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The quality of asthma care may be affected if asthma management is overlooked, thus needing frequent clinical audits to identify areas for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the process (e.g. documentation of asthma-specific information), the structure (e.g. availability of resources) and the outcome (e.g. proportion of patients prescribed with asthma medications) at a university-based primary care clinic. The associated clinical factors for non-documentation of asthma control at the last visit were also examined.

This retrospective study involved auditing medical records and the pharmacy data system of 433 adult patients with asthma to evaluate 18 quality indicators. The standard target for the indicators of process and structure was 80 percent and the standard target for the indicators of outcome was 100 percent.

All the indicators failed to reach the standard targets. Documentation of asthma-specific information and availability of resources were deficient. The non-documentation of asthma control was significantly associated with presence of acute complaint(s) unrelated to asthma, presence of other issues and number of the documented parameters for asthma control. Although the prescription rates of inhaled reliever and preventer were substandard, they were reasonably high compared to the targets.

In this study, evaluation of the quality of care was limited by absence of asthma register, use of paper-based medical records and restricted practice capacity. Besides, the asthma-specific assessments and management were only audited at one particular time. Furthermore, the findings of this study could not be generalised to other settings that used other methods of record keeping such as patient-held cards and electronic medical records. Future studies should sample asthma patients from a register, evaluate more reliable quality indicators (e.g. over-prescription of short-acting β-2 agonist and underuse of inhaled corticosteroid) and assess asthma management over a duration of time.

This study provides quality information on all aspects of asthma care (process, structure and outcome) which can be a basis for clinical improvement. It is hoped that the study could assist the stakeholders to plan strategies for improvement of the asthma care. A more strategic and reliable system of documentation is needed, such as the use of a simple template or structured form, which should not jeopardise the provision of personalised and comprehensive care. With complete documentation, thorough investigational audits can be continuously performed to determine the quality of asthma care.

This study could provide useful findings to guide healthcare providers in developing a more strategic model of asthma care that can ensure asthma patients to receive a personalised, comprehensive, holistic and continuous care. Through this approach, their physical and psychosocial well-being can be optimised.

Even though our healthcare has advanced, the quality of asthma care is still suboptimal which requires further improvement. However, it could be considered assuring due to high outcome levels of asthma care despite having limited resources and practice capacity.

In this research, using an analytical framework on factors affecting the quality of auditing services, we consider factors that affect an expectations gap in providers and users of auditing services related to factors affecting auditing quality. Effective factors studied in this regard are professional features, including the professional role of individuals in the auditing process (auditors against preparers of financial statements), professional experience of individuals, professional rating and size of auditing firms. The first statistical society consists of certified public accountants (CPAs) working in the auditing organization and audit firms in Iran, and the second statistical society consists of all investment companies that operate under the supervision of the Tehran Stock Exchange Organization. Based on the results of the research, the role of professionals in the auditing process is not effective as an independent auditor or financial statements provider, as well as the professional experience of individuals in the expectations gap from factors affecting auditing quality, while the size and qualities of the auditing firms were influenced by the expectations gap of individuals in the field of auditing regulation.

The objective of this paper is to extend the debate on audit quality in the less complex entity (LCE) context by analyzing comment letters submitted to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The IAASB has drafted a new, stand-alone standard for audits of LCEs’ financial statements.

The Gioia method is utilized to conduct the qualitative analysis. This enables the material to shine and provide a comprehensive picture of the important aspects of the comment letters about the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) for LCEs. A content analysis of the 145 comment letters is conducted to identify the extent of the support for and the arguments against the new, stand-alone draft standard for audits of LCEs’ financial statements. In addition, this study considers how the comment letters describe the respondents’ views on audit quality in relation to the new standard. Finally, the tone of the comment letters and audit quality arguments is investigated.

The findings provide a useful framework of the most frequently used arguments supporting and opposing the ISA for LCEs. Within the themes identified, a wide variety of issues and concerns are discussed. The results reveal that the arguments in the comment letters are contradictory. For instance, when discussing audit quality, those interest groups that perceived many positive opportunities in the adoption of the ISA for LCEs thought that the audit quality would increase. Conversely, those interest groups that were skeptical about the success of the ISA for LCEs argued that the audit quality could be compromised by the general prejudice that the ISA for LCEs might be perceived as a lower-quality audit with fewer procedures.

