The Effect of Audit Quality on Costs Stickiness in Manufacturing Companies Listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

One of the most fundamental presumptions of management audit shows that change in costs is in fir correlation with increase and decrease in activity level. However, this assumption is discussed with considering the cost stickiness by Anderson et al. it means that the amount of increase in costs with the increase in activity level is more than reduction in costs per same amount of reduction in activity level. On the other hand, audit could increase the reliability of information available for the users and with the increase in audit quality; quality of information is also enhanced. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of audit quality on cost stickiness in manufacturing companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. Statistical population of this study consists of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange from 2007 to 2014. To measure the correlation of research variables, Pearson correlation test is used and finally, to test research hypotheses, generalized ordinary least-squares regression is used. The results obtained from testing hypotheses how that size of audit and audit tenure (more than 3 years) could affect cost stickiness positively and significantly. However, the expertise of auditor in the industry and importance of a company for a audit institution could have no effect on cost stickiness.