External auditing costs of fair value model amongst Jordanian financial institutions: The moderating effect of ownership structure

The paper presents a fresh empirical approach for clarifying the impact of Jordan's most prevalent forms of ownership on the link between the “fair value (FV)” model share of assets and auditing costs. Using information gathered from 105 Jordanian financial listed companies spanning 2005 to 2018, ordinary least squares regression is applied in this paper. While financial institution ownership variables cause the opposite to be observed, family ownership decreases the link among the share of assets at FV and audit expenses. Family ownership results in decreased auditing costs paid only for “Level 1” assets; conversely, the extremely uncertain FV assets “Level 2 & 3” show the opposite. Financial institutional ownership demonstrates that auditing FV Level 1 leads to higher auditing costs. When relating FV Levels 2 and 3, the moderating effect of financial institutional ownership was significantly negative. No significant moderating effect of government ownership is confirmed. The inconclusive and limited empirical explanation of audit costs resulting from the FV model from a Western setting motivates our investigation. This study is considered as a unique study as it takes into account the most prevalent types of ownership in the Jordanian context in the FV studies reviewing auditees in Jordan. New evidence is generated by documenting audit characteristics of Jordan, a developing country, and its institutional environment and compliance with the FV model. The results are useful to regulators and policymakers in regulating the auditing profession and resolving FV audit-related conflicts and issues.