Characteristics of Audit Committee Members and Audit Fees: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan

Abstract: This study examines how the busyness, tenure, and female proportion of audit committee members affect audit fees. The sample consists of listed companies in Taiwan that have adopted audit committees during the 2014-2017 period. Evidence shows that the average number of directorships (tenure) of the entire audit committee member is negatively (positively) associated with audit fees. No relation between the female proportion of the entire audit committee member and audit fees is found. The findings suggest that audit committee governance may substitute or complement external audit governance. Further analyses show that audit committee members with financial expertise drive the above results.

Keywords: Multiple Directorships, Tenure, Gender Diversity, Audit Fees