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The purpose of this paper is to constitute and test a framework of factors that might affect auditors' perceptions of the work needed to audit internet‐based financial reports (IBFR).

The paper conducts a questionnaire on practicing auditors from audit firms in Egypt in the year 2007 to examine their perceptions of the work needed to audit IBFR and factors that might affect their perceptions.

The paper portrays total auditors' perceptions as a function of four dimensions. First, auditor personal‐specific characteristics (consisting of three variables); second, audit fieldwork‐specific characteristics (containing one variable); third, audit firm‐specific characteristics (comprising five variables); and fourth, environmental‐specific characteristics (consisting of four variables). The analysis of empirical study provides evidence of a significant association between auditors' perceptions of the work needed to audit IBFR and the following factors: auditors' knowledge of inherent risks of internet reporting, quality systems, audit tenure, legal form of client, client industry group, user needs of financial information, and legislation environment.

The scope of the survey is limited to a small number of potential participants. Accounting and auditing standards setting environment in Egypt may restrict the generalization of the findings of this paper.

This paper enriches the literature on internet reporting and audit tasks by exploring factors that might affect auditors' perceptions of the work needed to audit IBFR. The paper provides evidence that supports Egyptian regulators' initiatives to issue guidelines that cover IBFR, and auditors' responsibilities and the work needed in the audit of IBFR in electronic business environments in an attempt to improve the integrity of financial reporting.

As a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis, the European Commission recently reformed the audit market. One objective was to restore public trust in the auditing profession and thus to enhance the audit function. This study investigates whether perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality are influenced by audit firm rotation, auditor retention and joint audits, because regulators argue that these instruments can improve auditor independence and audit quality. Therefore, we conduct an experiment with bank directors and institutional investors in Germany. The results indicate a negative main effect for joint audits on perceived auditor independence, and that a rotation cycle of 24 years marginally significantly impairs participant perceptions of audit quality, compared to a rotation cycle of only ten years. Besides the main effects, planned contrast tests suggest a negative interaction between rotation and joint audit on participant perceptions of auditor independence. Moreover, a negative interaction effect is revealed between rotation after 24 years and retention on perceptions of audit quality. It is particularly noteworthy that we failed to identify a positive impact of the regulatory measures taken or supported by the European Commission on perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality.

This experimental study investigates the connotative (measured) meaning of the concept “auditor independence” within three audit engagement case contexts, including two acknowledged in the literature to represent significant potential threats to independence. The study’s research design utilises the measurement of meaning (semantic differential) framework originally proposed by Osgood et al. (1957). Findings indicate that research participants considered the concept of independence within a two factor cognitive structure comprising “emphasis” and “variability” dimensions. Participants’ connotations of independence varied along both these dimensions in response to the alternative experimental case scenarios. In addition, participants’ perceptions of the auditor’s independence in the three cases were systematically associated with the identified connotative meaning dimensions.

The objective of this paper is to find out and compare perceptions of the audit profession by jurors with those of auditors themselves in the small island‐state of Malta.

The objective is achieved by considering auditor responsibility, the reliability of audited financial statements and the decision usefulness of audited financial statements. A mail questionnaire was responded to by 56 auditors and 18 jurors, with the latter response being complemented by a further 100 jurors responding to the questionnaire when delivered by hand.

The study finds substantial divergences in the perceptions of the two respondent groups, particularly in the areas of fraud detection, responsibility for the internal control structure of a company, maintenance of accounting records, and actual work performed by an auditor. In addition, a particular trend in Malta is the high regard with which both respondent groups held the audit profession.

Limitations included the size of the sample of potential jurors taken when compared with the actual potential juror population of Malta, and the original low mail response rate from the jurors group.

Given the increase in recent years of the number of litigation cases against auditors and the particular need for the profession to restore public confidence in it, it is imperative for auditors to become more aware of how public perceptions differ from theirs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceived association between audit rotation (AR) and audit quality (AQ) using respondents from a sample of audit firms operating in a developing economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The paper addresses the following research question: How do UAE auditors perceive the association between various forms of AR and AQ?

The authors collected perception data from a sample of UAE auditors using a questionnaire, and applied several non-parametric statistical techniques to analyze the data, and to answer five exploratory research questions on the perceived association between various forms of AR and AQ.

The findings suggest that the UAE auditors in our sample did not perceive the association between individual types of AR and AQ as significantly different, and that AR in general is essential for AQ improvement and enhances trust in the audit process. Similarly, we find more support for the perception that medium audit tenure is associated with a lower impairment effect on auditor independence. Furthermore, we find no significant differences in perception based on gender, but younger/less experienced professionals and professionals in self-employed practices and small audit firms (compared to other demographics) significantly perceived AR enforceability and AT length to be associated with AQ. Our findings help to enrich our understanding of the perceived AR-AQ association in a relatively new context and less researched audit area in a developing economy.

Although lively debates on the question of AR and AQ within the accounting, finance, investment professions and in the financial media continue, there has been relatively limited knowledge and a dearth of empirical studies on this question in most developing economies. Being the first attempt in the country – the UAE, this study contributes towards addressing this gap in empirical knowledge by exploring the perceived association between various forms of AR and AQ in a developing economy.

Though assurance services framework has been defined in the Auditing Standards, the understandability of the concept of reasonable assurance are varied by different auditors. The audit risk model (ARM) that is being used on a worldwide basis to underpin the audit risk of companies, is often being criticized. The purpose of this paper is to assess auditors' perceptions of reasonable assurance in audit work and the effectiveness of the ARM.

