...Auditor Independence and Non-Audit Services: A Literature Review Vivien Beattie University of Stirling and Stella Fearnley University of Portsmouth TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of tables and list of figures About the authors v vi List of abbreviations vii Executive summary ix Part 1 Auditor independence 1 Introduction 1 1.1 1 1.2 The ‘problem’ of non-audit services (NAS) 1 1.3 The current UK regulatory and professional environment 2 1.4 Motivation for this study 3 1.5 2 The role of audit in regulating capital markets Structure of report 3 Auditor independence 4 2.1 Introduction 4 2.2 Definitions of auditor independence 4 2.3 Economic models of auditor independence not including NAS 5 2.4 Models of auditor pricing and independence in the presence of NAS 5 2.5 2.6 Economic power models of auditor independence Moral psychology, ethical reasoning and independence 8 8 2.7 Broader based studies into auditor decision making 9 2.8 Summary and comments 11 Part 2 Current regulatory frameworks 3 Auditor independence and NAS: analysis of current regulatory frameworks 3.1 Introduction 13 13 3.2 Regulation of auditor independence 13 3.3 Independence in professional and legal regulatory frameworks 13 3.4 3.5 Independence and NAS Overall economic dependence 19 22 3.6 Small companies 22 ...
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...Opinions given by the auditor gives an added credibility to the financial statements (Maqableh, 2014). Commonly, investors often rely on financial statements provided by auditor in making investment judgement and increase the productivity of financial markets. Financial statements provided by the auditors are often reviewed as credible, unbiased opinion that truly reflects the company financial positions. There’s no doubt that auditor independence is the core of auditing profession when establishing its objectivity and integrity. Auditor independence, in particular, indicates the ability of an auditor to disregard any influence or control when conducting an opinion (AAA, 1973). Therefore, auditor must be, and must be seen to be independent of company management. Lack of independence causes audits to be considered to have little value (Johnstone, Sutton, & Warfield, 2001). This is further supported by Elliott and Jacobson (1998) that a particular interest may trigger a risk that could weaken the outcome of the audit which in turn impairs the auditor independence. Hence, independence is fundamental to the purpose served by auditors (Moore et al., 2002). This study is limited to only four variables as to keep the task manageable. Prior years, various studies are being carried out by scholars in examining the effect and significance of the concerns. For instance, Abu Bakar, Abdul Rahman, and Abdul Rashid (2005) studied the factors that influence auditor independence in Malaysian-owned...
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...is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0268-6902.htm The changing role of the auditors R. Jayalakshmy, A. Seetharaman and Tan Wei Khong Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Cyber Jaya, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – To highlight the pressures that the auditors would face in the era of globalisation and the challenges they should be willing to accept in order to maintain trust and integrity. Design/methodology/approach – A wide range of articles and journals published in international journals as well as local journals has been reviewed. The areas covered include audit fraud, true and fair view interpretation, auditor independence and role of internal auditors. Further, ideas have also been obtained from critical write-ups in the business magazines on the fall of multinationals. Findings – A wide range of interpretation has been given by various groups of people on their understanding of the phrase “true and fair”. This has created great confusion as to the interpretation of the audit reports. This has been proven by the fall of many multinationals and the audit pioneers, Andersens. This is one of the causes of audit fraud and it is also seen that as the auditors face an enormous challenge as they enter the twenty-first century, they should be willing to change their attitudes towards their clients. Professionalism should be in the forefront, and an overhaul...
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...COMPANY AUDITOR IN POST-ENRON SOUTH AFRICA Hannine Drake THESIS PRESENTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LAWS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH Supervisor: Prof A.H. van Wyk March 2009 ii DECLARATION By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the owner of the copyright thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: 25 February 2009 Copyright © 2009 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In acknowledgement to all who have contributed to this work in some form: writing this thesis would have otherwise been like swimming through mud. To my supervisor, Professor Andreas van Wyk, thank you for your leadership, patience, and academic skill in guiding me through the research process. To Adéle Mulder and Charl Marais, thank you for your continuous insight and perspectives, both academic and otherwise. And finally to Hilda and Gerrie Steyn, who have been absolutely crucial throughout all my years of study, thank you for your indispensable support, in all its forms. iv SUMMARY The worldwide increase of corporate failures on the scale of Enron and WorldCom has sparked a renewed international trend of corporate governance review. With the external company auditor blamed...
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...European Journal of Business and Management ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol.7, No.28, 2015 www.iiste.org Impact of Firm Size on Earnings Management; A Study of Textile Sector of Pakistan Usman Ali MS Business Administration National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad, Faisalabad Campus Muhammad Afzal Noor Lecturer Department of Management Sciences National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Faisalabad Campus Muhammad Kashif Khurshid Lecturer Department of Management Sciences National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Faisalabad Campus Akhtar Mahmood MS Business Administration National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad, Faisalabad Campus Abstract The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of firm size on earnings management for the textile sector of Pakistan. For this purpose annual ten years data was obtained from 2004 to 2013 for fifty selected firms from the textile sector of Pakistan. Natural logarithm of total assets was used as the proxy of firm size. On the other hand earning management was the dependent variable of this study. Earnings management was measured through discretionary accruals by using modified Jones model. Descriptive statistics, correlation and panel data analysis was used for capturing the impact of firm size on earnings management. The statistical results of this study revealed that there is positive and significant impact of firm size on earnings management. Keywords:...
