This paper considers the role of female directors’ statutory and demographic attributes in examining the relationship between the presence of women on board and auditors’ assessment of the risk of material misstatement. Using a sample of French listed companies between 2002 and 2010, we find that presence of women on board is negatively related to auditors’ assessment of the risk of material misstatement, but this relationship becomes positive when female directors’ attributes are included in regression analyses. These results suggest that attributes have a substantial effect on the relationship between female directors and auditors’ assessment of the risk of material misstatement. In particular, we find that female directors’ audit committee memberships, financial expertise, and experience reduces the risk of material misstatement. However, board leadership by women is not associated with auditors’ assessment of the risk of material misstatement. Finally, our findings have important implications for legislators’ and policymakers’ understanding of the importance of female directors’ attributes and skill sets while promoting gender diversity on corporate boards.

本文考虑了女董事的法定和人口属性在检查董事会中女性的存在与审计师对重大错报风险的评估之间的关系中的作用。使用2002年至2010年之间法国一家上市公司的样本，我们发现董事会中女性的存在与审计师对重大错报风险的评估呈负相关，但是当回归分析中包括女性董事的属性时，这种关系就为正。这些结果表明，属性对女性董事与审计师对重大错报风险的评估之间的关系具有重大影响。特别是，我们发现女性董事的审计委员会成员，财务专业知识和经验减少了重大错报的风险。然而，妇女担任董事会领导与审计师对重大错报风险的评估无关。最后，我们的发现对立法者和决策者了解女性董事的特质和技能的重要性，同时促进公司董事会中的性别多样性具有重要意义。