O o i, Abel Obeng Aman o; A hu , Benedic ; Asiedu, Michael; Nyan akyi, Geo ge;
Opoku, Pious
A icle
The impac o COVID-19 pandemic on inancial epo ing
delay. E idence om Ghana
Cogen Business & Managemen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: O o i, Abel Obeng Aman o; A hu , Benedic ; Asiedu, Michael; Nyan akyi, Geo ge;
Opoku, Pious (2024) : The impac o COVID-19 pandemic on inancial epo ing delay. E idence om
Ghana, Cogen Business & Managemen , ISSN 2331-1975, Taylo & F ancis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1,
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The impac o COVID-19 pandemic on financial
epo ing delay. E idence om Ghana
Abel Obeng Aman o O o i, Benedic A hu , Michael Asiedu, Geo ge
Nyan akyi & Pious Opoku
To ci e his a icle: Abel Obeng Aman o O o i, Benedic A hu , Michael Asiedu, Geo ge
Nyan akyi & Pious Opoku (2024) The impac o COVID-19 pandemic on financial epo ing
delay. E idence om Ghana, Cogen Business & Managemen , 11:1, 2318019, DOI:
10.1080/23311975.2024.2318019
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The impac o COVID-19 pandemic on inancial epo ing delay.
E idence om Ghana
Abel Obeng Aman o O o ia, Benedic A hu b , Michael Asieduc, Geo ge Nyan akyid
and Pious Opokue
ains i u e o accoun ing and Finance Policy Resea ch, acc a, ghana; bFacul y o Humani ies, ningxia no mal uni e si y, ningxia,
China; cschool o enginee ing, Johns Hopkins Whi ing, Bal imo e, MD, usa; daccoun ing school, Zhongnan uni e si y o
economics and Law, Wuhan, China; eschool o accoun ancy, Jiangxi uni e si y o Finance and economics, nanchang, China
ABSTRACT
The widesp ead co ona i us (COVID-19) has spa ked conside able wo y among
businesses wo ldwide, including Ghana. Despi e a g owing body o in o ma ion on
ma ke and business eac ions o he COVID-19 pandemic, he e a e ew o no s udies
ha ha e empi ically examined he di ec impac o COVID-19 on a i m’s inancial
epo ing. The pape employed a panel eg ession model o examine COVID-19 impac s
on a i m’s inancial epo ing delay o e 3 yea s o 100 i ms in Ghana comp ising 30
lis ed i ms and 70 p i a e i ms. The s udy’s empi ical indings indica e COVID-19 and
inancial epo delays ha e a posi i e and signi ican ela ionship. The s udy also
es ablished ha he posi i e ela ionship is mo e p onounced o low-pe o ming and
p i a e i ms. The s udy ecommended ha a i m’s ope a ional s a egies be imp o ed
and well-coo dina ed du ing pandemics o a oid epo ing and subsequen ope a ional
delays.
1. In oduc ion
The imeliness o inancial epo ing is a undamen al cha ac e is ic ha unde pins he eliabili y and
ele ance o inancial in o ma ion in he global business landscape. I se es as a co ne s one o
decision-make s, in es o s, and a ious s akeholde s, ensu ing he anspa ency, in eg i y, and e iciency
o inancial ma ke s (Daoud e al., 2014; D ake e al., 2019). Howe e , he impe a i e o imely inancial
epo ing is no uni o m ac oss di e se economic landscapes, and he challenges in eme ging economies
unde sco e he need o a nuanced unde s anding o he ac o s in luencing epo ing imelines (Albu
e al., 2014; E unza & Losq, 1985; Nu unnabi, 2015).
Ex ensi e schola ly inqui y has explo ed he de e minan s o inancial epo imeliness, in es iga ing
a iables such as business size, p o i abili y, in e nal con ols, and audi ing s anda ds (A enya e al., 2022;
Albi a e al., 2020; Çelik e al., 2023; Yeboah e al., 2023). Ye , despi e hese e o s, a c i ical gap pe sis s
in he li e a u e—speci ically, a comp ehensi e empi ical e alua ion o he di ec impac o COVID-19
in ec ion on i ms’ inancial epo ing imeliness which is deeply ensh ined in an accoun ing heo e ical
e alua ion emains absen .
