Ownership Structure and External Audit Quality inCameroonian Companies: The Moderating Role of CEO Duality

This study examines how ownership structure and CEO duality influence external audit quality (EAQ) ‎in Cameroonian firms. Drawing on agency, signalling, stewardship, and institutional theories, the study ‎investigates whether leadership arrangements affect the relationship between ownership structure and ‎audit outcomes within an emerging governance context. Data were collected through a structured ‎questionnaire administered to 300 purposively selected companies operating in the Littoral, Centre, and ‎South-West regions, representing over 70% of the country's economic activity. Using an ordered ‎logistic regression model, audit quality, measured by audit tenure, was analysed in relation to ‎institutional, managerial, and ownership concentration factors, with CEO duality serving as the ‎moderator. The results indicate that ownership factors do not have a significant direct impact on audit ‎quality. In contrast, CEO duality exhibits a notable adverse effect but strengthens the relationship ‎between managerial ownership, ownership concentration, and audit quality. Furthermore, external ‎auditors' provision of non-audit services significantly undermines audit quality. These findings suggest ‎that ownership mechanisms alone cannot ensure audit independence in emerging markets without ‎robust leadership accountability and institutional enforcement. This study recommends implementing ‎stricter independence regulations, auditor rotation policies, and enhanced oversight of non-audit ‎services. Future research should explore how digital auditing tools, ESG disclosure frameworks, and ‎cross-country governance differences within OHADA influence the ownership–audit-quality ‎relationship‎.