Sophisticated investors drive audit committees to challenge accounting estimates more.
The study looked at how audit committees question management's financial estimates based on the type of investors and the information in audit reports. When sophisticated investors are the main shareholders and there's a basic audit report, audit committees ask the most questions. But when unsophisticated investors own the most shares or when the audit report includes extra details about financial estimates, fewer questions are asked. This is especially true for audit committee members who are financial experts. The findings suggest that adding more information to audit reports could reduce the likelihood of audit committees challenging management or auditors.