This s udy aims o ill his oid by adop ing a heo e ical lens, speci ically linking agency heo y wi h
he dynamics o COVID-19 and inancial epo ing delay. While some p io esea ch has examined he
epe cussions o he pandemic on business and audi unc ions (Baja y e al., 2023; Ding e al., 2020; Ruiz
e al., 2020), ou esea ch uniquely con ibu es by in eg a ing agency heo y in o he analysis. This
heo e ical amewo k allows us o disce n he in ica e ela ionship be ween COVID-19 in ec ion and
© 2024 he au ho (s). Published by in o ma uK Limi ed, ading as aylo & F ancis g oup
CONTACT Benedic a hu a [email p o ec ed] Facul y o Humani ies, ningxia no mal uni e si y, ningxia, China
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23311975.2024.2318019
his is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons a ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. he e ms on which his a icle has been
published allow he pos ing o he accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 8 No embe
2023
Re ised 7 Feb ua y 2024
Accep ed 7 Feb ua y
2024
KEYWORDS
COVID-19 pandemic;
inancial epo ing
quali y; audi imeliness;
epo delay; Ghana
ACCOUNTING, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & BUSINESS ETHICS |
RESEARCH ARTICLE
REVIEWING EDITOR
Collins N im, Uni e si y o
Sou hamp on, Uni ed
Kingdom o G ea B i ain
and No he n I eland
JEL CLASSIFICATIONS
G30; M42; M41; M49
2 A. OBENG AMANFO OFORI ETAL.
inancial epo delays, p o iding a nuanced unde s anding o he unde lying mechanisms go e ning
epo ing imelines. In doing so, ou s udy no only add esses he cu en gap bu also adds dep h o
he schola ly discou se by es ablishing a heo e ical ounda ion o explo ing he impac o global e en s
on inancial epo ing wi hin he agency heo y amewo k.
As he wo ld g apples wi h he a e ma h o he COVID-19 pandemic, businesses ace unpa alleled
challenges in na iga ing he complexi ies o inancial epo ing. The pandemic, wi h i s a - eaching con-
sequences on human li e, economies, and socie al no ms, has igge ed an uphea al in he unc ioning
o i ms ac oss sec o s (Cas añeda‐Na a e e e al., 2021; Mackenzie & Smi h, 2020). T a el es ic ions,
emo e wo k manda es, and supply chain dis up ions ha e added laye s o complexi y o ou ine busi-
ness p ocesses, including he inancial closing p ocedu es c ucial o imely epo ing (Rababah e al., 2020).
Amid he challenges posed by he COVID-19 pandemic, ou esea ch occupies a pi o al posi ion whe e
he in icacies o he pandemic in e sec wi h he p io i ies o inancial epo ing. Depa ing om con-
en ional s udies, ou s udy uniquely con ibu es by conduc ing a me iculous analysis deeply ensh ined
on an accoun ing heo e ical e alua ion. This depa u e aims o ca e a niche in he li e a u e, o e ing
empi ical insigh s in o an unexplo ed ace o he pandemic’s epe cussions on co po a e epo ing. Also,
unlike exis ing s udies ha ha e explo ed ma ke and business eac ions o he pandemic (Decke &
Hal iwange , 2022; Klöckne e al., 2023; Xue e al., 2021), ou esea ch s ands ou by del ing in o he
hea o inancial epo ing imeliness, adding g anula i y o he exis ing knowledge base. By empi ically
explo ing he in e play be ween COVID-19 in ec ion and inancial epo delays, ou s udy no only
enhances empi ical unde s anding bu also es ablishes a obus heo e ical ounda ion, p o iding a
nuanced pe spec i e o guiding u u e policy decisions.