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...concern over the failure of experienced auditors to detect frauds prior to the issuance of a company’s financial statements. In response, the AIPCA has issued a new auditing standard, SAS 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, in an effort to help auditors better assess fraud risk, detect fraud symptoms, and sharpen professional judgment as to whether a fraud has actually been committed in a firm. The purpose of this term paper is to examine the role of experience in increasing professional skepticism, knowledge acquisition, and ability to detect fraud. We suggest that the typical audit environment does not provide auditors with the type of experience, i.e., practice and feedback with fraud, which is necessary for successful fraud detection. Results of an experiment indicate that audit novices who have received practice and feedback with fraud detection exhibit a higher level of skepticism and knowledge about fraud and are better able to detect a fraud when it exists than individuals with typical audit experience. 1 I. INTRODUCTION The apparent inability of auditors to detect financial statement fraud has prompted regulators, practitioners, and academics to examine the question, “Why do experienced auditors often fail to detect fraud?” There are several factors that contribute to this failure. The Public Oversight Board (POB) Panel on Audit Effectiveness suggests that one factor might be that auditors do not possess an appropriate level of...
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...and propose a conceptual framework for accounts manipulation. This framework is based on the possibility of wealth transfer between the different stakeholders, and in practice, the target of the manipulation appears generally to be the earnings per share and the debt/equity ratio. The paper also describes the different actors involved and their potential gains and losses. We review the literature on the various techniques of accounts manipulation: earnings management, income smoothing, big bath accounting, creative accounting, and window-dressing. The various definitions of all these, the main motivations behind their application and the research methodologies used are all examined. This study reveals that all the above techniques have common elements, but there are also important differences between them. I. Introduction Finns have been manipulating accounts for a long time, and this practice, well known in the literature, has been given various names: earnings management, income smoothing, big bath accounting, creative accounting, and window dressing. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the literature and propose a conceptual framework for accounts...
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...Journal of Accounting and Economics 50 (2010) 344–401 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Accounting and Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jae Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences$ Patricia Dechow a, Weili Ge b, Catherine Schrand c,n a b c University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States a r t i c l e i n f o abstract Available online 4 November 2010 Researchers have used various measures as indications of ‘‘earnings quality’’ including persistence, accruals, smoothness, timeliness, loss avoidance, investor responsiveness, and external indicators such as restatements and SEC enforcement releases. For each measure, we discuss causes of variation in the measure as well as consequences. We reach no single conclusion on what earnings quality is because ‘‘quality’’ is contingent on the decision context. We also point out that the ‘‘quality’’ of earnings is a function of the firm’s fundamental performance. The contribution of a firm’s fundamental performance to its earnings quality is suggested as one area for future work. & 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G31 M40 M41 Keywords: Earnings quality Earnings management Review Survey 1. Introduction Statement of Financial Accounting...
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...examines each of these developments and provides insights into important areas of current and future practice. Building upon the understanding of the new stakeholder accountability framework facing clients and employers developed in earlier chapters, this chapter explores public expectations for the role of the professional accountant and the principles that should be observed in discharging that role. This leads to consideration of the implications for services to be offered, and of the key “value added” or competitive edge that accountants should focus their attention on to maintain their reputation and vitality. Sources of ethical governance and guidance are also introduced. Prior reading of Chapter 2 is essential to understanding Chapter 4. Stakeholder Expectations Accountability and Governance Framework Both the increase in importance of...
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...Financial Scandals and the Role of Private Enforcement: The Parmalat Case Law Working Paper N° 40/2005 May 2005 Guido Ferrarini University of Genoa, Centre for Law and Finance and ECGI Paolo Giudici Free University of Bozen and Centre for Law and Finance © Guido Ferrarini and Paolo Giudici 2005. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. This paper can be downloaded without charge from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=730403 www.ecgi.org/wp ECGI Working Paper Series in Law Financial Scandals and the Role of Private Enforcement: The Parmalat Case Working Paper N° 40/2005 May 2005 Guido Ferrarini Paolo Giudici This Working Paper is based upon a draft prepared for the EU Corporate Law Making Conference (Cambridge, October 29-30, 2004) organized by Harvard Law School and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). The authors are grateful to Gerard Hertig, Mark Roe, Donald Langevoort, and other conference participants for helpful comments. Drafts of this paper were also presented at the Yale Law School Alumni Meeting on October 8-10, 2004; at a meeting of the Associazione Via Isonzo held in Milan on October 10, 2004; and at a seminar at the Institute of Law and Finance (ILF), University of Frankfurt, on January 18, 2005. The authors are grateful to Theodore Baums, Andreas Cahn, Carmine Di Noia, Jon Macey,...
