Search results

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this study examines the relationship between the presence of a female (rather than a male) audit partner and the client firm’s accruals quality. Second, this study explores whether and how the female audit partners’ specific attributes influence the gendered auditor effect on the quality of the client firm’s accruals quality (if it exists).

Research hypotheses have been tested by conducting both univariate and multivariate empirical analyses based on a large sample of firm-year observations from the Swedish Corporation for the years 2010–2019. During the sample timeframe, the client firms have been audited by 56 female and 231 male audit partners.

The research findings first indicate that client firms of female audit partners are associated with downward earnings management, indicating a beneficial female auditor effect on client firm’s accruals quality. Results from the audit partner change analysis exhibit that the adverse female auditor effect on the client firm’s earnings management, and hence, the beneficial female auditor effect on the client firm’s accruals quality occurs from the first year of the assignment of a female audit partner to replace a male audit partner. When looking at how specific attributes of female audit partners influence accruals quality of their audited clients, this study reveals that the favorable female auditor effect on the client firm’s accruals quality holds constant for all the female audit partners’ specific attributes included in the researched models. This underscores that the mere presence of a female audit partner constrains earnings management and enhances, thereby, the client firm’s accruals quality.

This research supports regulators calling for the appointment of more women to the audit firms’ leading ranks (e.g. leadership).

This study aims to examine the relationship between the individual auditor’s industry specialization and the audit report lag (hereafter ARD). Further, it explores whether changing in the audit reporting requirement (i.e. the adoption of ISA701) influences the auditor’s industry specialization effect on the ARD.

A large data set of companies listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm over the period 2010–2019 has been analyzed. Least squares regressions have been estimated to provide empirical evidence for the researched hypotheses.

The research findings indicate that the ARD is shorter for client firms audited by an industry specialist audit partner. Testing for the moderating role of changing in the auditing reporting regulation on the relation between the audit partner’s industry specialization and the ARD, the authors reveal that all client firms (except client firms with industry specialist audit partners) experienced an increase in the ARD. Overall, the baseline regression findings are found to be robust to the endogenous auditor choice and multiple measures of both the ARD and the auditor’s industry specialization.

This paper provides novel evidence on the relationship between the audit reporting lag and industry specialization from the individual auditor perspective, an issue that has hitherto been unexplored. The regression results further contribute to the upsurge debate about the consequences of changing in the audit reporting model by providing consistent support for the importance of industry specialization of the audit partner in minimizing costs derived from the former requirement.

This paper aims to examine the effect of the auditors’ burnout determinates on audit quality and performance. It also analyses whether the demographic characteristics of gender, age group, education and job positions affect auditors’ decisions for burnout, audit quality and performance.

A questionnaire was distributed on a sample of auditors in the top ten auditing firms in an emerging market including the Big 4. Factor analysis, correlation matrix and structural equation modeling were used for the analysis of the collected data and testing the developed hypotheses.

The results show that burnout has negative consequences for both the auditor and the auditing firm. While good organizational climate has a negative significant association with audit quality, nonethical decisions and audit performance, role clarity has positive significant association with the audit quality and performance and has an insignificant association with nonethical decisions. Also, turnover intention has significant positive association with nonethical decision, audit quality and performance.

This research is among the first to focus on auditor’s burnout determinates on audit quality and performance in an emerging market characterized by different socioeconomic, political and cultural factors compared with those of developed markets. Auditors, regulators and professional policymakers can benefit from the results of this research.

The authors examine the association between two important audit partner characteristics and the readability of key audit matters (KAMs) disclosed in the audit reports. Specifically, the authors examine how the readability of KAMs is associated with audit partner tenure and workload.

The authors conduct the study in the audit context of Norway and applied the Flesch reading ease scale to measure the readability levels of reported KAMs in the audit reports of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Panel data estimation techniques are applied in estimating how partner tenure and workload are associated with the readability of KAMs. In addition, several robustness tests including different measures of KAMs readability and subsample analyses are performed.