In elucida ing he ela ionship be ween COVID-19 in ec ion and inancial epo delays, ou s udy na -
iga es h ough he in ica e web o ac o s ha con ibu e o epo ing imelines. The s udy indica es
ha COVID-19 al e ed inancial epo ing pa e ns. Speci ically, he s udy p o ides e idence ha COVID-19
has impac ed he elemen s o a company’s epo ing imeliness. The s udy shows e idence o a posi i e
and signi ican ela ionship wi h inancial epo delay COVID-19, implying ha he highe he COVID-19
in ec ion in a company, he longe he inancial epo delay days. This e idence is chie ly a ibu ed o
he la e iling o eco ds and he audi o ’s inabili y o access he i m’s inancial epo books quickly,
unlike he no mal imes be o e he co id pandemic audi . Fu he mo e, he esea ch disce ns a ia ions
in he impac ac oss di e en ca ego ies o i ms, un a eling dispa i ies in epo ing delays based on
pe o mance and co po a e s uc u e.
The emaining po ion o he pape is o ganized as ollows: Sec ion 2 p o ides a li e a u e e iew and
hypo hesis de elopmen on inancial epo delays. The a icula ion o hypo heses is in o med by he
in ica e in e play be ween agency heo y, inancial epo imeliness, and he unp eceden ed challenges
posed by he COVID-19 pandemic. Sec ion 3 desc ibes esea ch da a and me hodology; Sec ion 4 p o-
ides empi ical esul s and in e p e a ions; and Sec ion 5 o e s a conclusion and makes a policy
ecommenda ion.
2. Li e a u e e iew
2.1. Key obse a ions ega ding he COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
Ghana is being a ec ed by he Co ona i us pandemic like o he coun ies a ound he globe since he
Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion (WHO) con i med i as a global pandemic on 11 h Ma ch 2020 (Lone &
Ahmad, 2020). Ghana has su e ed unde his pandemic as COVID-19 has impac ed many economies and
claimed millions o li es as he i us sp ead apidly all o e he wo ld. Be o e eco ding he i s case on
12 h Ma ch 2020 (Aduhene & Osei-Assibey, 2021), he go e nmen o Ghana ook p uden s eps o
espond o any expec ed cases. Based on ligh s and passenge a ic, Ghana e alua ed i s abili y o
espond o any suspec ed o con i med cases o COVID-19.
The Go e nmen o Ghana pledged ini ial unding o 2.8 million Ghanaian cedis o assis in disas e
p epa edness in he coun y. In addi ion, he heal h au ho i ies ha e ca ied ou a ious ac i i ies o
s eng hen sys ems along he heme lines. In his ega d, he go e nmen adop ed and announced a a
o measu es be o e and a e Ghana eco ded i s i s case in line wi h he objec i es o he coun y’s
COGENT BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT 3
esponse. The p e en ion and con ol measu es include manda o y 14-day qua an ine o Ghanaian ci i-
zens and pe sons wi h esidence pe mi s a i ing in he coun y, ban o poin s o en y, he ban on a el
in o Ghana by o eigne s om coun ies wi h a leas 200 cases, in e na ional a el by public o icials
excep o special cases was suspended, suspension o all public ga he ings o ou (4) weeks, closu e o
all schools excep inal yea s uden s who we e p epa ing o hei examina ions and many o he s.
Rega dless o he measu es abo e, he numbe o posi i e cases eco ded ose d ama ically wi hin 15 days
om jus wo (2) cases on 12 h Ma ch 2020 o 137 cases on 27 h Ma ch 2020.
Ghana was he second coun y wi h he highes numbe o con i med cases o co ona i us (COVID-19)
in he Wes A ican egion, a e Nige ia, and he se en h coun y ac oss A ica, behind Sou h A ica,
Egyp , E hiopia, Kenya, Alge ia, and Nige ia as o 3 d Decembe 2020. The pandemic has impac ed and
a ec ed all g oups o pe sons ac oss he Ghanaian social le el. As o 3 d Decembe 2020, 51,667 con-
i med cases had been epo ed, wi h 50,547 eco e ies and 323 deceases. The as onomic inc ease
wi hin 15 days p o ed o be a o e unne o COVID-19 incidence in Ghana and p omp ed he imposi ion
o es ic ions on he mo emen o pe sons (lockdown) in he G ea e Acc a Me opoli an A ea and
G ea e Kumasi Me opoli an A ea by he p esiden om 30 h Ma ch 2020 o 20 h Ap il 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has se e ely a ec ed Ghana in a mul idimensional way. G ow h has slowed,
inancial condi ions ha e igh ened, and exchange a es ha e come unde p essu e. Fo example, GDP
g ow h was p ojec ed o d op om 6.8% o 0.9% by he end o 2020. A ise in unplanned social and
heal h expendi u es, o eign di ec in es men , linea g ow h in he hospi ali y indus y, dec ease in e -
enues due o se e e sho alls in ax e enues, oil e enues, and impo a i s. The COVID-19 pandemic
has esul ed in signi ican ad e se economic and ope a ional impac s on nume ous o ganiza ions and
has p esen ed pe sonal challenges o indi iduals in accomplishing hei asks amids his pe iod o
unce ain y (Me wally e al., 2021), especially in inancial epo ing.
