Does gender in the audit relationship matter? ::an analysis of audit fees under the prism of gender stereotype threats

Purpose – Drawing on the gender stereotype threat theory, and more precisely on the ‘mere effort model’, this study examines whether and how the presence of women on both sides of the auditor-auditee relationship is associated with audit fees. Design/methodology/approach – We carry out this research on a sample of Swiss listed firms over 2010-2017. Quantitative data is analyzed using entropy balancing and difference-in-differences estimations. Findings – Our results show that the interplay of female auditors and female audit committee members is associated with higher audit fees. We interpret this result in light of the gender stereotype threat theory, suggesting that the female dyadic combination induces increased effort. Originality − Borrowing on the socio-psychological literature, we envisage the audit relationship under the prism of gender stereotype threats. We offer an outside laboratory attempt to better comprehend the implications of gender stereotype threats in terms of audit fees and contribute to the emerging literature on influences of inter-organizational gender interactions