Disclosure of Key Audit Matters (KAMs): Auditor Characteristics and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey

Özet

Purpose—This study examines the effects of auditor gender, auditor rotation, and the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of key audit matters (KAMs) and the length of disclosure in Turkey. Understanding the factors affecting the quality of KAM reporting is essential for the transparency of the audit process and the quality of information.
Design/methodology/approach—The research analyzed the independent audit reports of 194 non-financial companies traded on Borsa Istanbul from 2017 to 2023. Models created based on panel data analysis were tested using the fixed effects method in the Stata program. The study used the number of KAMs (N_KAM) and the length of disclosure (KAM_LEN) as dependent variables.
Findings - According to the results obtained, auditor gender has a positive and statistically significant effect on the number of KAMs and the length of disclosure. The COVID-19 period has significantly and negatively affected both dependent variables. No statistically significant impact of auditor rotation on the number of KAMs and the length of disclosure was detected.
Discussion—The findings show that the gender of the auditor can increase the communication power and informativeness of the audit report. On the other hand, pandemic conditions limit KAM disclosures and reduce the informative capacity of the reports. These results offer important implications regarding the function of audit reports in crisis periods.