2.2. Theo e ical analysis and hypo hesis de elopmen
The s udy d aws on agency heo y o elucida e he in ica e dynamics be ween managemen and sha e-
holde s, un a eling he inhe en challenges a ising om in o ma ion asymme y (Bendickson e al., 2016).
This heo y posi s ha when agen s possess aluable in o ma ion sough by p incipals, i may lead o a
misuse o obliga ions. Be le and Means (1991) unde sco ed he p opensi y o manage s o pu sue
sel -in e es s due o he sepa a ion o owne ship and con ol in la ge co po a ions. The consequence
o en mani es s as con lic ing goals wi h he p inciple o maximizing sha eholde s’ weal h (Shlei e &
Vishny, 1989), esul ing in in o ma ion imbalances.
Regula ions manda ing imely submission o inancial s a emen s se e as a co ec i e measu e o
mi iga e hese in o ma ion imbalances (Ma hu a e al., 2019). Howe e , he ad en o he COVID-19 pan-
demic has in oduced unp eceden ed challenges. The ensuing p e en i e measu es, including business
closu es and emo e wo k, dis up ed he con en ional low o in o ma ion. This dis up ion, coupled wi h
he go e nmen -imposed es ic ions, has a p o ound impac on he s a u o y epo ing imelines.
The inancial audi epo delay, de ined as he du a ion be ween he manda o y da e o audi ed
inancial s a emen publica ion and he ac ual issuance o he annual epo (Khaksa e al., 2022),
becomes exace ba ed in he backd op o he pandemic. The mul i ace ed easons behind inancial epo
delays encompass he size and p o i abili y o he business, accu acy o inancial da a, in e nal con ols,
and, no ably, epidemics (Fa mawa i & Rohimah, 2022; Johnson, 1996). The unexpec ed na u e o he
COVID-19 pandemic ampli ies hese challenges, making i a duous o businesses o gene a e inancial
s a emen s and audi o s o conduc audi s.
The pandemic in oduces complexi ies, making i ha de o businesses o compile inancial s a e-
men s (Tibile i e al., 2021). I s ipple e ec ac oss a ious sec o s, om hospi ali y o inance (Aha on
e al., 2021), ampli ies unce ain ies and delays. Reduced se ice deli e y and layo s, esul ing om he
pandemic, u he impede inancial epo c ea ion due o pe sonnel in ec ions, communica ion chal-
lenges, in en o y coun ing di icul ies, and echnological obs acles.
In e communica ion hu dles igge ed by he pandemic and ela ed es ic ions, compounded by
he shi o emo e wo k, impede physical in en o y coun s and a ec audi p ocedu es. Hence, build-
ing upon he in e play elucida ed by agency heo y and he challenges posed by he COVID-19
4 A. OBENG AMANFO OFORI ETAL.
pandemic, he s udy hypo hesizes a posi i e ela ionship be ween COVID-19 in ec ion and inancial
epo s delay.
3. Resea ch me hodology
This subsec ion p o ides in o ma ion on he me hodological app oach adop ed in he s udy. The speci ic
a eas include sample selec ion, a iable de ini ions and measu emen , e c.
3.1. Sample selec ion
As o he end o 2020, he s udy’s a ge sample included all co po a e o ganiza ions in Ghana (bo h
lis ed and unlis ed). Gi en he s udy’s aim, we employed he pu posi e sampling echnique (Gua e &
Ba ios, 2006). The da a spans he yea s 2018–2020 and includes up o 300 obse a ions. The s udy’s da a
was ga he ed om wo main sou ces. Fi s , he annual inancial s a emen s o 30 Ghana s ock
exchange-lis ed companies we e ga he ed. Second, he s udy da a is ga he ed om he annual inancial
epo s o 70 unlis ed en e p ises. The companies a e om 10 sec o s. These sec o s a e Ag icul u e,
Heal h and Beau y, Food and Be e ages, Re ail, In es men and Educa ion, Manu ac u ing, Mining, Oil
and Gas, P in and ICT, and Telecommunica ion.
