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Background: Many audits in primary care can be criticized because of the absence of verifiable data to measure outcomes, and the lack of a non‐participating group against which to compare results. Objective: Using Prescribing Analyses and Cost (PACT) data to quantify the effect of an audit in 15 practices. We sought to quantify the effect of the audit of benzodiazepine prescribing in a district by measuring the detailed changes in prescribing in participating practices before, during and after audit, and by comparing the volume of prescribing of these drugs in participating and neighbouring non‐participating practices. Methods: At the start of the audit, 291 993 patients in the Sefton district of North West England were registered with 55 general practices. Fifteen practices, caring for 87 902 patients, took part in an audit of benzodiazepine prescribing. We analysed routinely‐collected prescribing data to assess trends in benzodiazepine prescribing for those practices which took part in the audit and the remaining (non‐participatory) practices in the district. Main measures: The number of defined daily doses of benzodiazepine prescribed by those general practitioners auditing their prescribing of these drugs during the audit. The volume of benzodiazepines prescribed by all general practitioners in Sefton during the quarter immediately before and the quarter immediately after the audit. Results: There was a significant reduction in the number of defined daily doses dispensed for temazepam, nitrazepam, and lorazepam during the audit. There was a significantly greater reduction in the number of items prescribed by those doctors who took part in the audit than their colleagues who did not. Conclusions: An audit of benzodiazepine prescribing achieved a significant reduction in the volume of these drugs dispensed. An analysis of routinely‐collected data can usefully measure the result of an audit of prescribing.

Since 1990, the changes introduced in UK general practice, such as fund holding and national incentives, have altered the process of care. Audit, defined as “the systematic critical analysis of the quality of medical care, including the procedures used for diagnosis and treatment, the use of resources, and the resulting outcome and quality of life for patients”, is one method of monitoring change and raising standards. Presents a successful co‐ordinated audit in Warwickshire, 1991‐1993, involving 53 general practices. Highlights the influence of attitudes and communications within practices on the success of audit strategies. Associates aspects of practice culture, such as team working and decision‐making processes, with successful audit. Postulates six descriptive practice types, largely related to cultural factors. Suggests that if cultural factors within practices are identified, external assistance with audit may be more focused and effective.

In the fourth industrial revolution, where business accounting integrates with automation through artificial intelligence (AI) and information communication technology (ICT), auditors must be able to access and analyze vast data and information to identify potential risks and issues. Using data analytics and AI to study significant amounts of data linked to audits, this study aims to investigate auditing practices by leveraging ICT and AI to enhance the audit process.

Bibliometric and quantitative research techniques have been used in the study’s mixed-method process. The theoretical underpinnings of AI have been investigated using the bibliometric research method, and the challenge of implementing ICT-enabled auditing practices among auditing professionals has been studied using the quantitative research method. Surveys, interviews and bibliometric analysis have all been used as data-gathering techniques.

Research in AI and auditing has a broad worldwide scope, involving developed and developing nations. ICT perceived benefits have no direct effect on auditing practices. However, ICT training has a mediating effect on the relationship between ICT perceived benefits and auditing practices. ICT adoption has no moderating effect on the relationship between ICT training and auditing practices.

Findings have significance for lead auditors, policymakers and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), who are keenly interested in upgrading the auditing practice of accounting professionals in India by incorporating AI and ICT determinants.

This research makes a significant contribution by offering a thorough framework for improving the knowledge management of practising auditors regarding ICT adoption, training and perceived benefits, a crucial component of auditing practices in the digital age. In addition, it provides insightful information about how AI affects accounting practices, which may point the way for further study in this area.

This research has significant implications for auditing firms in India. It can inform ICAI, policymakers and regulators in their attempts to foster the incorporation of AI and ICTs in auditing practice.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of emerging technology (technology adoption, perceived benefits, technological challenges and ease of use) and the auditing practice of accounting professionals.

