The Effect of Financial Expertise and Experience of the Audit Committee Chair on Auditor Selection, Audit Fees and Audit Quality

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between financial expertise and the experience of the audit committee chairman with auditor selection, audit fees and audit quality. In order to achieve the goal of the research, a sample equal to 99 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period from 2015 to 2023, equivalent to 792 company-years, was analyzed using multiple regression analysis based on combined data. The findings showed that the companies whose heads of the audit committee have financial expertise are more likely to choose the audit organization and audit institutions with quality control A as their independent auditors. Also, according to the findings, the financial expertise of audit committee heads leads to an increase in audit fees and audit quality. However, this study did not identify a significant relationship between the audit committee chairman's experience with auditor selection and audit fees, but a positive and significant relationship between the audit committee chairman's experience on audit quality was identified. The findings of this study contribute to the literature by documenting that financial expertise and experience of audit committee heads are important for improving the audit process and audit quality.