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Financial crises in the international markets, which have global effects, have increased the importance of internal auditing especially in the banking sector in recent years. Minimizing the negative effects of crises is closely related to the establishment and functioning of an effective internal control system. International internal audit standards (IIAS) issued by the International Internal Audit Standards Boards are internationally applicable standards that contain the basic requirements for the professional implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of internal auditing. In developing countries where the effects of crises are intensely felt, public banks are one of the most important actors of the financial system. An effective internal control structure in public banks and in compliance with international standards is necessary for a strong and fragile financial system. The purpose of this study is to examine the internal audit activities in public banks in terms of compliance with international standards. In this study conducted at one of the leading state-owned bank in Turkey, the bank’s internal control procedures and internal control activities reports were examined. In addition, the Bank’s internal audit activities were analyzed by conducting interviews with bank officials for a better understanding of the internal control system. The IIAS, which are grouped under two main headings, are related to the internal audit activities of the related bank. It is thought that the study will guide banks and auditors in terms of demonstrating the application of IIAS, which usually consist of abstract statements.

Despite extensive research on the determinates of audit report timeliness, there is limited empirical evidence on the effect of auditor locality on audit report timeliness. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationship between auditor locality and audit report timeliness. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating roles of audit committee, corporate governance and auditor quality in this relationship.

In this study, the information of 157 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2013–2019 has been collected. Moreover, multivariate linear regressions were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings show that in general, there is no significant relationship between auditor locality and audit report timeliness. However, empirical evidence suggests that in companies with specialized audit committees, strong corporate governance and high-quality auditors, auditor locality improves audit report timeliness.

Overall, the results indicate that there are some circumstances in which auditor locality affects the audit report timeliness. Specifically, the association of auditor locality and audit report timeliness is conditional to audit committee, corporate governance and auditor quality.

The paper aims to investigate Task Performance Fraud Risk Assessment (TPFRA) and Knowledge Requirement (KR) of the forensic accountant and auditor on Fraud-Related Problem Representation (FRPR) in the Nigerian public sector.

The study used cross-sectional design and 400 survey questionnaires. The respondents are real professional people (auditors and forensic accountants in the Nigerian public sector) as true representatives to enhance the generalization of the outcomes. A total of 36 indicator items was measured on five-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling 2.0 3M and IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 were used as the primary statistical analysis tool for the study.

The results of the present study confirm the positive relationship between KR on TPFRA, positive relationship of KR on FRPR and positive relationship of FRPR and TPFRA. Specifically, the results revealed that FRPR positively mediates the relationship between TPFRA and KR (forensic accountant and auditor) in the areas of fraud prevention, detection and response.

The first limitation deals with fraud and corrupt practices in a developing country, Nigeria. Examining the mediating influence of FRPR on KR and TPFRA in the public sector could be considered as sensitive and raise the issue of bias. The second limitation is the adoption of cross-sectional design in which data are collected at one point in time. Researchers are encouraged to use a longitudinal design to explore interactions between KR, FRPR and TPFRA.

This empirical study has revealed the value of KR (forensic accountant and auditor) as a significant capability requirement in the workplace. In addition, it shows the importance of FRPR as an important mental state in decision-making or judgment and also the significance of FRPR as an important mediating variable on KR and TPFRA.

No nation is immune to fraud, and loss due to fraud in the public sector is enormous and costly; the result of this research will improve the KR of auditors and forensic accountants in the areas of fraud detection, prevention and response. It will also contribute to the regulatory, legal and institutional frameworks in accounting and auditing systems in Nigeria and portend an increase in demand for forensic accountants.

The purpose of this project is to undertake continuous auditing and monitoring (CA/CM) implementations working with small-to-medium-sized (SME) not-for-profit (NFP) organizations of varying sizes, business purposes and levels of technical sophistication.

This paper discusses a project using a case study approach with an SME NFP entity.

The findings support the discussions in the literature regarding CA/CM adoption in organizations, particularly regarding its implementation benefits and challenges.

The project is not complete in that additional case studies could possibly offer additional applicability to the findings.

This case study illustrates the issues inherent with the process of adopting new technologies. It provides insights for others considering adoption of CA/CM tools or protocols.

The need for more reliable auditing has never been more urgent than it is today in the NFP environment, and this case study demonstrates how an NFP could address these critical needs of increased reporting accountability and internal controls.

The application of CA/CM is quite interesting and relevant in this modern real-time economy. This case study provides a new area of research in the field of CA/CM and, as such, contributes to the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on audit committees’ financial and industry expertise (FIE) and their impact on the readability of key audit matters (KAMs).

Based on an agency-theoretical framework, analyses are conducted of data from a sample of UK premium listed companies for the fiscal years 2014–2017 (i.e. 1,319 firm-year observations). Correlation and regression analyses are conducted to evaluate possible associations between FIE in audit committees and KAM readability. The author relies on popular readability measures (Flesch Reading Ease and Fog Index).

Audit committees’ FIE and KAM readability are positively connected. Combined FIE also has a stronger effect than either financial or industry expertise alone.

Companies, regulators and researchers could be significantly affected by the finding that audit committees’ FIE can have a considerable impact on KAM readability.

