The Determinants of Audit Report Lag: The Mediating Effect of Auditor's Reliance in Jordan

The association between corporate governance mechanisms and the reliance decision, and the impact of such decision on the timeliness of financial reporting is the subject of increasing public and regulatory interest. This study focuses, first, on examining the relationships between the effectiveness of board and audit committee and external auditor's reliance on the internal audit work. Second, it examines the impact of the reliance decision on the audit report lag. The data are obtained using secondary-data and survey-questionnaire methods. The sample size comprises 87 companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) for the year 2009. The internal and external auditors of these companies are surveyed with a 34% response rate. Multiple regression results reveal a significant and positive relationship between the effectiveness of the audit committee and reliance decision. In addition, audit committee meetings with external auditor and audit committee’s review of internal audit function results have also a significant and positive association with reliance decision. Findings of this study also support the positive relationship between the overall quality of internal audit function and reliance decision. Regarding the impact of reliance decision on audit report lag, a significant but negative relationship between external auditor's reliance on the work of internal audit function and audit report lag is documented. This study supports the belief that the Jordanian external auditors are aware of the importance of relying on the internal audit work and evaluating the quality of this work before making the reliance decision as required by ISA 610. However, companies in Jordan still need to improve their internal audit function and support it with the necessary resources. Further, regulators in Jordan should mandate the companies to have an effective internal audit function.