Investigating the Moderating Role of Audit Complexity on the Relationship between Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Delay in Audit Reporting In Companies Listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

Delays in submitting audit reports can affect the timely disclosure of accounting information. Timely disclosure of audited financial statement information plays an important role in reducing the asymmetric distribution of financial information. Following the importance of timely financial information in economic and financial decisions in the present study, the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on audit report delay and also the role of audit complexity in the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and audit report delay have been investigated. In this regard, the information of 113 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2012 to 2018 through Eviews software and data panel method has been used to estimate multivariate regression models. The results show that there is a negative and significant relationship between corporate governance mechanisms (independent members, audit tenure and audit committee) and delays in the audit report. The results also show that audit complexity weakens the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and delays in audit reporting.