An examination of audit fees in relation to operating and market performance: Evidence from Borsa Istanbul

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of audit fees on firm performance for 139 non-financial companies (556 firm-year observations) quoted on Borsa Istanbul between 2020 and 2023. Operating profitability and Tobin’s Q are employed as proxies for companies’ operating and market performance, respectively. Firm size, leverage, and tangibility are included as control variables. Using pooled least squares, fixed effects, and random effects estimations, the study reveals that: (1) audit fees negatively and significantly affect both operating and market performance; (2) firm size positively and significantly affects both performance measures; (3) leverage and tangibility have negative and significant effects on operating performance; and (4) while leverage shows an insignificant effect on market performance, the effect of tangibility is marginally significant. Overall, the findings suggest that higher audit fees are associated with lower operating and market performance, implying that higher expenditures on audit services could be detrimental to firms’ operating and market performance over the study period.

Keywords

• audit fees
• firm performance
• tobin q
• operating profitabiity

Denetim ücretlerinin faaliyet ve piyasa performansı açısından incelenmesi: Borsa İstanbul’dan kanıtlar

Abstract

Bu çalışma 2020-2023 yılları arasında Borsa İstanbul’da faaliyet gösteren firmalar (139 finansal olmayan, 556 gözlem) için denetim ücretlerinin firma performansı üzerindeki etkisini incelemektedir. Faaliyet karlılığı ve Tobin Q oranları sırasıyla firmanın faaliyet ve piyasa performansını ölçmek için kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca firma büyüklüğü, kaldıraç ve varlık yapıları kontrol değişkenler olarak kullanılmıştır. Havuzlanmış en küçük kareler, sabit etkiler ve rassal etkiler tahmin teknikleri kullanılarak elde edilen sonuçlara göre: (1) denetim ücretlerinin, hem faaliyet hem de piyasa performansı üzerinde negatif ve anlamlı bir etkisi vardır. (2) firma büyüklüğünün her iki performans göstergesi üzerinde pozitif ve anlamlı bir etkisi vardır. (3) kaldıraç ve varlık yapısı oranlarının faaliyet performansı üzerindeki etkisi negatif ve anlamlıdır. (4) kaldıraç oranının piyasa performansı üzerindeki etkisi çoğunlukla anlamsız iken varlık yapısının piyasa performansı üzerindeki etkisi ise zayıftır. Bu bulgular, firmaların denetim hizmetlerine daha fazla harcama yapmaları, hem faaliyet performansları hem de piyasa performansları üzerinde olumsuz bir etki yarattığını ileri sürmektedir. Başka bir deyişle, çalışmanın örnekleminde yer alan firmaların denetim ücretleri ne kadar fazla olursa analiz döneminde bu firmaların hem muhasebe (faaliyet karlılığı) hem de piyasa performansları (Tobin Q) o kadar az olma eğilimindedir.

Keywords

• denetim ücretleri
• firma performansı,
• Tobin q
• faaliyet karlılığı

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