Quality of the external auditor and value relevance of accounting information: case of the listed Tunisian companies

摘要

The recent several audit failures have raised the question of whether external auditors have effective role in governance of firms. This study examines how the value relevance of annual accounting earnings varies according to the quality of the external auditors (i.e. competence and independence) of publicly listed companies within the Tunisian capital market. Data analysis over a period of six years (2000-2005) revealed that the value relevance of accounting information is positively related to the reputation, the specialisation and the experience of the external auditors. However, no relation was able to be identified between the auditor's tenure and the relevance of the accounting. We also find that the value relevance of earning accounting is increasing in tenure for clients of Big and specialist auditors.