The Effect of Auditor Characteristics on Audit Service Quality from an Audit Client Perspective in Libya: Proposing Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The recent collapse of several companies and high-profile frauds in the last two decades has called to question the integrity of the audit profession and resulted in a decline in shareholders' confidence in audit financial statement and the audit profession at large. This has called for the improvement in professional regulation and audit service quality in order to recover the confidence of investors and other users in the reliability of audited financial statement. To achieve this, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the role of individual auditor characteristics (auditor reputation, specialization, experience, and independence) on audit service quality by using a sample of all listed companies on the Libyan Stock Market (LSM). Evidence from previous studies indicated that the determinants of audit service quality should be more significant at the individual level. The technical abilities and individual characteristics of the external auditor are critical factors to improve and sustain audit service quality. This study argues that auditors with effective individual characteristics are more likely to provide high audit service quality.

Keywords: audit service quality, auditor characteristics, Libya.