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Auditing textbooks include summary level coverage of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct, but textbook coverage is too brief to support a strong understanding of auditor independence. Independence rules have the force of professional law for the independent auditor (PCAOB, 2015). Threats to firm independence can arise from events and circumstances such as investments in the client, loans from the client, past-due fees, contingent fees, deposits in the client, gifts and job offers. Student test results from a five-year rotation of alternative auditor independence lecture support materials demonstrate that using the actual AICPA Code of Professional Conduct reduces student performance. However, this drag on student performance was mostly offset by the positive impacts of simultaneous use of an independence decision tree developed for this chapter and tested as a teaching material for classrooms use.

Public administration theory suggests that increased accountability in the public sector influences the auditor to lower materiality levels; thereby increasing the audit sample size; which decreases the likelihood of an inappropriate opinion. Accounting theory posits that engagement risk leads the auditor to lower materiality levels to decrease the likelihood of rendering an inappropriate opinion, in an effort to avoid litigation. The results of this study indicate, that in public sector entities, accountability guides the auditors’ materiality decisions.

Emphasizes that although electronic commerce continues to grow, with it come many problems including the worry of security over the Internet. Presents a systematic approach to developing and continuously improving Web security systems — allowing for enterprise‐wide controls regarding security risks. Goes into much detail regarding systems, security and design.

This paper ranks university faculties, accounting doctoral programs, individual behavioral accounting researchers, and the most influential articles based on Google Scholar citations to publications in Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (AABR). All articles published in AABR in its first 15 volumes are included and four citation metrics are used. The paper identifies the articles, authors, faculties, and doctoral programs that made the greatest contribution to the development of AABR. Such an analysis provides a useful basis for understanding the direction the journal has taken and how it has contributed to the literature (Meyer & Rigsby, 2001). The h-index and m-index for AABR indicates it compares favorably among its peers. Potential doctoral students with an interest in behavioral accounting research, “new” accounting faculty with an interest in behavioral accounting research, current behavioral accounting research faculty, department chairs, deans, and other administrators will find these results informative.

This paper analyzes citations from the first 20 volumes of Advances in Management Accounting using Google Scholar in April and May, 2013.

This study assesses the success of the first 20 volumes of Advances in Management Accounting using citation analysis. Four citation metrics are used. The four citation metrics are: (1) total citations since year of publication until April and May, 2013, (2) citations per author since year of publication until April and May, 2013, (3) citations per year since year of publication until April and May, 2013, and (4) citations per author per year since year of publication until April and May, 2013.

The top 20 authors for each citation metric, the top 20 faculties for each citation metric, and the top 20 doctoral programs for each citation metric are determined. Furthermore, the top 20 articles are determined using two citation metrics and the H-index for Advances in Management Accounting is computed.

Potential doctoral students, current doctoral students, “new” Ph.D.s with an interest in management accounting, current management accounting faculty, department chairs, deans, other administrators, journal editors, and journal publishers will find these results informative.

This study examines the scholarly output of accounting researchers in the periods surrounding a change in university affiliation. Our expectation that publishing activity will increase in periods around an institutional change is based on expectancy theories and informed by studies on the contract year performances of professional athletes. Using a sample of 635 accounting professors who switched universities between 2008 and 2014, the authors find evidence that accounting authors who switch universities publish more in the years around a switch compared with other years. Our research contributes to the literature on changes in university affiliation by documenting a contract year phenomenon operating within accounting academia. Practical implications for college administrators are also discussed.

Examines the legal environment of the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA with respect to auditor liability. Provides an understanding of the legal risks to accountants associated with third‐party uses of audited financial statements by contrasting accounting liability for negligent misrepresentation in various US settings with those of the four other nations. Liability pressure has been very acute and litigation in the five countries has increased. Evidence supports a trend towards limiting third‐party liability to accountants.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of three different audit characteristics in loan pricing—the most significant credit term for borrowers. Three characteristics include audit reputation, audit tenure and audit specialization.

To examine audit characteristics simultaneously to measure their effect on loan pricing, this study uses a full-rank, three-way interaction model and conducts slope difference tests. It also includes the joint effects of these variables to estimate any incremental benefits of possessing multiple qualifications.

When studying the three qualifications together, none of them alone is strong enough to affect the loan interest. But, a Big 4 auditor with tenure can benefit the client by reducing the interest by about 1.98%. The more expertise the auditor has, the better value it brings to borrowers. A highly qualified auditor with additional expertise can significantly reduce loan pricing further by about 2.96 percent.

Examining the costs and benefits of hiring certified auditors is crucial for borrowers. While the variables are not exhaustive, an understanding of the added value of hiring high-quality auditors with more than one or two qualifications to their potential premium fees helps borrowers in managers' audit selection decisions. At the same time, the results shed some light on which of the auditor's qualifications lenders might prioritize when pricing a borrower's loan.

Recent public policy initiatives seek greater transparency in financial reporting through an honest, balanced and thorough management discussion of company performance in the annual report. Management’s discussion invariably includes key performance indicators, such as financial ratios, relevant to external stakeholders. We model the impact of accounting estimates, assumptions, choices and errors on the risk of misleading financial ratios. This framework is illustrated through good and bad examples of financial reporting practices and by simulation of financial data of public companies. We provide a structured approach to inform policymakers, auditors and other stakeholders of the incremental financial reporting risk that accompanies current regulatory efforts.

This research determines the impact of local government’s internal audit process on the audit client management’s adoption of audit recommendations. Publicity of financial and operational problems in government in recent years has led to concerns about the quality of government audits, the extent of public managers’ adoption of audit recommendations, as well as citizen demand for accountability in government. In spite of this, the importance of the government audit process in ensuring accountability has gained little attention in public management research. A survey of local government audit executives was conducted to determine various aspects of the local government internal audit process and their relationships with audit client management’s adoption of audit recommendations. Results show that client management’s adoption of audit recommendation is a function of auditor professional designation, due diligence, client relations, documentation and tracking of audit recommendations, as well as of follow-up audits to verify implementation of agreed-upon action plans.