3.2. Dependen a iable
Financial epo delay is he dependen a iable in his chap e . Repo s delays a e occasioned by i ms’
epo s being published ma ching he cu en publishing da e wi h he a e age da es in p e ious yea s
and inding he di e ence in days as employed by Lukason and Camacho-Miñano (2019). In Ghana, i ms
a e manda ed o publish hei epo a leas 90 days be o e he closu e o hei accoun ing yea
(Appiah-Konadu e al., 2022). As such, delay days a e calcula ed as he published inancial epo s la e
han 90 days (3 mon hs) a e he close o he inancial yea .
3.3. Independen a iable
COVID-19 in ec ion is he s udy’s key independen o explana o y a iable. A dummy a iable is o med
using he numbe o in ec ed pe sons in each egion. A good design ins umen was u ilized in collec -
ing da a on i ms ha we e double-checked wi h he numbe o in ec ions da a as asce ained om he
Ghana Heal h Se ice o each egion. The e o e, his a iable is es ima ed as a dummy a iable whe e
‘1’ is indica ed i COVID-19 in ec s a pe son o each egion wi hin a yea , and ‘0’ i o he wise.
3.4. Con ol a iables
Nume ous con ol a iables we e used in he esea ch on he impac o COVID-19 in ec ion on i m
inancial epo delays based on e iews o he exis ing li e a u e on he subjec . E en hough hey a e
no he subjec o his s udy, hese con ol a iables we e used since hey ha e been shown in he li -
e a u e o ha e a possible in luence on he esponse a iable. The con ol a iables used a e i m g ow h,
i m size, BIG4, e u n on asse s, boa d size, i m age, boa d independence, and le e age. These a e
adap ed om he wo ks o (Jaggi & Tsui, 1999; Le en is & Wee man, 2004; Owusu-Ansah, 2000; Sengup a,
2004) and ha e all been iden i ied as p edic ing inancial epo imeliness (Musah e al., 2022).
3.5. Empi ical s a egy and model
The s udy emula es (A enya e al., 2022; Benedic e al., 2021) and used a mul i a ia e s anda d panel-da a
echnique eg ession wi h mul iple ixed e ec se ings o compensa e o a ious business and indus y-le el
he e ogenei y ac o s ha could po en ially al e he empi ical ela ionship be ween he majo a iables o
in e es (Lawal & Shinozawa, 2022). The baseline model speci ica ion is w i en as ollows:
COGENT BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT 5
(1)
Whe e DELAY_DAYS is he Published inancial epo la e han 3 mon hs a e he close o he inan-
cial yea . COVID_INF is a dummy a iable whe e 1 ep esen s con i med COVID-19 in ec ion in each
egion in a yea and 0 i o he wise. GROWTH is he na u al log o change in annual e enue.
AGE is he numbe o yea s a company has been ope a ing. BIG4 is a dummy a iable ‘1’ i he i m
is audi ed by Big4, and ‘0’ i o he wise. ROA is he a io o ne income o o al asse s. LEV is he a io o
o al deb o o al asse s. Boa d independence is he numbe o boa d membe s who a e independen
om he i m execu i es. The numbe o boa d di ec o s is BRDSIZE. FRM_SIZE is he size o he i m,
es ima ed as he Log o To al Asse s.
4. Resul s and discussion
4.1. Summa y s a is ics
The s udy in es iga ed he impo an pa e ns in he a iables (mean, s anda d de ia ion, maximum and
minimum alues, and he numbe o obse a ions) using summa y s a is ics, which p o ides a clea pic-
u e o he sample’s cha ac e is ics. The desc ip i e da a o COVID-19 in ec ions, inancial epo delays
days, and a se o con ol a iables sugges ed o in luence inancial epo delay in he heo e ical and
empi ical li e a u e a e p o ided in Table 1.
