The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwe’s urban councils. Persistent reports of untimely release of financial statements for audit by Zimbabwe’s Urban Councils hamper scrutiny by residents on the accountabili...

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Main Author: Tadios, Dadirai
Format: Thesis
Language:en
en
en
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/1/Depositpermission-not%20allow_s903039.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/2/s903039_01.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/3/s903039_02.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/
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author Tadios, Dadirai
author_facet Tadios, Dadirai
author_sort Tadios, Dadirai
building UUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
content_provider Universiti Utara Malaysia
content_source UUM Electronic Theses
continent Asia
country Malaysia
description This study examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwe’s urban councils. Persistent reports of untimely release of financial statements for audit by Zimbabwe’s Urban Councils hamper scrutiny by residents on the accountability for public funds and calls into question the oversight roles of the respective governance bodies in the sector. To attract both local and foreign investment, effective oversight systems and timely reporting are required. A panel data regression analysis using a census of the urban councils registered in the country according to the country’s Urban Councils (2006) Act covering the period 2012 to 2021 was conducted. The governing board characteristics analysed consist of its size, political party composition and political competition. Furthermore, the Audit Committee independence, size, meeting frequency, chair financial expertise and financial expertise in addition to the Internal Audit Function size, independence, sourcing arrangements, competence, and management support were evaluated. Based on the agency theory of corporate governance, the study used two panel data multiple regression models for analysis. Model 1 tests the relationship between the identified Urban council, Audit Committee, and Internal audit function characteristics with Financial Statement Submission Delay while model 2 employs the Audit Delay to test the same variables. Statistical results demonstrated that in Zimbabwe’s urban councils only political party composition, audit committee meeting frequency, audit committee financial expertise, audit committee size, standalone budget for the internal audit function, possession of professional qualifications by internal auditors as well as the proportion of internal audit recommendations implemented by management were significantly influencing timeliness of financial reporting for both models. The study provides players in the urban councils’ corporate governance system, including the central government, parliament and residents, with insights into governance issues requiring their attention. It is recommended that these stakeholders influence timely financial reporting in the urban councils by promoting adoption of the key variables identified as significant in the study
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spelling my.uum.etd-120202026-02-25T08:38:04Z https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/ The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils Tadios, Dadirai HF5667 Professional Ethics. Auditors. JS Local government Municipal government This study examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwe’s urban councils. Persistent reports of untimely release of financial statements for audit by Zimbabwe’s Urban Councils hamper scrutiny by residents on the accountability for public funds and calls into question the oversight roles of the respective governance bodies in the sector. To attract both local and foreign investment, effective oversight systems and timely reporting are required. A panel data regression analysis using a census of the urban councils registered in the country according to the country’s Urban Councils (2006) Act covering the period 2012 to 2021 was conducted. The governing board characteristics analysed consist of its size, political party composition and political competition. Furthermore, the Audit Committee independence, size, meeting frequency, chair financial expertise and financial expertise in addition to the Internal Audit Function size, independence, sourcing arrangements, competence, and management support were evaluated. Based on the agency theory of corporate governance, the study used two panel data multiple regression models for analysis. Model 1 tests the relationship between the identified Urban council, Audit Committee, and Internal audit function characteristics with Financial Statement Submission Delay while model 2 employs the Audit Delay to test the same variables. Statistical results demonstrated that in Zimbabwe’s urban councils only political party composition, audit committee meeting frequency, audit committee financial expertise, audit committee size, standalone budget for the internal audit function, possession of professional qualifications by internal auditors as well as the proportion of internal audit recommendations implemented by management were significantly influencing timeliness of financial reporting for both models. The study provides players in the urban councils’ corporate governance system, including the central government, parliament and residents, with insights into governance issues requiring their attention. It is recommended that these stakeholders influence timely financial reporting in the urban councils by promoting adoption of the key variables identified as significant in the study 2025 Thesis NonPeerReviewed text en https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/1/Depositpermission-not%20allow_s903039.pdf text en https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/2/s903039_01.pdf text en https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/3/s903039_02.pdf Tadios, Dadirai (2025) The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils. Doctoral thesis, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
spellingShingle HF5667 Professional Ethics. Auditors.
JS Local government Municipal government
Tadios, Dadirai
The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title_full The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title_fullStr The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title_full_unstemmed The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title_short The relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in Zimbabwes urban councils
title_sort relationship between urban council characteristics, audit committee characteristics, internal audit function characteristics and timeliness of financial reporting in zimbabwes urban councils
topic HF5667 Professional Ethics. Auditors.
JS Local government Municipal government
url https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/1/Depositpermission-not%20allow_s903039.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/2/s903039_01.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/3/s903039_02.pdf
https://etd.uum.edu.my/12020/
url_provider http://etd.uum.edu.my/