Analysis of Accounting Information Quality in the Audit Firms Relations Structure

The present study investigated the impact of the position of audit institutions on the accounting information quality. In a way, this research tried to evaluate these variables from the aspect of relationship structure and network.

In this research, the network analysis method was used in order to examine the pattern of the relationship structure of audit institutions and their place and position in this structure, as well as multivariate regression was used to test the hypotheses. The statistical population of this research is all the companies in the capital market of Iran and all the audit institutes that audited them during the years 2012-2022. The statistical sample includes 135 audit institutes (stage 1) and 124 companies (stage 2).

The findings of the research showed that in the communication network of the institutions, some of them are in a better position and have more access and influence. A better location can lead to easier and faster access to information and resources. Also, the results of the hypothesis test indicate that there is no significant relationship between the closeness centrality and the accounting information quality; however, there is a significant negative relationship between the degree centrality and the accounting information quality, and there is a significant positive relationship between the betweenness centrality and the eigenvector and the accounting information quality.

The results of this research indicate the existence of an unequal structure in the network of audit institutions and the influence of the position and position of audit institutions in this structure on the accounting information quality of companies.

Contribution: 

The study highlight the role and importance of relationship structure and can be an important factor in the decision-making process of all stakeholders in the market.