The analysis of the link between audit committees’ FIE and KAM readability makes a contribution to prior empirical research on KAM.

This paper aims to test the positive relationship between audit quality (AQ) of outsourced information technology controls (ITC) and information technology audit quality (ITAQ).

Factor analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and simulations.

Scoping and planning phases of the audit cycle account for about 69 per cent of ITAQ. The AQ of outsourced ITC is strongly and directly related to ITAQ. Improvement of AQ of outsourced ITC may be achieved through evaluation of control design and operating effectiveness by service auditor as well as direct evaluation by the client in service provider location.

Sample size and input items in factor analysis.

Companies and auditors could improve ITAQ through a better organization of the scoping and planning activities; they could also improve the AQ of outsourced ITC using direct evaluation in the service provider location supplemented with service auditor reports. Regulators could refine or change laws and frameworks to take into account the factors of ITAQ and the methodology of evaluation of outsourced ITC.

Private data collected by questionnaire. The measures of ITAQ and the OLS model could be tested in future research, in countries with different frameworks and regulations related to AQ, different weight of outsourced information technology and other characteristics related to clients, service providers and service auditors.

This paper surveys corporate officers responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and assurance to determine the attributes that influence their choice between an accounting and a non-accounting GHG assurance provider. Differences in the relative importance of these attributes between those selecting accounting and non-accounting assurers are also explored.

A survey questionnaire was completed by 25 corporate officers responsible for reporting and voluntarily assurance of GHG emissions in Australia. The questionnaire asked the respondents to indicate the relative importance of 41 company and assurer attributes in influencing their assurance provider choice.

Results indicate that attributes related to the assurance provider, such as team and team leader assurance knowledge, reputation, objectivity and independence, are more influential than attributes related to the nature of the company or the nature of the GHG emissions. Attributes such as geographical dispersion of operations were found to be differently important to this decision between companies purchasing assurance from accounting and non-accounting firms.

The study’s main limitation is the small number of participants. Future research may extend this study by exploring the conditions under which companies voluntarily assure GHG emissions as well the motivations of responsible officers in their assurer choice.

This paper provides valuable insights to GHG assurers to assist their understanding of the attributes that are important to potential GHG assurance clients.

The study makes unique contributions to the assurer choice literature by not only addressing this issue in the context of the dichotomous GHG assurance market but also by addressing it from the perspective of the assurance purchaser.

This paper aims to identify key factors driving auditors’ adoption of Generalized Audit Software (GAS) in a large developing country, Indonesia, through the lens of the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework.

Results of this study are based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in Indonesia with audit firms of varying sizes.

Key study findings included the identification of highly influential adoption factors, especially environmental factors, such as availability of information technology-skilled auditors in the local market, client needs and expectations and client size. This study has also identified factors, not identified in previous research, as being influential including the importance of GAS availability in a range of languages and the necessity of a supportive professional and regulatory environment.

This study makes several contributions to the literature including that it identifies new influential factors in the TOE framework. This framework has not been widely applied in auditing research and looks beyond the individual perspective to that of the organization as a whole. Moreover, the present study takes a developing country perspective and examines a range of audit firms. In contrast, most studies to date in the area have taken a Western focus and have concentrated on large audit firms. Additionally, this study provides an in-depth analysis through the use of semi-structured interviews, whereas prior studies have relied on surveys.

Leading hose specialist Icore International has developed two new PTFE convoluted hoses which meet the requirements of AS620 and AS1227.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the practice of income smoothing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) emerging markets; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar. Then, to examine the impact of income smoothing on the earnings quality to decide whether income smoothing can serve as either a tool to enhance earnings quality or a tool for opportunistic behavior. Audit quality and corporate governance as additional factors are considered in this study.

The study methodology measures income smoothing behavior based on the coefficient of variation method. Earnings quality is measured as an outcome of the explained variations in stock returns by earnings based on the efficient market hypothesis. Audit quality is measured based on brand as higher quality assigned to auditor from any of the Big 4, while the corporate governance is addressed based on the extent of governmental ownership. The initial study sample comprises 55 companies over a ten year period, from 1999 to 2008; the final sample represents approximately 64 percent of the industrial sector that have public data during the study.

The results suggest that income smoothing behavior in the GCC markets has many variations in practice. Income smoothing, on average, improves earnings quality in three countries out of four, but not significantly for the whole sample based on earnings level. The earnings changes model demonstrated a positive and significant impact of income smoothing on earnings quality. Audit quality and earnings quality have a positive relationship within the region, and companies dominated by the government perform well in accordance with the earnings-return model.

The study is limited to the industrial sector of the GCC.

The study opens the door to future applications to other sectors within the GCC, same sectors and other sectors for Middle East countries and other emerging markets.

The study may foster a better understanding of accounting practices in the GCC and Middle East. The study reveals variations in different aspects among GCC countries, this matter should be considered in separate studies across different areas.

The study makes an original contribution to being the first to explore this topic in the GCC. Additionally, this study shows that the GCC markets have different characteristics in the practice and impact of income smoothing on earnings’ quality. Further, audit quality and corporate governance was investigated for each country and for the region, in addition to the interaction between these factors with the income smoothing and earnings quality.