ABSTRACT Purpose – This study aims to examine the contemporary timeliness of financial reporting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the impact of audit committee effectiveness on this timeliness. Design/Methodology/Approach – Timeliness of financial reporting in this study is measured by audit report lag (ARL), which is the number of days between the date of the financial year end and the date of the audit report. The data from listed companies on the UAE capital markets; Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), for three years from 2011 to 2013 resulted in 298 observations. The main statistical techniques of the study are means and multiple regressions. Findings – The findings show that generally all companies meet the submission deadlines imposed by the two UAE markets. Furthermore, ARL is influenced by audit committee size and profitability, while no evidence is found to support the effect of audit committee expertise, audit committee meetings and firm size on ARL. Practical Implications – The results of the study show that only audit committee size has a significant influence in reducing ARL. This may be attributed to having minimal variation in the implementation of the Code of Corporate Governance (CCG), particularly audit committee attributes, in the UAE. The results suggest that the current governance by audit committees is adequate to ensure that the financial reports of companies in the UAE are timely. However, except for audit committee size, the other audit committee attributes are unable to further shorten ARL.   Originality/Value –The capital markets in the UAE and its CCG are relatively new. Hence, regulatory requirements may be less stringently implemented by companies in this country. Consequently, timely audited financial reports are demanded by local and international investors to make decisions and alleviate speculation. Thus, determining audit committee attributes that reduce ARL is beneficial to the UAE markets, the listed companies and investors.     Keywords Audit report lag (ARL), Financial reporting timeliness, Audit committee, UAE Paper Type: Research paper

This study examines the association between Royal family members on the board of directors and earnings management in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Panel data was sourced from the annual and corporate governance reports of companies listed in two leading markets in the UAE: Abu Dhabi Exchange Security (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Final data resulted in 437 observations for the period from 2011 to 2018. The findings of this study concluded that Royal family members on the board of UAE listed companies is negatively associated with earnings management. This study provides evidence of the role played by elite groups (Royal family members) in the UAE in enhancing the role played by the board of directors. The study also found that board meetings and audit committee meetings are positively associated with earnings management, while audit committee expertise and profitability negatively associated with earnings management. However, board size, board independence, audit committee independence, firm size and firm leverage had insignificant association with earnings management. The paper contributes to the existing theory and empirical evidence of how internal governance mechanisms add value to the company by reducing earnings management and enhancing the quality of financial reporting.

This study aims to examine the association between Royal family members on the board of directors and financial reporting quality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE has two markets, namely Abu Dhabi Exchange Security (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The data of the current study were collected from these two markets listed companies for the periods of 2011 to 2018 which resulted in 437 observations. The results of this study showed that the existence of royal family members on the board of the UAE listed companies is significantly associated with financial reporting timeliness. This study provides evidence on the role played by the elite groups (Royal Family members) in UAE in enhancing the role of the board of directors. The findings also reported that board independence, audit committee size, audit committee expert, and firm profitability are significantly associated with financial reporting timeliness. The findings of this study contribute to the existing theory and empirical evidence of how the existence of Royal family members on the board of directors adds values to the company and improves its financial reporting quality.

PurposeThis study investigates how the timeliness of financial reporting by listed companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is influenced by the interaction effect between industry-specialist auditors and board governance.Design/methodology/approachThe Emirati capital markets – the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – were used to obtain the data, which covered the seven-year period between 2011 and 2017. In total, 385 observations were obtained. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were the principal statistical tests employed using the panel data method.FindingsThe results of the direct effect tests reveal that board independence and industry-specialist auditors have no significant influence on financial reporting timeliness. Nevertheless, the results also show that the timeliness of financial reporting by listed companies in the UAE is influenced by the interaction effect between auditors' industry specialisation and the governance of firm boards. More specifically, the results reveal that financial reporting timeliness is positively associated with board independence for companies audited by industry-specialist auditors. This finding is consistent with the notion that industry-specialist auditors complement the role of effective board governance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only focuses on secondary data from non-financial companies listed in the UAE markets. Therefore, the outcomes may not be generalisable to sectors related to finance. Future researchers are recommended to examine financial sectors and apply alternative measurements such as surveys or interviews with directorial boards and external auditors. Furthermore, this study used only one measure of industry-specialist auditors, while board governance was limited to board independence. Future studies could utilise different measurements for industry-specialist auditors and more board governance measures to obtain more robust findings.Practical implicationsThe evidence provided indicates that when a company listed in the UAE has a high-quality board, it benefits by engaging auditors who specialise in the industry in terms of improving the timeliness of financial reporting. The findings also indicate the need for closer monitoring of management to safeguard their reputation. This might attract the attention of the Big Four audit firms and industry–specialist auditors to continuously re-evaluate their audit work, professional training and staff skills, while they might also try to differentiate their performance and monitoring capabilities from the non-Big Four audit firms and non-industry specialist auditors.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study to the overall body of research is the concept that having independent directors is associated with improved reporting timeliness because financial reports are monitored with greater efficiency by industry–specialist auditors. This study provides evidence for the interaction effect between internal and external governance mechanisms on financial reporting quality, which has not been the focus of prior studies on financial reporting quality.