تأثير جائحة COVID-19 على العلاقة بين تخصص المدقق في الصناعة ورسوم التدقيق: أدلة تجريبية من الأردن.

Purpose ? Motivated by the disastrous impact of COVID-19 on the world?s economies, the purpose of this study is to examine its effect on the association between auditor industry specialization and external audit fees, referring to two time periods: before and during COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach ? A quantitative analysis based on the ordinary least squares regression is performed, using 3,200 company-year observations from 2005 to 2020 in Jordan to test the hypotheses. The qualitative component is a textual analysis of firms? annual reports that support the quantitative analysis findings. Findings ? The analysis confirms there is a direct positive relationship between COVID-19 and external audit fees, confirming the tough consequences of the crisis on audit complexity and risks. While the results show evidence that the relationship between auditor specialist and audit fees is weakened because of COVID-19, the content analysis explained that COVID-19 led to fewer requests for high-quality audit, given the urgent need to report on firms? financial circumstances. Jordan?s capital market is controlled by family businesses, and the insolvency of several large firms during COVID-19 led auditors to offer their services at low cost.