The s udy employed a mul i a ia e con en ional panel-da a app oach eg ession wi h se e al ixed e ec
se ings o accoun o he company and indus y-le el he e ogenei y ac o s ha could po en ially in luence
he empi ical ela ionship be ween he p ima y a iables o in e es . Addi ionally, he in es iga ion disco e s
a la ge di e ence in he dependen a iable’s alues; inancial epo s delays days om hei mean alue. The
s anda d de ia ion o 14.85 indica es ha he e is conside able a ia ion a ound he mean o 41.475. Financial
epo delay days ha e a minimum and maximum alue o 0 and 83, espec i ely. These a e he minimum
and maximum alues o Fanmilk L d and Unile e L d. This indica es ha Ghana’s a e age audi ed inancial
epo is longe han he 90-day epo ing pe iod (Owusu-Sekye e & Ko ey, 2019).
The con ol a iables include g ow h, i m age, Big4, i m size, le e age, e u n on asse s, boa d size,
and boa d independen . The s udy disco e s a conside able ange in i m size alues ela i e o hei
mean alue. The s anda d de ia ion o 2.434 indica es ha he e is conside able a ia ion a ound he
mean o 17.983. The mean exceeds he s anda d de ia ion by se en imes. Fi m size anges be ween
12.586 and 23.187. The s udy ound a s anda d de ia ion o 1.218 and a mean alue o 0.765 o i m
le e age. This associa ion indica es ha he alues a e subs an ially sp ead a ound hei mean, esul ing
in a la ge s anda d de ia ion. The company le e age has a minimum and maximum alue o 0.021 and
21.126, espec i ely.
Table 1. Desc ip i e s a is ics.
Va iable obs Mean Median s d. de Min Max
DeLaY_DaYs 300 41.475 40.112 14.85 0.000 83.00
CoViD_inF 300 0.271 0.000 0.114 0.000 1.000
FRM_siZe 300 17.983 22.354 2.434 12.586 23.187
Roa 300 0.09 0.044 0.408 −5.650 0.825
LeV 300 0.765 0.628 1.218 0.021 21.126
BRDsiZe 300 8.03 9.251 1.813 4.000 16.000
BRD_inD 300 0.731 0.307 0.145 0.291 0.910
gRoW H 300 0.256 0.114 0.461 −0.847 5.754
Big4 300 0.835 1.000 0.372 0.000 1.000
age 300 25.938 30.00 18.763 1.000 58.00
DeLaY_DaYs is he Published inancial epo la e han 3 mon hs a e he close o he inancial yea . CoViD_inF is a dummy a iable whe e
1 ep esen con i m CoViD-19 in ec ion in a egion in a yea and 0 i o he wise. gRoW H is he na u al log o change in annual e enue. age
is he numbe o yea s a Company has been in ope a ion. Big4 is a dummy a iable whe e ‘1’ i he i m is audi ed by Big4, ‘0’ i o he wise.
Roa is he ne income / o al asse . Le e age is he o al Deb o o al asse s. BRDsiZe is he numbe o boa d di ec o s. FRM_siZe is he size
o he i m es ima ed as he Log o o al asse s. BRD_inD is he pe cen age o non-execu i e boa d membe s o o al boa d.
6 A. OBENG AMANFO OFORI ETAL.
Addi ionally, he ROA obse a ions exhibi a high deg ee o dispe sion om hei mean. The mean
and s anda d de ia ion o ROA a e espec i ely 0.09 and 0.408. The ROA has a ange o alues
be ween −5.650 and 0.825. Addi ionally, he s udy disco e s a la ge ange in he alues o company
g ow h ela i e o hei mean alue. The s anda d de ia ion o 0.461 indica es ha he e is conside -
able a ia ion a ound he mean o 0.256. Fi m g ow h has a minimum and maximum alue o −0.847
and 5.754, espec i ely. The s udy ound a s anda d de ia ion o 18.763 and a mean alue o 25.938
o i m age. This associa ion indica es ha he alues a e subs an ially sp ead a ound hei mean,
esul ing in a la ge s anda d de ia ion. Fi m age has a minimum and maximum alue o 1 and 58,
espec i ely.