The primary method of data collection was a questionnaire directed to newly practicing chartered accountants who are partners of sole proprietorship or partnership firms in India. The data were analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between characteristics of emerging technology (technology adoption, technological challenges and ease of use) and auditing practice, while factors of the perceived benefits had a negative relationship with auditing practice.

The study model would aid technology enabled audit research by giving a platform for a new study to investigate further detailed solutions to emerging information technology determinants.

This study illustrates how tools technique perceived benefit motivates sole proprietorship practicing auditors to adopt emerging technology- enabled auditing software for auditing client's financial statements. Further, this study has added to the information technology auditing literature and might add benefits to the numerous other audit firms to adopt in emerging technology tools their audit firm.

Audit firms, generally sole proprietorship and partnership firms, should be given enough awareness about the latest audit software tools to carry out their audit tasks efficiently.

The study findings highlight benefits of emerging technology-enabled auditing practice among owners/partners of the sole proprietorship or partnership firms, which is not extensively discussed in the prior studies. Furthermore, it broadens knowledge of perceived benefit, technological challenges and ease of use in technology-enabled audit software in the auditing and accounting literature.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between audit committee effectiveness (ACE), internal audit function (IAF) and sustainability reporting practices.

Using a cross-sectional and correlational design, useable questionnaires were received from 48 financial services firms in Uganda. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

results indicate that ACE and IAF are positively and significantly associated with sustainability reporting practices. ACE and IAF are more significantly associated with economic and social indicators than environmental sustainability indicators.

In terms of practice, it is no longer a matter of having internal auditors and audit committees in place but rather those who are mindful of the welfare of society and the natural environment. The effectiveness of the board audit committee and a functioning internal audit can be assessed in terms of their recommendations and decisions regarding improvements in the welfare of society and the natural environment in addition to the traditionally known performance benchmarks.

The study focuses on only financial services firms in Uganda, and this is a small sample. Future studies may focus on larger samples to enable comparison of the results.

This study provides insights on the initial understanding of the association between ACE, IAF and sustainability reporting practices using evidence from a developing African country – Uganda.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between characteristics of information communication technology (ICT, adoption, confidence, competency and training) and auditing practices. The paper further explained the significance of the auditing practices, evaluated the relationship between ICT characteristics (adoption, confidence, competency, training) and auditing practices.

The study adopts a quantitative approach, where a set of questionnaires was developed by making necessary adaptations to available scales/items. Data were collected from practicing chartered accountants in Kerala targeting 89 respondents from various professional auditing firms. The results were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and structural equation modelling-partial least squares statistical tools.

The findings confirmed that there is a positive relationship between three components of ICT factors on audit practice, namely, ICT adoption, ICT competency and ICT training, whereas the factor, ICT confidence has a negative relationship with audit practice. Thus, the availability of ICT-competent staff, their practical ICT knowledge, sufficient and adequate ICT training assist audit firms from doing audit by implementing customized audit software for audit practice.

A limitation of the study is that limited variables of ICT on audit practice are taken in the model. Refinement of the model and the variables (such as ICT challenges), ICT perceived benefits and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model used provide an opportunity for future research.

The barriers facing by non-big four audit firms (especially sole proprietorship and limited liability partnership firms) faces ICT challenges requires intense management interventions to be self-equipped for the current information technology (IT) world and to facilitate and to ensure fairness of financial statements to the stakeholders that strongly links auditors advance IT skills and available firms resources to investment and adopt audit software for the benefits of the audit firms.

The paper upstretched some of the ICT challenges that will assist as points, which have been helpful for future researchers, and have provided accounting and auditing professionals, auditing professional institutions and their management, government, tax officials, policy makers, auditing software vendors and other stakeholders the bases for encouraging ICT adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to review the contribution made by auditing research over the last three decades to understandings of audit practice and to consider the implications for the future development of the discipline.

The approach takes the form of a literature review.

The paper challenges the extent of one's knowledge of audit practice, highlighting a variety of concerns with dominant research approaches/traditions and pin‐pointing a range of research questions and approaches which offer potentially rewarding insights of the audit practice arena.

