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Article
Publication date: 1 November 1995

Mort Dittenhofer

From a management viewpoint, identifies the quantitativeinformation relative to environmental activities the management shouldhave. Describes the types of auditing that should be…

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Abstract

From a management viewpoint, identifies the quantitative information relative to environmental activities the management should have. Describes the types of auditing that should be conducted to protect the organization. Cost and liabilities must be established on an objective and realistic basis. Auditing by external and internal auditors must be the safety valve – the control that helps to ensure that there will be a minimum exposure to serious problems and then, when the problems occur, that the requirements of the government agencies are met.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 10 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1991

Rob Gray and David Collison

Environmental audit, although a widely used term, can cover amultitude of different activities. In any of its guises, though, it isstill a prerequisite to taking a serious…

Abstract

Environmental audit, although a widely used term, can cover a multitude of different activities. In any of its guises, though, it is still a prerequisite to taking a serious position on environmental issues. The different definitions of, and approaches to, environmental audit are outlined and the pressures which encourage their use are discussed. However, UK companies are not yet adopting a substantial response to the environmental crisis when perhaps as many as 80 per cent of the UK′s largest companies have yet to undertake an initial environmental audit.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2010

Christina Chiang

The purpose of this paper is to investigate insights into current practices in auditingenvironmental matters” in accordance with Audit Guidance Statement 1010: The Consideration

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate insights into current practices in auditingenvironmental matters” in accordance with Audit Guidance Statement 1010: The Consideration of Environmental Matters in the Audit of Financial Reports, which was introduced by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2001.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach to gathering evidence for this study is qualitative semi‐structured in‐depth personal interviews with 27 auditors: 18 financial auditors (FAs) in chartered accounting practice and nine public sector auditors (PSAs) from the office of the Auditor‐General.

Findings

The interview findings confirmed that the auditors respond to isomorphic pressures that affect them, either by employing acquiesce or compromise strategies and that institutional theory fits best as an appropriate theory to frame the research. Environmental matters are only considered in the planning of a company audit when it is significant and relevant to financial reporting. However, evidence showed that FAs are influenced by mimetic isomorphism by adopting the perspective of company management. On the other hand, PSAs are driven by the legislative mandate imposed by the Local Government Act 2002 to search out and verify the validity, accuracy and completeness of information on environmental matters. FAs auditing both companies in the private sector and public sector organisations are able to maintain two dissimilar approaches and attitudes, depending on the type of entities they are auditing.

Research limitations/implications

As with all qualitative interviews, there are some limitations associated with individuals' responses to the semi‐structured open‐ended interview questions.

Practical implications

To prioritise the consideration of environmental matters in the audit practices of FAs for company audits will require both coercive and normative pressures in their organizational sphere.

Originality/value

This study assists in understanding an audit phenomenon not widely known. It would also add a geographical variation to existing literature.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 25 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Siv Nyquist

This paper presents an investigation of how the new demands for auditing environmental information in the administrative reports are perceived by Swedish accountants. Responses…

1667

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of how the new demands for auditing environmental information in the administrative reports are perceived by Swedish accountants. Responses from 123 surveyed authorized public accountants show that they have a positive attitude towards environmental information. The accountants demand additional training and they believe that the amount of environmental information companies present is going to increase in the future, or at least not decrease. The survey results are analyzed from the basis of two perspectives: large auditing firms have better resources to educate, guide and train their employees than small auditing firms; and accountants with experiences in auditing environmental information have more training and a different attitude towards environmental information compared to accountants with no experiences. Whether or not accountants have received any special training differs significantly between accountants with experience from auditing environmental information, and those with none.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 18 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2020

Xiting Wu, Qun CAO, Xiaoping Tan and Liang Li

This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability and environmental governance, as well as the internal…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability and environmental governance, as well as the internal mechanism of audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability that plays a role in national environmental governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on city-level panel data from 2012 to 2015, this paper adopts a difference-in-difference model to examine the role of government audit in national governance from an environmental perspective. Furthermore, using a mediating effect model, the study sheds light on the internal mechanism of audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability that plays a role in national environmental governance.

Findings

This paper finds that: the implementation of the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability has significantly improved the water quality of the pilot area, but its effects on waste gas and smoke are not obvious; environmental supervision partly plays a mediating role in the improvement of regional environmental governance by the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability; the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability can complement the incentive mechanism of promotion. The older the local officials are, the more obvious the effect of the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability on the environmental quality of the pilot areas is.

Originality/value

This paper reveals the role of government audit from the perspective of environmental governance. It provides empirical evidence for policy regarding the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 35 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1991

Roger Bade

Financial institutions, banks, insurance and fund managementcompanies are starting to use environmental audits as management tools.As more attention is given to the environment…

Abstract

Financial institutions, banks, insurance and fund management companies are starting to use environmental audits as management tools. As more attention is given to the environment, fund managers will become anxious to monitor the environmental performance of the companies in which they invest. One effective tool in monitoring environmental performance is the environmental audit. They not only highlight the environmental risks but also indicate business opportunities. In order to monitor the investments on the Commercial Union Environmental Exempt Pension Fund, the “Outline System for Good Environmental Management” and the “Environmental Management Check List” has been developed. The latter is intended to focus the attention of analysts and fund managers on key aspects of good environmental management.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 March 2023

Abir Hichri

This paper aims to investigate the effect of audit quality and environmental auditing on integrated reporting and the effect of environmental auditing on audit quality.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of audit quality and environmental auditing on integrated reporting and the effect of environmental auditing on audit quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from a sample of 300 international companies during the period 2010–2019. The author collected the data from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database, sustainability reports and annual reports. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The finding of this study confirms a positive and significant relationship between audit quality and integrated reporting. It is also found that environmental auditing has a positive and significant effect on integrated reporting. Thus, this study found a positive and significant relationship between environmental auditing and audit quality.