Fu he mo e, he obse a ions o Big4 demons a e a high deg ee o dispe sion om hei mean.
Big4’s mean and s anda d de ia ion a e 0.835 and 0.372, espec i ely. The mean implies ha 84 pe cen
o he en e p ises unde conside a ion we e audi ed in Ghana du ing he s udy pe iod by one o he
Big4 audi i ms. Big4 has a maximum and a minimum alue o 0 and 1, espec i ely. The boa d size
(BRDSIZE) obse a ions demons a e a high deg ee o dispe sion om hei mean. Boa d size (BRDSIZE)
has a mean o 8.03 and a s anda d de ia ion o 1.813. The boa d size (BRDSIZE) has a minimum and
maximum alue o ou and six een, espec i ely. Indi idual boa d independence obse a ions (BRD_IND)
also demons a e a high deg ee o dispe sion. Boa d Independence (BRD_ IND) has a mean and s anda d
de ia ion o 0.731 and 0.145, espec i ely. This means ha , on a e age, 73.1% membe s on he boa d
a e independen om he i m execu i e membe s. Boa d Independence (BRD_ IND) has a minimum and
maximum alue o 0.291 and 0.910, espec i ely.
4.2. Reg ession esul s o COVID-19 in ec ion and inancial epo s delay
Al hough he eg ession indings in Table 2 include con ol a iables, model 1 column 1 has no con ol
a iables, bu model 2 column 2 includes bo h i m and yea ixed e ec s as well as con ol a iables.
Table 2. Reg ession esul s o CoViD-19 and inancial epo s delay.
DeLaY_DaYs Model 1 Model 2
CoViD_inF 0.530*** 0.391***
(5.78) (8.22)
FRM_siZe 0.020***
(5.01)
BRDsiZe −0.012**
(−2.01)
age −0.006
(−0.75)
gRoW H 0.131***
(7.28)
LeV 0.028**
(2.40)
BRD_inD −0.004**
(−2.10)
Big4 −0.555**
(−2.63)
Roa −0.006
(−0.46)
Cons an 0.140** 0.172**
(2.14) (2.53)
obs. 300 300
R-squa ed 0.383 0.501
Yea Fe no Yes
Fi m Fe no Yes
*, **, and ***indica e signi icance a he 10%, 5%, and 1% le els, espec i ely. -s a is ics
in pa en hesis. DeLaY_DaYs is he Published inancial epo la e han 3 mon hs
a e he close o he inancial yea . CoViD_inF is an indica o a iable whe e 1 ep-
esen s con i med CoViD-19 in ec ion in a egion in a yea and 0 i o he wise.
gRoW H is he na u al log o change in annual e enue, age is he numbe o yea s
a Company has been in ope a ion. Big4 is a dummy a iable ‘1’ i he i m is audi ed
by Big4, ‘0’ i o he wise. Roa is he ne income/ o al asse . LeV is he o al Deb o
o al asse s. BRDsiZe is he numbe o boa d di ec o s. FRM_siZe is he size o he
i m es ima ed as he Log o o al asse s. BRD_inD is he pe cen age o non-execu i e
boa d membe s o o al boa d.
COGENT BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT 7
Robus e o was used o accoun o any conce ns abou he e oscedas ici y and au oco ela ion. The
eg ession indings indica e ha when ixed ac o s a e included in model 2, he R-squa ed alue
imp o es d ama ically (Nyan akyi e al., 2023). This conclusion shows ha some unobse ed
ime-in a ian i m-le el cha ac e is ics ha e a signi ican e ec on he ela ionship and a e hence nec-
essa y o con ol o .
I can be seen om he ou comes in Table 2 ha bo h models show he impac o COVID-19 on
epo ing delay days in he same di ec ion. COVID-19 in ec ion has a posi i e signi ican impac on i ms’
inancial epo ing delay days which sugges s ha COVID-19 inc eases he i m’s inancial epo ing delay
days. Con e ing o model 2, a uni inc ease in COVID-19 will esul in a 0.391 uni inc ease in i ms’
inancial epo ing delay days. The esul s suppo hypo hesis 1, which s a es ha COVID-19 in ec ion is
posi i ely co ela ed wi h inancial epo ing delay. By implica ion, i he company has a highe a e o
COVID-19 in ec ion, i will also ha e mo e epo ing delay days. This aligns wi h he indings o he s udy
conduc ed by Lawal and Shinozawa in 2022, demons a ing ha COVID-19 induced ope a ional complex-
i ies, and subsequen ea nings news elucida es he delays in inancial epo ing. The s udy o Baja y e al.