The paper emphasises the scope for auditing researchers and practitioners to think differently about audit practice and to work collectively in pursuing advances in auditing knowledge and educational processes more generally.

The paper illustrates just how vibrant contemporary auditing research agendas can be when the focus is directly on understanding the practice of audit and the work of associated regulatory institutions. It argues that the development of the auditing research discipline has been hindered by desired attachments to so‐called notions of “scientific rigour” and a reluctance across significant parts of the discipline to undertake (or even acknowledge) research of a more “qualitative” or “critical” dimension.

The aim of this paper is to investigate a number of factors that are theoretically associated with convergence toward best practices in internal auditing.

The paper defines best practices as internal audit tools and techniques that are used by at least 67 percent of the internal audit functions (IAFs) in the USA. A sample of 26 countries and data from 1,708 IAFs were used in this study.

The paper finds evidence of a high degree of de facto convergence of internal auditing practices toward US best practices. It also finds that IAFs in emerging countries converge more rapidly to best practices than IAFs in developed countries. Finally, the use of the Institute of Internal Auditors' (IIA) Standards and an external quality assessment in the past three years are found to be positively and significantly associated with convergence toward US best practices.

The most important limitation of the data used in the study is that they reflect respondents' perceptions, which may deviate from reality. Also, data were only available for one‐half of the emerging countries listed in the MSCI Global Standards Index. Limitations aside, this study has significant implications for future research investigating various factors associated with emerging countries rapidly converging toward US best practices.

The results support the IIA's efforts to unify internal auditing practices around the world via its Standards. However, the additional analysis shows that the impact of the Standards is rather limited. The results also imply that formal assessment of internal auditing practices results in a more substantial change in the adoption of best practices.

The convergence of internal auditing is a part of the convergence of corporate governance practices which has become a topic of interest in academic research. While internal auditing has developed over a relatively long period of time in developed countries, such development must take place over a shorter period of time in emerging countries to catch up with developed countries. The current study's findings indicate that convergence of internal auditing practice is not context‐free.

The Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education Report (2012) recommends turning the accounting profession into a learned profession through the purposeful integration of accounting research, education and practice. This paper develops an approach to identifying and quantifying the specific dimensions of the gap between the accounting academic and practice communities, thereby contributing to moving the accounting profession to a learned profession. For this we focus on audit research, because the discussion of the perceived gap between audit research and audit practice is extensive; yet no one has actually quantified that gap to date. While researchers have classified and quantified audit research, no one has done likewise for publications issued by the practice community. We choose the 38 distinct recommendations in the Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (ACAP) Final Report as an initial benchmark. We compare those recommendations to the 16 audit research themes from Lesage and Wechtler (2012) and to the publications spanning 33 years of audit research posted on the American Accounting Association website. Eight Lesage and Wechtler themes, comprising 50% of the themes, were not explicitly included in any ACAP distinct recommendation. Conversely, seven distinct recommendations had zero direct matches in the audit literature. This gap suggests future research opportunities in terms of exploring underrepresented topics and, maybe more importantly, the reasons why some topics are underrepresented.

This study aims to explore the current Shariah audit practices in zakat and waqf institutions in Malaysia.

A focus group discussion (FGD) with 38 zakat and waqf officers from 17 different zakat and waqf institutions in Malaysia was conducted. For reporting purposes, this study used a single-case study approach. The FGD was conducted and completed at the end of June 2021 via an online approach through Microsoft Teams.

The finding highlights the existing Shariah governance practices especially in terms of Shariah supervision roles, Shariah audit implementation in terms of Shariah audit scopes and common findings, Shariah audit competency, Shariah audit effectiveness especially the need for external Shariah audit function and Shariah audit issues and challenges faced in the implementation of Shariah audit practices.

The study findings and recommendations are useful for zakat and waqf institutions as well as the State Islamic Religious Councils to enhance Shariah audit practices in Malaysia.

This study is among the pioneer studies that explore Shariah audit practices in zakat and waqf institutions in Malaysia.