Practical implications

The findings in this paper identify strategies for improving integrated reporting as a crucial element in the processing of financial and nonfinancial information, to help managers and investors and shareholders take a long-term perspective. Therefore, the results encourage companies to invest in economic, environmental and social aspects. This enables accounting professionals, stock exchange authorities and users of environmental and social information to be aware of the factors associated with environmental reporting, to improve the efficiency of those producing the audit service.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in its consideration of a particular aspect of auditing, namely, environmental auditing. However, despite the large body of research on auditing and integrated reporting, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between environmental auditing and integrated reporting. Furthermore, in this research, the author has emphasized the importance of the role played by environmental auditing on audit quality. This design has been neglected in previous studies. Finally, the choice of the field of investigation for the reliability of the data used and the generalization of the results obtained, enables us to make important contributions to the user of the information.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2017

Tehmina Khan

The main purpose in this article is to highlight civil society activism that resulted in the inception of environmental auditing in the United States in the 1970s. The General…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose in this article is to highlight civil society activism that resulted in the inception of environmental auditing in the United States in the 1970s. The General Motors (GM) campaign which is discussed in this article led towards major institutional changes for the implementation of corporate social responsibility (environmental) reporting originally referred to as social (environmental) auditing. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) role and actions are analysed in detail in order to highlight the direction of this Federal Agency in relation to the implementation of social (environmental) auditing.

Design/methodology/approach

A detailed analysis of literature from the early 1970s is undertaken in order to identify the inception of environmental auditing and the types of environmental auditing as social auditing in its early stages. The case of the GM campaign is analysed in order to highlight the forms of historical institutionalism relevant to the critical stage of exogenous influences on companies to undertake social (environmental) auditing.

Findings

It is found that in the early 1970s companies resisted the incorporation of corporate social responsibility initiatives and actions as part of their agendas. Environmental Auditing as a type of social auditing at that time referred to corporate social responsibility disclosures that included environmental disclosures. Due to public pressure and civil society activism companies had to adopt and undertake social (environmental) auditing. The initial stages of environmental disclosures included reporting on environmental expenses and liabilities of the companies. The SEC imposed minimal disclosure requirements for environmental auditing, which were nevertheless adequate to undertake action against companies found to be providing misleading environmental information in their publicly available disclosures. The 1970s served as a critical juncture for the inception and development of mandatory and voluntary environmental reporting (auditing) in the United States.

Originality/value

This is an original research article.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 32 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1995

Josephine Maltby

Environmental audit is a growth area which has received littleattention in the auditing literature. There is currently no mandatoryrequirement for companies to undergo…

7408

Abstract

Environmental audit is a growth area which has received little attention in the auditing literature. There is currently no mandatory requirement for companies to undergo environmental audit, although pressures on them to do so are growing, and there are no generally accepted standards regulating the nature of audit work. In the absence of standards, the views of individual practitioners will have a decisive effect on the form of the audit. Summarizes the results of a questionnaire survey of environmental consultants aimed at ascertaining what kind of audit work they do and what their views are about the nature of the audit. In particular, examines the contention that there are two competing and incompatible views of environmental auditaudit as managerial aid and audit as an independent critique of environmental performance. Environmental consultants come from differing professional backgrounds – engineers, environmental scientists, accountants and management consultants are all involved in environmental consultancy. Examines the possibility that practitioners from different backgrounds have fundamentally different approaches to the audit. Suggests that practitioners′ views are often contradictory, with little perception of the tension between the two roles suggested for audit. It appears that environmental audit is at a crucial stage of development as a discipline and its future will be shaped by the standards that the new profession evolves.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 10 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2021

Xiaowei Ma, Muhammad Shahbaz and Malin Song

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big data using a differences-in-differences model.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs a differences-in-differences model to evaluate the policy effects of off-office audit based on panel data from 11 cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2011 to 2017, and analyzes the dynamic effect of the audit and intermediary effect of industrial structure.

Findings

The implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution. Dynamic effect analysis showed that the audit policy can not only improve the quality of water resources but can also have a cumulative effect over time. That is, the prevention and control effect on water pollution is getting stronger and stronger. The results of the robustness test verified the effectiveness of water pollution prevention and control. However, the results of the influence mechanism analysis showed that the mediating effect of the industrial structure was not obvious in the short term.

Practical implications

These findings shed light on the effect of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution, and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant environmental policies. Furthermore, these findings show that the implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy against the background of big data.

Originality/value

This study quantitatively analyzes the policy effect of off-office auditing from the perspective of water resources based on a big data background, which differs from the existing research that mainly focuses on basic theoretical analysis.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 23000