Abstract:

This study aims to determine which auditor or business characteristics are associated with the mention of COVID-19 in audit reports. In this context, 475 audit reports of the 2020 financial statements were examined, and reports that mentioned COVID-19 in key audit matters, the emphasis of matter, or other matters paragraphs were identified. As a result of the logistic regression analysis, it was determined that COVID-19 was mentioned more in the audit reports of the larger firms, firms in the sustainability index or the manufacturing sector, and the audits carried out by the Big 4. On the other hand, the gender of the auditor, indexing in the corporate governance index, and the profit of the enterprise are the variables whose effect cannot be determined. The study's findings are significant in that they shed light on several elements influencing the auditor's decision-making process and assess whether the explanation paragraphs are effective preventing the uniformity of the audit reports.

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