The moderating effect of technological literacy on financial knowledge and expertise and their consequences for audit report quality

Audit committees' financial competencies are central to reporting quality, yet prior research rarely distinguishes academic financial knowledge from practical financial expertise, and technological literacy's moderating role in this relationship remains unexamined in emerging markets. This study investigates whether technological literacy moderates the effects of audit committee members' financial knowledge and financial expertise on audit report timeliness and quality, informed by ISA ۳۱۵, ۳۳۰, and ۷۰۰, and grounded in Agency, Resource Dependence, and Stewardship theories. A cross-sectional survey using a ۹-point Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to ۱۸۹ Iranian certified public accountants, selected through simple random sampling, and analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (SmartPLS ۴). All hypothesized relationships were statistically confirmed: financial knowledge and financial expertise each significantly and positively predicted audit report timeliness, with technological literacy significantly strengthening both relationships, while timeliness explained a substantial share of variance in audit report quality. By separating financial knowledge from expertise and framing technological literacy as a moderating resource, the study extends audit committee research to a transitioning emerging market, offering theoretical and practical guidance for embedding digital competency in audit governance.

کلیدواژه ها:

Financial Knowledge ، experience ، Technological literacy ، Audit report quality ، Audit report timeliness