M.A. Thesis:

delayed announcementof earning and the audit quality

The announcement timing is an important means by which companies can influence the reaction of investors to published information. Investors' awareness of bad or good news of the company can provide conditions that will increase their reaction rate. According to Iran's accounting standards, if financial statements are not available to users within a reasonable time after the balance sheet date, its usefulness will be reduced. In other words, financial information must be provided before they can pass on when users can judge and decide on the information. Audited financial statements are considered as one of the most reliable sources of information for users, but this information can be used by users who have relevant qualitative features including timeliness. Because financial information is extremely sensitive over time, it sometimes loses value and benefit in decision making over time. Auditors are often in a position where the testing and evaluation of audit evidence by them leads the audit team to a certain path. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between delays in earnings declarations and audit quality in accepted companies and Tehran Stock Exchange. In this regard, the information of 137 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange for the period 1391-1396 has been used to estimate the hypothesis test using the Euzo econometrics software. The independent variable of this research is the delay in announcing the auditor's report and the dependent variables, the quality of the audit, and the auditor's adjustments in profit. The research method was correlation. To analyze the data, the combined data method was used and the hypotheses were tested using ordinary least squares regression. The findings of the research showed no significant relationship between the delay in the announcement of the auditor's report and audit quality. In other words, the delay in declaring profits on optional accruals does not affect the quality of the audit. But the results of the second hypothesis showed that there was a negative and significant relationship between the delay in announcing the audit report and the auditor's adjustments in profit. The finding argues that, as delays in corporate earnings declines, it is expected that the auditor will apply less adjustments to the accounting profit that may be due to the bargaining between the auditor and the client.

Keywords: Delay in profit declaration, Audit quality