FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AUDIT PROFESSION IN SERBIA: IS THERE A GENDER EFFECT?

The aim of this paper is to examine the position of women in the audit profession in Serbia. The research sample of 2,116 audit reports has been analysed from the point of hired audit firms and gender of the auditor that signed the report. The results show that the number of reports produced by male and female auditors is almost equal, with noticeable trends in Big 4 firms favouring female auditor engagements. In addition, the results show that both male and female auditors have almost the same probability of acquiring new clients, with males having a slight advantage overall, and in domestic audit firms. However, this advantage shifts to females in Big 4 firms. Pearson's correlation results show a weak but statistically significant and positive relationship between auditor gender and higher average audit fees, indicating potential perceptions of increased value associated with female auditors.