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This study aims to examine the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandate and differences in national institutional quality on the underpricing of Initial Public Offering (IPO) companies.

Multiple Difference-in-Differences (DiD) ordinary least squares estimations were conducted for 100 corporations listed on the Saudi Arabian stock market using country-level institutional quality data from 2005 to 2017.

IFRS requirements and improvements in institutional quality have a combined effect on minimizing IPO underpricing. The analysis of the combined impact of IFRS requirements and differences in transparency revealed that IPO vendors leave $5 on average for IPO investors to cash out post the IFRS mandate, compared to $29 previously. Thus, IFRS serves as a quality certification instrument that alleviates IPO investors’ ex ante uncertainties, even in nations with undeveloped institutions.

The findings may be beneficial to researchers and policymakers. The results suggest that institutional quality enhancements and obligatory IFRS implementation highlight IFRS’s synergistic influence on the IPO market. While European harmonization efforts drove the adoption of IFRS in Europe in 2005, Saudi Arabia’s adoption of IFRS is not being driven by such initiatives (Daske et al., 2008; Persakis and Iatridis 2017). In reality, when IFRS was officially imposed in Saudi Arabia in 2008, it, like many other emerging market nations, made considerable reforms to its formal institutions. However, research on the combined impact of IFRS and disparities in institutional quality in emerging IPO markets remains sparse. Emerging markets represent more than half of economies that use IFRS. Therefore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to conduct an empirical investigation to identify this combined effect in emerging countries using the DiD analytical technique. Equity market legislators remain concerned regarding IPO underpricing, as it has a detrimental influence on economic growth (Bova and Pereira, 2012; Jamaani and Ahmed, 2021; Mehmood et al., 2021). Depending on the degree of information asymmetry in national stock markets, underpricing costs increase the cost of going public for entrepreneurs. Consequently, prospective private firms are discouraged from accessing equity financing through the stock markets. This is likely to impede private sector development plans, causing a negative effect on economic growth.

Emerging countries represent over 50% of the IFRS mandating economies. However, there is insufficient research on the combined effect of IFRS requirements and improvements in institutional quality in developing IPO markets. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical attempt to identify this combined effect in one of the largest developing countries. The results may aid academics and policymakers in better understanding the interaction between these two variables.

This study aims to examine the short- and long-lived effects of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandate on the quality of reporting information of initial public offering (IPO) firms in emerging market economies.

The study used several difference-in-differences models for a sample comprising 102 Saudi Arabian IPO firms for 2003–2017.

It found that mandating the application of the IFRS had a significant short-lived but no long-lived effect on IPO firms’ information asymmetry. When information asymmetry was high such as in the primary market, the IFRS succeeded in alleviating the underpricing of IPO firms. Conversely, in the secondary market, with negligible information asymmetry, the IFRS was not beneficial for the long-term performance of companies in the IPO market.

This study is the first of its kind in the emerging market context and has important implications for IPO investors and analysts, IFRS-IPO researchers and policymakers in emerging economies. The results empirically confirmed that the IFRS mandate had solely a short-lived effect and no long-lasting impact, on the problem of asymmetric information in the IPO market. The effectiveness of the IFRS in producing quality financial reporting is contingent upon large-scale information asymmetry and vanishes when investors and analysts have abundant information about listed firms, even for emerging economies such as Saudi Arabia.

This study aims to examine the relationship between auditor industry specialization (IS) and audit fees.

The authors utilize 2,100 firm-year data of Jordanian companies from 2005 to 2018. Two conflicting theoretical approaches of IS were employed: the product differentiation approach, as assessed by market share (MS); and the shared efficiency approach, as evaluated by portfolio share (PS).

Results of the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression support product differentiation (shared efficiency) and show that employing experts' auditors exerts a very substantial and favorable direct impact on audit fees (negative).

This research contributes new empirical data to the auditing literature by examining if IS does influence Jordanian businesses' audit fees. The findings offer useful data for Jordanian officials to examine the auditing industry's difficulties while refining regulations and revising auditor pricing. Additionally, the results offer advice to Jordan's regulatory bodies who oversee the auditing industry. Arguably, results from Jordan may be extrapolated to other Middle Eastern nations.

Motivated by the disastrous impact of COVID-19 on the world’s economies, the purpose of this study is to examine its effect on the association between auditor industry specialization and external audit fees, referring to two time periods: before and during COVID-19.

A quantitative analysis based on the ordinary least squares regression is performed, using 3,200 company-year observations from 2005 to 2020 in Jordan to test the hypotheses. The qualitative component is a textual analysis of firms’ annual reports that support the quantitative analysis findings.

The analysis confirms there is a direct positive relationship between COVID-19 and external audit fees, confirming the tough consequences of the crisis on audit complexity and risks. While the results show evidence that the relationship between auditor specialist and audit fees is weakened because of COVID-19, the content analysis explained that COVID-19 led to fewer requests for high-quality audit, given the urgent need to report on firms’ financial circumstances. Jordan’s capital market is controlled by family businesses, and the insolvency of several large firms during COVID-19 led auditors to offer their services at low cost.

The findings of this study have serious implications for policymakers, legislators, regulators and the audit profession, as they examine the arising difficulties during a period of economic uncertainty. The findings can help to improve laws that control the auditing industry in Jordan following the damage caused by COVID-19. As well, the outcomes can be extrapolated to other Middle East nations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors believe that this research presents the first evidence on the influence of COVID-19 on the auditing industry.

This article aims to extend the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to understand the factors affecting the usage behavior of Blockchain from accountants' and auditors’ perspectives and its impact on their performance.

A quantitative research approach employing a web-based questionnaire was applied, and the empirical data were gathered from 329 potential and current users of Blockchain in the accounting and auditing profession in Jordan. The analytical model was based on structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 25.0.

The experimental findings of the structural path confirmed that performance expectancy (PE), social influence (SI), Blockchain transparency (BT) and Blockchain efficiency (BE) were significantly affecting individuals’ behavioral intention (BI) toward the use of Blockchain-based systems and helped to explain (0.67) of its variance. Also, BE has a positive significant impact on PE. Whereas, in contrast to what is anticipated, the influence of effort expectancy (EE) on BI was not supported. Additionally, users’ intentions were found to affect the actual usage (AU) behavior and helped to explain (0.69) of its variance. The outcome variables proposed in this study: knowledge acquisition (KACQ) and user satisfaction (USAT) were significantly influenced by the AU of Blockchain technology.

This study outlines practical implications for government, policymakers, business leaders and Blockchain service providers aiming to exploit the advantages of Blockchain technology (BCT) in the accounting and auditing context.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this article is one of the few studies that offer an evidence-based perspective to the discussions on the effect of disruptive and automated information and communication technologies (ICTs), on the accounting and auditing profession. It applies an innovative approach to analysis through the integration of UTAUT, contextual factors: BT and BE, besides two outcome factors: KACQ and USAT within its theoretical model. This study extends and complements the academic literature on information technology/information systems acceptance and use by providing novel insights into accountants' and auditors’ views.