Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to employ agency theory to identify the determinants of the audit delay among Palestinian companies listed on Palestine Stock Exchange (PSE). Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on the agency theory, eight hypotheses are tested using data collected from the year 2011 annual reports for all the 46 listed companies on PSE. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the influence of a set of company characteristics, ownership structure variables, and corporate governance mechanisms. Findings-The result of the analysis demonstrated that the audit reporting delay is influenced by the board size, corporate size, status of audit firm, company complexity, existence of audit committee, and ownership dispersion. Research limitations/implications-The main shortcoming of the current study is that the analysis covered the Palestinian companies' annual reports for only one year. A time series analysis might give fuller and understandable picture about the audit report lag (ARL) determinants. The outcome of the study can be used by companies' managements and policy makers in Palestine to improve future disclosure. Originality/value-This paper adds to the limited audit delay literature in Middle East countries in general and Arab World in particular. This paper not only examines the determinants of the audit delay but also attempts to theorize such delay.

Purpose This study aims to examine the underlying determinants that may influence external audit fees paid by Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Design/methodology/approach Data used in this study are mainly collected from the 2011 annual reports and corporate governance reports published by the Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on DFM. Backward regression analysis is used to measure the impact of a set of company characteristics on Emirati non-financial listed firm’s audit delays. Findings The findings pointed to a significant and positive association between audit fees and each of corporate size and audit committee independence variables. A significant and negative relationship has been detected between external audit fees and business complexity. The findings also revealed that audit fees are not significantly associated with company’s profitability, risk, industry type, status of audit firm and audit report lag. Originality/value The paper helps in expanding limited existing literature about the determinants of audit fees in the Arab and Middle East countries generally and in the UAE context particularly. No prior attempt had been made to investigate the determinants of audit fees paid by Emirati firms listed on DFM because the disclosure of audit fees services provided by external auditors only became effective after April 30, 2010. The findings of the study may be generalized to other Arab countries, particularly neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council states, that have a similar socio-cultural environment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between audit committee (AC) and a set of other corporate governance mechanisms in one of the emerging economies, United Arab of Emirates (UAE). In particular, the current study examines whether an effective AC can serve as a substitute or as a complement mechanism to board characteristics and ownership structure of Emirati listed non-financial companies. Design/methodology/approach Using substitution and complementary theories, a panel data from 48 nonfinancial companies listed on the UAE Stock Exchanges [Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market] during the period between 2011 and 2013 were used in the current study. A composite measure of four proxies has been used to measure the AC effectiveness, namely, AC size, independence, financial expertise and diligence. To test the hypotheses formulated for the study, a logistic regression model was used to identify the influence of a set of board characteristics and ownership structure variables on the effectiveness of the AC after controlling for firm size, auditor type, industry type and profitability. Findings While AC effectiveness appeared to be positively associated with board size and board independence, it is negatively associated with CEO duality. This points to a complementary governance relation. On the other hand, the negative relationship between AC effectiveness and each of institutional and government ownership suggests substitutive relations. Research limitations/implications The main shortcoming of the current study is that it examines the influence of a certain set of corporate governance factors on the effectiveness of AC. Other corporate governance mechanisms may, however, contribute to the effectiveness of AC. The findings of the study can be used by companies’ managements and regulators in the UAE to improve the corporate governance system. Originality/value To the best of researchers’ knowledge, this study provides the first evidence about the interaction among multiple governance mechanisms required by the code of corporate governance issued by the UAE Ministry of Economy in 2009. The current paper is expected to add to the limited AC literature in Middle East and North African countries in general and Arab World in particular.

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This study sets out to examine factors influencing audit fees paid by non-financial companies listed on Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). Data were collected from the 2011 annual and corporate governance reports published by the Emirati non-financial companies listed on ADX. Backward regression analysis is employed to assess the association between audit fees and certain company's attributes. The findings show a direct relationship between audit fees and each of corporate size, business complexity and audit report lag variables. An inverse relationship has been detected between audit fees and each of industry type and audit committee independence. The findings also revealed that audit fees are not significantly influenced by company's profitability, risk, and status of audit firm.