Member have significant positive influences on the selection of the Audit Firm. On contrast, firms’ leverage, age, and ownership concentration are found to be non- significant to firm’s choice of the external auditor in case of Egypt.

الكلمات الرئيسية