Feito-Ruiz, IsabelCardone Riportella, ClaraUghetto, Elisa2023-11-282023-11-282021-02-02Journal of Small Business Management, 61:4, 1736-177210.1080/00472778.2020.1866765http://hdl.handle.net/10433/16791This study analyzes the two corporate governance mechanisms that affect the debt maturity structure of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM): Big 4 auditors and the firms’ ownership structure. Analyzing 227 listed SMEs (1998–2016) and applying both crosssectional and panel data estimations, we find that: (a) there is a positive and significant relationship between Big 4 auditors and debt maturity; (b) firms with more ownership concentration have a higher fraction of long-term debt in their capital structure; (c) although family firms are, on average, associated with shorter debt maturities, when they are audited by a Big 4, their debt maturity lengthens.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Audit qualityOwnership structureDebt maturity structureAlternative investment market (aim)journal articleopen access