Three independent variables are examined: CPA certification, ranks of auditors and gender for their influence on two dependent variables: the perceptions of reasonable assurance in audit work and the effectiveness of the ARM. MANOVA analysis and follow up Discriminant Analysis are employed.

Results reveal that there are significant differences between the perceptions held by auditors of different ranks regarding reasonable assurance in audit work. Partners entertain higher perceptions of reasonable assurance than staff auditors. The “gender” variable does not have an influence on the two dependent variables. Auditors with CPA certifications have higher perceptions of reasonable assurance. There are no differences in the perceptions ratings by different rank of auditors, gender and CPA certifications on the effectiveness of the ARM. The three independent variables have average high‐mean ratings on the effectiveness of the ARM, confirming that the current ARM still can provide an effective assurance.

This empirical study revokes the UK study and The Netherlands study. Immediate attention need not be focused on restructuring the ARM. Future contemplation of other important issue such as auditor independence may be considered.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of auditors in Egypt toward the role that continuous auditing (CA) can play in offsetting the challenges facing the quality of Internet-reported financial information. The paper also examines the impact of audit firm type and years of experience on these perceptions.

Ninety-six auditors working in the Big 4 and large local audit firms are surveyed to attain their perceptions on the issues examined. Chi-square, Mann–Whitney and t-test are used to test the research hypotheses.

The overall results indicate that the majority of auditors in Egypt agree that implementing CA can offset the challenges associated with the Internet financial reporting (IFR) environment. The results also reveal that there are significant differences between auditors working in Big 4 audit firms and those working in local firms regarding the perceptions of the effect of CA on some aspects of the timeliness of information.

The paper extends the stream of research on both CA and IFR that confirms that the widespread use of the Internet in disclosing financial information continues to be a worrisome problem for auditing firms.

The paper provides insights into the challenges facing auditing in the IFR environment and how implementing CA can help offset these challenges.

To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to examine issues related to CA in the IFR environment in the Middle East and, in particular, Egypt.

Perceived independence is one of the corner‐stones in auditing theory. Despite prior research on auditor independence, the results are inconclusive. The lack of research in the Hong Kong auditing environment motivates this study, particularly following the Enron débâcle. The purpose of this paper is to examine the non‐audit services (NASs), competition, rank and types of auditors, in respect of the independence problem as it relates to the practices of Hong Kong auditors in the post‐Enron environment.

Four independent variables identified from literature gaps are examined, namely NASs, levels of competition, auditors of different ranks and types of auditors. Mixed ANOVA are employed to analyze survey responses from 207 “Big 4” and 185 “non‐Big 4” auditors.

Results of the study show that the provisions of NASs and high competition could have a negative influence on auditors' perceptions of independence. Second, auditors' perceptions that the influence of NASs on independence depends on an individual auditor's rank are supported. Senior managers have the highest mean rating on perceptions, while partners have the lowest mean rating. Results support the agency theory that the agent (senior manager) may not always act in the best interests for the principal. Finally, there is no difference between Big 4 and non‐Big 4 auditors' perceptions of the influence of NASs and competition on independence.

The study revokes earlier US research that indicates that NASs provisions favorably influence auditors' perceptions of independence. It would be advantageous for a regulatory body to reconsider professional reforms such as prohibitions of NASs and the repercussions of non compliance of independence.

This paper seeks to examine the effects of mentoring and organizational justice on auditors' relationships with their non‐mentor supervisors. While having a mentor should cause higher quality protégé auditors and their non‐mentor supervisor relationships, organizational justice perceptions should mediate this mentoring association. Thus, having a mentor should see higher procedural justice perceptions, which, in turn, should result in higher quality relationships between protégés and their non‐mentor supervisors.

A survey of 95 audit professionals shows that protégés report higher quality auditor‐supervisor relationships than do non‐protégés; however, having a mentor does not appear to be the determining factor.

Building on a prior study of Siegel et al., the paper finds that auditor attitudes towards the job (job satisfaction) and the firm (job commitment) eliminate the association between mentoring and quality of auditor‐supervisor relationships. Procedural justice, but not distributive justice, perceptions also mediate the relationship between job satisfaction and quality of auditor‐supervisor relationships. Procedural justice perceptions produce higher quality auditor‐supervisor relationships with non‐mentor supervisors.

Using mediation regression techniques instead of the more stringent path analysis and using self‐reported survey data that derives a method variance could affect the generalizability of our results. Future research can correct these limitations.

The paper finds that while merely having a mentor need not improve relationships, mentoring programs can still greatly improve auditor‐supervisor relationships.

The paper includes implications for developing effective mentoring programs for CPA firms.

Offshoring is the process of using unaffiliated foreign companies or affiliated offshore entities (AOEs) to manufacture goods or perform services. The Big 4 public accounting firms offshore tax services (Houlder, 2007) and, more recently, have started to offshore audit tasks of their U.S.-based clients to AOEs located in India (Daugherty & Dickins, 2009). While the benefits of offshoring might be substantial, there are also costs associated with moving domestic work to foreign locations. One of these costs may be greater damage awards in lawsuits involving an audit failure where audit tasks were performed overseas as opposed to the United States. This study investigates that possibility by experimentally examining the effect of offshoring audit tasks requiring different levels of judgment on the amount of damages awarded by potential jurors as a result of an audit failure. The results show potential jurors awarded greater damages against the auditor when audit tasks were performed offshore than when they were performed in the United States. There was no effect of the level of judgment of the audit task on damages awarded. Since this study examines offshoring to only one location, India, results may not be generalizable to other offshore locations.