Effects Of Ceo Characteristics On The Relationship Between Excess Cash Holdings And Audit Effort

This study examines not only the relationship between a firm's excess cash holdings and audit effort but also the moderating effects of CEO characteristics on the relationship. Using a sample of non-financial listed Korean companies for 2000-2014, we find that excess cash holdings have a significant positive effect on the external audit effort in terms of audit fees and audit hours. In addition, we find that the effect of excess cash holdings on audit effort is stronger when: (1) the CEO is a non-owner manager, (2) the company belongs to a conglomerate business group and (3) the CEO is in the earlier years of her or his tenure.