M.A. Thesis:

the quality of the board and auditor reputation moderating effect on the relationship between business group affiliation and audit pricing

Auditors are expected to receive remuneration in accordance with the time and quality of the provided services in relation to providing audit services to firms. Audit fees, however, depend on several factors. There is little evidence of the link between business affiliation and audit fees. However, the general lack of oversight in developing markets makes it more important to have a more comprehensive understanding of the cost implications of the related governance mechanisms, such as the quality of the board in audit costs, which has regulatory implications for the firm. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of moderating the quality of the board and the auditor's reputation on the relationship between business affiliation and audit pricing based on capital market evidence. In this paper, an applied approach and a post-event descriptive-correlation method have been used by a sample of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) firms. In this research, with the aid of statistical software R, the hypothesis test was tested using multiple regressions based on the evidence collected from during 2010-2016. At the expected error level (%5), the results implied that: There is a significant relationship between business group affiliation and audit pricing. The quality of the board and auditor's reputation significant impact on the degree business group affiliation and audit pricing. The results of this study provide evidence about the findings of previous research on the impact of the Board of Directors on audit fees. It was also shown that affiliation with the business group is associated with higher supervisory costs, such as audit fees.

Keywords: Quality of the Board, Auditor Reputation, Business Group Affiliation, Audit Pricing