AUDIT COMMITTEE ACCOUNTING BACKGROUND AND AUDIT FEES: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA.

his study investigates the influence of audit committee accounting background on audit fees paid by companies to external auditors. To achieve this objective, the study utilizes archival method of data collection using market capitalization to select the Top 100 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia utilizing their 2015’s annual report. To investigate the influence of audit committee accounting background, the study utilizes ordinary least square regression analysis. The result indicates that audit committee accounting background has significant positive relationship with audit fees. Similarly, the result indicates that the relationship between audit committee accounting’s experience and audit fees is positive and significant on the other hand, the study displays a negative and insignificant relationship between accounting background of audit committee chairman and audit fees. Further test was conducted to investigate the effect of professional qualification, auditing the background of audit committee chairman and audit committee on audit fees. The result discovers a significant negative relationship between auditing background of audit committee chairman and audit fees. However, a significant positive relationship is found between the audit committee auditing background and as well as the audit committee professional qualification and the auditees. Thus, the study proposes to the authority the roles of accounting and auditing expertise of audit committee members on the external auditors ‘works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]