This paper is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to examine the content of comment letters in the context of a new, stand-alone standard for audits of LCEs. The international audience can utilize the results in the context of the widely discussed issue of reducing LCEs’ auditing obligations. This study aims to contribute to the two streams of accounting literature concerning audit quality and political lobbying.

The purpose of this paper is to show that third-party quality audits (TPQAs) facilitate performance improvement and give confidence to organisations concerning the process quality of services and products. However, because of inconsistencies and unethical practices often observed in the industry, organisations question the significance of TPQA. A perception exists that its initial purpose as an impartial tool ensuring quality of deliverables is no longer upheld. Hence, the need to determine and explain the influence of the ISO 19011 standard interpretation on the application of the audit guidelines in performing TPQA, to promote consistency in the audit process.

The study employed document analysis of the ISO 19011 standard, followed by semi-structured interviews with certification managers (CBs) to gain insight related to their interpretation and application of the ISO 19011 guidelines.

The CBs interpret the ISO 19011 guidelines differently; hence, their application of the standard to compile their audit documents differ. Adherence to the principles of auditing particularly, integrity and independence were found as the core of the audit process while their disregard reflects failure of the real intent of auditing. The inconsistencies in the audit procedures and documents developed for auditors are ascribed to some CBs’ personal interpretations.

The study explores how the different interpretations of the ISO 19011 standard prevail and are perceived by the CBs and auditors. The findings aim to support standardisation and reduce the variations across and amongst the different CBs and auditors.

The objective of this study is to present a theoretical framework, which helps ascertain the meanings of the Sharīʿah audit quality and identify the factors that affect it.

The current literature of conventional and Islamic finance on audit quality is critically reviewed to propose the theoretical framework for the quality of Sharīʿah audit.

The paper suggests that for a better Sharīʿah compliance at Islamic banking institutions (IBIs), the role of audit practitioners is very much indispensable. The competency of the practitioner is one of the important factors that affect the quality of the Sharīʿah audit. Assessment and identification of Sharīʿah risk in different financial arrangements, contracts and transactions require a unique competency on the part of the auditor, that is, gripping Sharīʿah law besides traditional assurance skills and techniques.

The Sharīʿah compliance is one of the primary objectives of IBIs, which works at the conceptual level, product development and implementation level, various business models and governance level. Sharīʿah audit function, internal or external, is an important component of Sharīʿah governance framework and provides an independent assessment of IBIs’ compliance with the Sharīʿah rules and principles and helps in managing the Sharīʿah non-compliance risk and ensuring sound internal Sharīʿah control system.

The paper proposes a theoretical framework for defining the Sharīʿah audit quality and determining the factors that are significant in affecting the Sharīʿah audit quality in the IBIs of Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the comment letters (CLs) in the standard-setting process of audits of less complex entities (LCEs). The objective is to gain insight into the overall picture of the CLs and to report on areas where comment providers agree or disagree with IAASB's Part 10.

A content analysis of 60 comment letter (CLs) was conducted to investigate the suggested additional Part 10 on audits of groups' financial statements in the proposed ISA for LCEs. Hence, this study examines three specific topics: (1) the views related to the use of the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) for LCEs for group audits in which component auditors are involved, (2) the proposed group-specific qualitative characteristics to describe the scope of group audits and, finally, (3) insights into the content of the proposed Part 10 and related conforming amendments. The Gioia method is used to provide a holistic approach to concept development of the arguments about the new Part 10.

The CLs stated that, while the proposed Part 10 has some weak points, it still provides a solid and practical structure within which to undertake an LCE group audit and a promising basis for further development. For instance, when discussing the improvements, the CLs stated that Part 10 should allow for more auditor judgment when determining when the involvement of component auditors renders a group audit complex. In addition, the CLs asserted that professional judgment should be engaged when considering the qualitative characteristics and the complexity of the group.

This study contributes to the very scarce research about the ISA for LCEs and the role of lobbying in shaping the audit standard-setting process.

