AUDIT COMMITTEE ACTIVITY AND AUDIT REPORT LAG IN SAUDIA ARABIA

Abstract

This paper examines whether audit committee activity is associated with audit report lag We posit that an effective audit committee reduces Qtcrnal audit efforts, thus reducing audit report lag. Data was obtained from 573 listed companies in Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) for the years 2007-2011. A pooled OLS regression analysis shows that, an active audit committee (more independent members with frequent meetings) is associated with shorter audit report lag. The outcomes of this study have significant implications to the auditor independent issues in the setting of Saudi Arabia.