Objective/Purpose: We examine whether the impact of IFRS on audit fees differs between early and late adopters. Data/Methodology: We employ robust econometric estimation on a sample of 314 firms from both early and late IFRS adopting countries Findings: We find that IFRS is positively and significantly associated with an increase in audit fees for early adopters, but the impact is very weak for late adopters and insignificant in some cases. The results on auditing time suggest that increase in audit fees around IFRS adoption is due to increase in audit reporting lags. After accounting for pre and post years, we find that the relationship between IFRS and audit fees, as well as audit time for late adopters, is significant only in the adoption year. However, early adopters experience a significant increase in audit fees and audit time in the transition year to one-year post-adoption. Policy implication: Our findings imply that countries that are yet to adopt IFRS are less likely to experience a significant increase in audit fees audit time. Hence is probable that the benefit of IFRS will outweigh the cost. Originality/Value. The results, therefore, suggest that early adopters paid a premium for been the first users of IFRS, which is consistent with any innovation. Our study provides new insights by demonstrating that the consequences of IFRS differ between early and late adopters. Keywords; Africa, audit fees, audit reporting lags, early adopters, late adopters, IFRS