An Inquiry of Empirical Quantitative Studies about what Influences the Key Audit Matters` Number

Abstract

In recent years, the auditor reporting model suffered several relevant modifications, one being related to the communication of Key Audit Matters (KAMs). By better understanding what factors can affect the number of disclosed items, the users of the audit report can gain more trust in the work performed by the auditors. The measurement of the number of KAMs contributes to the overall understanding of the company’s risk level as they provide financial statement users with relevant information about significant estimates and risks reported in the financial statements. The paper aims to determine the variables from quantitative empirical studies influencing the number of disclosed Key Audit Matters in the auditor’s independent report by conducting a structured literature review of the relevant academic research papers. Our findings reveal that factors such as audit committee characteristics and financial expertise, auditor and client general characteristics and accounting aspects, gender of the audit partner, the measurement uncertainty together with the country of the audited company and audit market structure, all have an impact on the number of disclosed KAMs.