The effect of audit committee attributes and gender diversity on audit quality

The overreliance on the audit committee's (AC) financial knowledge solely to enhance its oversight role is detrimental to corporate governance practices. The evidence about the effect of other characteristics that can be crucial for the efficiency of the AC, which affects audit and financial statements quality, is lacking. The study aims to explore the influence of AC members' independence, the involvement of female executives, and the specific characteristics of the French business landscape on the quality of audits. In this investigation, 930 data points were analysed, drawn from a selection of 93 French companies listed on the SBF 120 index over a decade, spanning from 2012 to 2021. The research reveals that while AC independence positively contributes to audit quality, the expertise of committee members and gender diversity have a significant adverse effect on audit quality. This may have implications for decision-makers in France as well as in other nations with similar institutional environments that they should consider when developing future regulatory reforms.