Abstract

Objectives: This research investigates the influence of having a separate risk committee on audit report lag for non-financial firms in Saudi Arabia and whether firm profitability moderates these effects. Methods: The study develops two regression models to examine the aforementioned relationships for 514 data observations from 140 non-financial firms in Saudi Arabia over the years from 2018 to 2021. Results: The findings show that having a separate risk committee helps shorten the audit report lag for the companies analyzed, and that firm profitability has an important moderating role in this relationship. These findings emphasize the important role of a separate risk committee in improving the audit process's efficiency and timeliness. Furthermore, the findings suggest that audit processes are more effective in profit firms. Conclusions: In such a context, market regulators across the region can use the findings to push for policies which encourage listed firms to establish independent risk committees. This must be beneficial for both stakeholders trust and the quality of financial reporting.