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...framework for financial statement auditors and related research questions Mark E. Peecher a,⇑, Ira Solomon b,1, Ken T. Trotman c,2 a Department of Accountancy, College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, United States A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, 7 McAlister Drive, New Orleans, LA 70118, United States c School of Accounting, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia b a b s t r a c t We address the following overarching questions: What kind of accountability framework could regulators use to (a) motivate auditors to improve audit quality, and (b) evaluate how well auditors have carried out their duties? We draw on research in accounting, economics, psychology, and neuroscience to critique the accountabilities, incentives, and learning opportunities embedded in auditors’ extant regulatory environment. We first establish that forward-looking estimates are the basis for most financial statement information and that some of these estimates are highly uncertain, which increases the challenges faced by auditors. We propose an accountability framework with two dimensions: rewards versus penalties and processes versus outcomes. We show that auditors’ current regulatory accountabilities generally are in the form of penalties rather than rewards and primarily depend on audit outcomes rather than attributes of auditors’ judgment processes. We provide...
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... Your1040Return.com Evaluating eBusiness Revenue Recognition, Information Privacy, and Electronic Evidence Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2.2 2.3 2.4 Dell Computer Corporation Evaluation of Client Business Risk Flash Technologies, Inc. Asher Farms Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Risk Analysis and Resolution of Client Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Understanding of Client’s Business Environment s e ct ion 3 Professional and ethical issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 S o l u tio nS inc lu de d in t h iS Section 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 A Day in the Life of Brent Dorsey Staff Auditor Professional Pressures Nathan Johnson’s Rental Car Reimbursement Solving Ethical Dilemmas–Should He Pocket the Cash? Recognizing It’s a Fraud and Evaluating What to Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 The Anonymous Caller WorldCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 The Story of a Whistleblower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79...
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...[pic][pic] Corporate Governance and Performance An Exploration of the Connection in a Public Sector Context By Meredith Edwards & Robyn Clough Issues Series Paper No. 1 January 2005 Preface This paper is part of a major project - Corporate Governance in the Public Sector: An evaluation of its Tensions, Gaps and Potential. The project will provide the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical work on corporate governance in the Commonwealth public sector. It has been designed to enhance communication and participation in governance across government, industry, and the community by improving corporate governance literacy and making information publicly available. The project is a collaborative venture between three University of Canberra research centres and key governmental and industry partners including the Australian National Audit Office, the Australian Government Department of Finance and Administration, Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu, CPA Australia and MinterEllison Lawyers. This paper is the first in a series that will be produced by researchers and industry partners involved in the project. The aim of the series is to identify and explore key emerging public sector governance issues and encourage wider discussion and activity. The series has been designed for public sector practitioners and corporate governance ‘enthusiasts’ across the public and private sectors. All papers will be broadly distributed and will be available online - www...
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...Enron and World Finance A Case Study in Ethics Edited by Paul H. Dembinski, Carole Lager, Andrew Cornford and Jean-Michel Bonvin Enron and World Finance Also by Observatoire de la Finance From Bretton Woods to Basel Finance & the Common Good/Bien Commun, no. 21, Spring 2005 Ethics of Taxation and Banking Secrecy Finance & the Common Good/Bien Commun, no. 12, Autumn 2002 Will the Euro Shape Europe? Finance & the Common Good/Bien Commun, no. 9, Winter 2001–2 Dommen, E. (ed.) Debt Beyond Contract Finance & the Common Good/Bien Commun, Supplement no. 2, 2001 Bonvin, J.-M. Debt and the Jubilee: Pacing the Economy Finance & the Common Good/Bien Commun, Supplement no. 1, 1999 Dembinski, P. H. (leading contributor) Economic and Financial Globalization: What the Numbers Say United Nations, Geneva, 2003 Enron and World Finance A Case Study in Ethics Edited by Paul H. Dembinski Carole Lager Andrew Cornford and Jean-Michel Bonvin in association with the Observatoire de la Finance Selection, editorial matter and Chapters 1, 2 and 16 © Observatoire de la Finance Remaining chapters © contributors 2006 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence ...
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...Integrating ERP, CRM, Supply Chain Management, and Smart Materials Dimitris N. Chorafas AUERBACH Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chorafas, Dimitris N. Integrating ERP, CRM, supply chain management, and smart materials / Dimitris N. Chorafas. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8493-1076-8 (alk. paper) 1. Business logistics. 2. Customer relations. I. Title. HD38.5 .C44 2001 658.5—dc21 2001022227 This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The consent of CRC Press LLC does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained in writing from CRC Press LLC for such copying. Direct all inquiries to CRC Press LLC, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, Florida 33431. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks...
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