The impact of political connections on audit report lag: does gender diversity matter?

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of political connections on audit report lag (ARL) and whether gender diversity moderates this relationship in Jordan. Drawing on 506 firm-year observations from 51 industrial firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2018, we employ ordinary least squares regression with year and industry fixed effects. The results show that politically connected firms experience significantly longer audit report lags—about 15 days, or nearly 20% of the sample mean (73 days). However, gender diversity has an insignificant association with ARL, and its moderating effect in politically connected firms is statistically insignificant, reflecting the limited representation of women on Jordanian boards. These findings suggest that symbolic female presence is insufficient to mitigate the influence of political ties on audit timeliness. The study contributes novel evidence from an emerging economy and extends research on how political influence and board composition jointly affect audit outcomes.