The authors find that audit partner tenure and workload have significant associations with the level of KAMs readability. Specifically, the results show that the reported KAMs become more readable as the audit partner tenure increases but are less readable for partners with more workload. These results appear stronger in subsamples of KAMs typically noted to be more complex and associated with higher risks.

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

Excessive audit partner workload impairs KAMs readability.

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

This study aims to assess whether non-financial corporate social responsibility (CSR) information decreases audit risk and audit scope and enables speedier completion of audit reports. The study also investigates whether institutional investors’ ownership (IIO) has an influence on the association between CSR disclosures and audit report lag (ARL).

This study uses a sample of 154 Saudi firms over 2016–2021 (837 observations) and applies ordinary least square regression to examine the study hypotheses.

This study’s results show that ARL is significantly shorter for firms with higher CSR disclosures. Furthermore, the findings show that IIO has no significant impact on the association between CSR disclosures and ARL.

This study offers new insights into how auditors respond to CSR disclosures and whether institutional investor monitoring influences the audit process in an emerging economy.

This study aims to describe and evaluate the impact of a participatory age-management intervention on the knowledge, awareness and engagement of line managers and their HR partners from six health-care organizations in Sweden.

The learning workshops consisted of lectures, discussions, feedback and exchange of experiences with colleagues and invited experts. A total of 19 participants were interviewed six months after the final workshop, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed interviews.

The intervention design produced promising results in improving line managers’ and HR partners’ knowledge and increasing awareness and engagement. On some occasions, the participants also initiated changes in organizational policies and practices. However, the intervention primarily became a personal learning experience as participants lacked resources and mandates to initiate change in their daily work. To stimulate engagement and change at the organizational level, the authors believe that an intervention must receive support from higher managers, be anchored at the workplace and be aligned with the organization’s goals; moreover, participants must be provided with sufficient resources and mandates to coordinate the implementation of age-management strategies.

Prolonged working life policies and skill shortages are affecting organizations and societies, and for many employers, there are strong reasons for developing strategies to attract, recruit and retain older workers.

This study offers lessons and guidance for future workplace interventions to attract, recruit and retain older workers.

The goals of this review are to identify key theories, constructs and themes in the international business travel (IBT) literature and to propose a model based on findings, theories and constructs drawn from adjacent research literature.

The authors reviewed the business travel (BT) literature to identify conceptual and empirical articles on IBT published from 1990 to 2022. Only 53 publications were suitable for review. The authors reviewed them using an open coding system.

The IBT literature is dispersed across several disciplines that use different methods, focus on different aspects of travel and emphasize different positive and negative outcomes that IBT engenders. The publications employed a diverse range of methods, including review and conceptual (11), quantitative (28) and qualitative methods (14). The samples were diverse in country, age, marital status and tenure. Many publications were descriptive and exploratory. The few that based their research on theory focused on two stress theories: Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory and conservation of resources (COR) theory.

Experimental and longitudinal designs are needed to reduce the causal ambiguity of this body of mostly correlational and cross-sectional research. The authors discuss the impact of emerging advances in virtual global communication technology on the future of IBT.

More research is needed on positive aspects of IBT. Human resource (HR) people should be aware of these issues and are encouraged to decrease the deleterious aspects of the international trips and increase the positive ones.

Increasing well-being of international business travelers is important for the travelers, their families and the organization.

This is the first IBT review focused on the theoretical underpinnings of research in the field. The authors offer a model for IBT and introduce adjustment and performance as important constructs in IBT research. The authors encompass crossover theory to add the reciprocal impact of travelers and spouses and label IBT a “double-edge sword” because it arouses both positive and negative outcomes.

