According to Salehi et al. (2017), financial reporting supported by reliable numbers and figures adds to the response and responsibility of companies to their stakeholders. Mahmoud and Kani (2014) reiterate that corporate governance improves auditing quality by supporting the disclosure of adequate information. The development of Saudi corporate governance is based on the stock market crash of 2006, leading to the development of more robust policies, including the Capital Marketing Authority reducing listed companies’ price fluctuations to 5% from 10%, and increased market efficiency in terms of information flow and transparency in financial reporting to cushion Saudi’s capital market against shocks (Alkhaldi, 2015). These shocks include the potential crash of the stock market, the volatilities stemming from systematic exposures and the prevalence global epidemics that can reduce the level of activity trades on its trading platform. In this context, quality audits supported by corporate governance protect the market against future failures (Al-Faryan, 2020). However, Bett and Oluoch (2017) point out that some of the studies done on corporate governance and audit quality fail to establish a critical relationship between the concepts, especially for energy companies in Saudi Arabia.
Research Question
How an improved relationship between corporate governance and audit quality can affect the Saudi energy listed companies to achieve the sustainable development goals 7 and 13.
