Determinants of State Audit Delay: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Prior audit delay studies concentrated on municipal government, counties and school districts. This study adds to the literature by examining the determinants of state governments’ timeliness of audit reports. Audit delay determinants found by previous municipal research are used to identify characteristics that may influence state audit delay. This study’s results suggest both agreement and contradiction of prior research audit delay determinants. Financial variables alone do not predict state government audit delay. However, a combination of financial and nonfinancial variables used in municipal audit delay studies do.