Effects of experience years, gender of auditors and audit firm size on firm’ discretionary accrual management: Evidence from Vietnam

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of audit firm size and auditor characteristics on firms’ discretionary accruals management of companies listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). The results show that the gender of auditors affect discretionary accruals (DA). Female auditors approve DA at a lower value than male auditors. Number of experience years of auditors also affects restriction of DA. When the number of experience years of auditors increases, the magnitude of DA decreases, which means the quality of information on financial statements (FS) is higher. This study also reveals that the magnitude of DA is significantly lower amongst companies engaging a Big-4 specialist audit firm relative to companies using the audit services of a Non‐Big-4 specialist.