Joint Determinants of Audit Fees and Audit Delay: PublicationTrends, Thematic Structures and Intellectual Networks

  • Authors

    • Najihah Marha Yaacob Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Terengganu ‎Kampus Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia
    • Arina Rus Zahira Rusli Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Terengganu ‎Kampus Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia
    • Najib Majdi Yaacob Unit of Biostatistics and Research Methodology, School of Medical Sciences, ‎Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
    • Ahmad Suffian Mohd Zahari Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan ‎Terengganu Kampus Dungun, Malaysia
    • Ainul Huda ‎ Jamil Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
    https://doi.org/10.14419/x4543h65

    Received date: December 22, 2025

    Accepted date: February 23, 2026

    Published date: March 2, 2026

  • Audit Fees; Audit Delay; Joint Determinants; Thematic; Malaysia

  • Abstract

    The current paper is a bibliometric review of audit fees and audit delay research published from 1992 to 2025. The ‎analysis was performed using publication trends, thematic structures, and intellectual networks. Additionally, ‎Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used on 508 articles in the Scopus database. The results showed a significant ‎increase in publications in 2021-2023, reflecting an increased academic interest in catching up with emerging issues, ‎i.e., cybersecurity threats, the risk of COVID-19, the application of iXBRL, the intensity of regulations, and supply ‎chain dynamics related to their consequences in terms of audit price and audit timeliness. Thematic mapping was ‎applied to identify five general research clusters: audit risk and timeliness; audit quality and independence; corporate ‎governance and reporting; market and contextual variables; and gender and diversity in audit governance. In the ‎meantime, the citation and co-authorship analyses determined the most influential authors and journals in the ‎discipline. Even though 2006-2015 can be defined as a time interval that is characterized by consistent scholarly effect, ‎the average number of citations decreases after 2016, indicating that the field has become more mature and moved to ‎such up-to-date issues as audit technology, data analytics, and sustainability assurance.

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  • How to Cite

    Yaacob , N. M. ., Rusli , A. R. Z. ., Yaacob , N. M. ., Zahari , A. S. M. ., & Jamil , A. H. ‎. (2026). Joint Determinants of Audit Fees and Audit Delay: PublicationTrends, Thematic Structures and Intellectual Networks. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 13(2), 369-377. https://doi.org/10.14419/x4543h65