The Impact of Adopting the Joint External Audit Approach on the Auditor's Opinion and its Reflection on Information Asymmetry: An Applied Study at Firms Registered on Amman Stock Market Exchange

The study aims to form a new model to examine the indirect effect of adopting the joint external approach on the auditor's opinion and its reflection on information asymmetry: an applied study on firm registered on Amman Stock Market Exchange (ASME) by considering auditor's opinion as mediator variable. The population sample used in the current study consists of 46 joint-stock companies from (ASME). data collection was conducted using the annual financial reports of the period (2015-2019), both descriptive and analytical tools are used, the SPSS and AMOS software program was used to test for the hypotheses. The study concludes that the new model is useful in explaining the indirect effect of joint auditing on information asymmetry. It finds that joint audits have a significant positive effect on the qualified auditor’s opinion. Joint audit has a significant negative effect on information asymmetry. Qualified auditor’s opinion has a significant negative effect on information asymmetry. Joint audit has a significant positive effect on the qualified auditor’s opinion and this effect leads to decreased information asymmetry. Consequently, this paper contributes to the limited literature by suggesting a new model for the effect of joint audit on auditor’s opinions and its impact on information asymmetry. Significant recommendations urged conducting more research and studies related to adopting the external joint auditing method on the auditor's opinion and its reflection on the inconsistency of information, which enhances interest in this subject.