There is a growing call both globally and nationally for integrated multisectoral and multidisciplinary systems of care to be implemented for children's needs in the foundation stages of their growth to be met. Extant literature shows that historical, structural, epidemiological, political and social factors create many adversities for South African children both in the short and in the long term. South Africa's fragmented and weak service delivery compounds the situation. In this paper, the authors describe the lessons learnt from a multisectoral and multidisciplinary community of practice established to strengthen social systems to ensure child wellbeing outcomes.

A qualitative research design was used, drawing on data collected over a two-year period. Data included meeting minutes, focus group discussions, and email communications between project partners. Focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed thematically.

Findings show that having a shared goal, establishing supportive, mutually beneficial relationships and contributing to services that enhance child wellbeing outcomes enabled the community of practice, while differing organizational mandates and heavy workloads constrained the partnership.

The study shows the effectiveness of a Community of Practice (CoP) in integrating services across sectors for children's well-being and promoting collaborative learning and intersectoral work. However, this success also depends on the presence of strong leadership and efficient coordination.Limitation: Despite its benefits, the CoP model presents challenges, including securing active participation and buy-in from stakeholders, managing time and resource constraints, and dealing with issues in the existing service delivery system. Questions about long-term sustainability and the practicalities of scaling and institutionalizing the model need to be addressed.

Through this paper, the authors contribute to a nascent area of research in the Global South, critically reflecting on the lessons the authors learnt from implementing an integrated community of practice approach to strengthen social sector systems toward the enhancement of children's wellbeing.

This study aims to investigate why and how shared service centres (SSCs) are implemented as well as how they affect audit firm practice and audit quality.

In this qualitative study guided by the theoretical framework of institutional theory, the authors conducted 25 semi-structured interviews in seven European countries, including 16 interviews with audit partners from Big 4 firms, 6 with audit team members, 2 with interviewees from second-tier audit firms and 1 with a member of an oversight body.

The authors show that the central rationale for audit firms to implement SSCs is economic rather than external legitimacy. The authors find that SSC implementation has substantial effects on audit practices, particularly those related to standardisation, coordination and monitoring activities. The authors also highlight the potential impacts on audit quality.

By exploring the motivation for and effects of SSC implementation amongst audit firms, the authors offer insights into the best practices related to subsequent change processes and audit quality.

This study provides insights into the meanings given to audit quality (AQ) by audit partners responsible for delivering audit services. It explores the influence of contextual factors in the auditing setting on constructing such meanings and its representations.

Drawing on a symbolic-interactionist framework, this study takes an interpretive approach, employing semi-structured interviews with audit partners from the United Kingdom (UK).

Three primary meanings of AQ are identified. First, in contradiction to that offered by “mainstream” AQ research, audit partners in this study predominantly regarded the meaning of AQ as an economic concept in the context of the “business” of auditing, delivering the service quality (e.g. value-added auditing and value-for-money) that is expected by their audit clients. Second, the audit partners also espouse the meaning of AQ to be “fit for purpose” audit documentation and adherence to quality control that meets the standards of compliance demanded by independent audit inspections. Third, and similar to the classic convention of AQ, audit partners consider “inputs” to AQ, attributes related to individual auditors (e.g. qualifications, experience and training) as one of the key AQ meanings. A range of stimuli underlies AQ meaning construction, including the audit firm's commercial interests, legitimacy, image management and social identity resulting from audit partners' interactions with audit clients, regulators, and their own self-reflexivity. Interestingly, this study identifies a considerable potential conflict between the meanings assigned to AQ, which suggests that auditors are struggling to strike a balance between the competing demands of those meanings.

This exploratory study addresses only the audit partners' perceptions concerning the meaning of AQ. Findings of this study are relevant to auditors and other parties, such as regulators, in addressing competing dimensions of AQ and potential choices involving conduct and content in any individual audit engagement.

The study complements existing research into AQ by exposing the rationales and potential behaviours that underlie commitments to quality by those involved in commissioning audit engagements. It also adds detailed evidence of how contextual factors in the auditing environment interact with auditors' notions of AQ.