The technical feasibility of using Benford's law to assist internal auditors in reviewing the integrity of high-volume data sets is analysed. This study explores whether Benford's distribution applies to the set of numbers represented by the quantity of records (size) that comprise the different tables that make up a state-owned enterprise's (SOE) enterprise resource planning (ERP) relational database. The use of Benford's law streamlines the search for possible abnormalities within the ERP system's data set, increasing the ability of the internal audit functions (IAFs) to detect anomalies within the database. In the SOEs of emerging economies, where groups compete for power and resources, internal auditors are better off employing analytical tests to discharge their duties without getting involved in power struggles.

Records of eight databases of an SOE in Argentina are used to analyse the number of records of each table in periods of three to 12 years. The case develops step-by-step Benford's law application to test each ERP module records using Chi-squared (χ²) and mean absolute deviation (MAD) goodness-of-fit tests.

Benford's law is an adequate tool for performing integrity tests of high-volume databases. A minimum of 350 tables within each database are required for the MAD test to be effective; this threshold is higher than the 67 reported by earlier researches. Robust results are obtained for the complete ERP system and for large modules; modules with less than 350 tables show low conformity with Benford's law.

This study is not about detecting fraud; it aims to help internal auditors red flag databases that will need further attention, making the most out of available limited resources in SOEs. The contribution is a simple, cheap and useful quantitative tool that can be employed by internal auditors in emerging economies to perform the first scan of the data contained in relational databases.

This paper provides a tool to test whether large amounts of data behave as expected, and if not, they can be pinpointed for future investigation. It offers tests and explanations on the tool's application so that internal auditors of SOEs in emerging economies can use it, particularly those that face divergent expectations from antagonist powerful interest groups.

This study demonstrates that even in the context of limited information technology tools available for internal auditors, there are simple and inexpensive tests to review the integrity of high-volume databases. It also extends the literature on high-volume database integrity tests and our knowledge of the IAF in Civil law countries, particularly emerging economies in Latin America.

The purpose of the study is to examine how small and medium audit practices (SMPs) in emerging economies build and anchor on dynamic auditing capability to operate in a turbulent business environment occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study adopts an exploratory qualitative methodology using qualitative data collected with the aid of an open-ended instrument. With the help of a qualitative data analysis software QSR NVivo9, data were analyzed following Gioia's methodology with a four-stage coding process that combines both a deductive and an inductive approach.

The findings of the study show that to manage operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, SMPs developed and anchored on dynamic auditing capabilities. Specifically, the findings show that this required transformation of existing operational capabilities, shiftiness, flexibility and innovativeness of the SMPs as well as leveraging networking and adaptive sub-capabilities.

The study produces a pioneer result of how to develop and anchor on the dynamic auditing capability by the SMP subsector of the audit industry to continue operations in a turbulent business environment the magnitude of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the compliance of environmental risk management systems implemented by Moroccan banks with ISO 14001 certification or environmental charters.

Data were collected through the distribution of an environmental risk management questionnaire to all Moroccan banks’ branches, business centers and various central entities. The study uses regression analysis to model the relationship between environmental management system (EMS) compliance and environmental management explanatory variables to identify the most relevant indicators that can explain the effectiveness and reliability of an EMS.

Empirical evidence reveals that the evaluation of EMS compliance in Moroccan banks should consider two categories of variables: the first category is related to the culture of environmental risk management, and the second one is related to environmental management practices.

The results show that the “information” variables play a key role in the overall design of an EMS and represent essential variables in the general definition of the environmental policy and in raising awareness and providing information on the bank’s commitment to a pro-environmental approach. The “application” variables confirm that environmental management practices need to be put in place to manage the different environmental risks. The study raises some managerial implications and further research directions.

Based on an exploratory case-based approach, the purpose of this paper is to open the KM black box and examine the relationships that link knowledge management (KM) inputs (i.e. knowledge resources and KM practices) via knowledge processes to KM performance. This paper aims to identify the underlying mechanisms and explain how KM performance is enabled.

This in-depth case study conducted at a medium-sized consultancy in the supply chain management industry empirically examines knowledge flows to uncover the relationships between KM inputs, knowledge processes and KM performance. We adopt the viable system model (VSM) as a theoretical lens to identify KM mechanisms.

By identifying six KM mechanisms, we contribute to the theoretical understanding of how KM inputs are interconnected and lead to KM performance via knowledge processes.

Based on the insights gained, we provide propositions that organizations should consider in designing viable KM. Our findings help organizations in understanding their KM with the help of knowledge flow analysis and identifying how critical KM elements are interconnected.