(2023) also gi e c edence o ou indings. The s udy using in e nal audi epo s e eals audi o s ake
ook longe han expec ed du a ion o ime o comple e hei ask du ing he COVID-19 e a. Inconsis en
wi h ou s udy indings is he esea ch unde aken by Ha ymawan and Pu i (2023) which s a es wha
i m ha has good co po a e go e nance in place will ha e no COVID-19 e a epo ing lag.
Addi ionally, he da a indica e ha i m size has a posi i e e ec on inancial epo ing delay a he
1% le el o signi icance. This indica es ha epo ing delays will inc ease i he o ganiza ion g ows in
size. This is consis en wi h he s udy o Ha jo o and Laksmana (2022). In e ms o le e age, o ganiza-
ions ha a e highly le e aged a e likely o expe ience a longe epo ing delay (Aksoy e al., 2021).
This is because high-le e age i ms ha e a g ea e endency o manipula e hei inancial s a emen s
o appea us wo hy and ea n he us o c edi o s o ge la ge loans. Simila ly, he esul s indica e
ha en e p ises expe iencing apid expansion ha e a highe a e o epo ing delay, which is s a is i-
cally signi ican . Fi ms epo ing days end o educe as e u n on asse g ows, while he e ec is no
s a is ically signi ican . When boa d size and independence a e inc eased, he e is a s ong p obabili y
ha a company’s epo ing delay days will dec ease (Aksoy e al., 2021). Thus, a he 5% le el o sig-
ni icance, a uni inc ease in he size and independence o he i m’s boa d esul s in a 0.014 and 0.006
dec ease in epo ing days, espec i ely. Addi ionally, i was disco e ed ha i m age has a de imen al
e ec on i ms’ epo ing delays. Finally, BIG4 was ound o ha e a subs an ial nega i e e ec on i ms’
epo ed delay days in he s udy sample. Consis en wi h ou s udy indings on he BIG4 is he ou -
come o he wo ks o Chen e al. (2022).
4.3. Robus ness es
To check he obus ness and sensi i i y o he esul s ob ained om he baseline eg ession o COVID-19
in ec ion on epo ing delay days, an al e na i e measu e o COVID-19 was used. Unlike he baseline es ima-
ion whe e COVID-19 in ec ion was ea ed as an indica o /dummy a iable o ‘1’ and ‘0’. The con i med o al
numbe o COVID-19 in ec ion cases eco ded in each egion o Ghana in a yea was u ilized. This al e na e
measu e was deployed o check whe he he esul s we e sensi i e o he p ecise de ini ion o he key a i-
able used in he s udy. As such, i is p ojec ed ha i a company has a highe a e o COVID-19 in ec ion, i
will also ha e high epo ing delay days. The esul s o he obus ness es a e shown in Table 3.
The esul s ound om he obus ness es using an al e na e measu e o COVID-19 in ec ion a e consis-
en wi h he main ou comes s a ed, alida ing ha COVID-19 in ec ion indeed upsu ges he inancial
epo s delay days because COVID-19 in ec ion a ec s all lines o accoun ing epo ing (Velayu ham e al.,
2021), especially accoun ing pe sonnel (Dyczkowska, 2021) which in u n a ec s epo ing imelines and
cause a massi e delay in epo ing o inancials by i ms. The baseline eg ession esul and he obus ness
es esul bo h show ha he e is a posi i e and signi ican ela ionship be ween COVID-19 in ec ion and
i m inancial epo s delay. Howe e , compa ably o he baseline model esul s, he obus ness es esul s
o o al COVID-19 in ec ion in each egion in a yea ha e a bigge coe icien . This mi o s exac ly he
expec a ion ha as he numbe o COVID-19 in ec ions inc eases, he impac o COVID-19 in ec ion on i m
epo s days delay inc eases u he acco dingly. The consis ency o he coe icien signs and he
