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This research note investigates the relationship between the constructs of professional skepticism and client advocacy as they relate to accountants’ roles as auditors and tax professionals. Although Pinsker, Pennington, and Schafer (2009) implicitly treat advocacy and professional skepticism as opposing constructs, the purpose of this research note is to explicitly examine whether an accounting professional can be both a professional skeptic and a client advocate. Two hundred and six experienced accounting professionals with a mixture of accounting and tax backgrounds responded to a client advocacy scale (Pinsker et al., 2009) and a professional skepticism scale (Hurtt, 2010). Results indicate that while tax professionals have higher levels of client advocacy than auditors, both groups have similar levels of professional skepticism. Moreover, no correlation emerges between participants’ responses to the advocacy and the full professional skepticism scale or five of its six sub-scales. These results provide evidence that client advocacy is a separate and distinct construct from professional skepticism. These findings have implications for behavioral accounting researchers by demonstrating that these two constructs are not related; thus, it is important to separately measure client advocacy and professional skepticism when they are relevant to a research question.

This chapter examines the relationship between four variables indicating ethical disposition – ethical sensitivity, ethical reasoning, concern for others, and egocentrism – and trait professional skepticism (PS) (Hurtt, 2010) among 119 first-year auditors. While there has been research addressing the link between ethical dispositional factors and state PS in auditors (e.g., Shaub & Lawrence, 1996), there is a lack of research into the link between ethical dispositional factors and trait PS (Hurtt, 2010). The results indicate that trait PS is higher in first-year auditors with higher levels of ethical reasoning, concern for others, and egocentrism. More ethically sensitive auditors do not demonstrate higher levels of trait PS, however. The results provide evidence that auditors’ ethical dispositions influence their ability to have the mindset necessary to carry out the investor protection role that requires adequate PS.

The protection of public assets, fighting corruption and providing accountability for government agencies is necessary for public welfare, and it is possible to achieve this by quality auditing of the public sector. Since audit quality depends on the competencies of the auditor, this chapter focusses on the competencies of the public auditor and how these competencies are expected to evolve in the future with the development of technology. The chapter concentrates on the most sought-after skills for today’s public auditors by analysing the employment criteria in the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey. Even though the SAIs of these countries/regions are quite different, it is possible to find common ground. The SAIs of these countries, in general, require public auditors to have an undergraduate degree and require the candidates to pass extensive tests on reasoning abilities.

Moreover, the author investigates the requirements for public auditor competency in the public auditing standards followed by these countries. In addition to this, the author discusses the future expectations from public auditors and the new skills these will need. Past skills include technical knowledge, prior experience, hierarchical order in audit teams, professional scepticism, reasoning abilities and reporting skills. Advancements in technology such as Artificial Intelligence and Industry 4.0 will require auditors to have technological knowledge, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, project management skills, critical thinking and strong communication skills. Furthermore, understanding the business and related risks will overshadow prior experience.

Together with the globalization, the markets throughout the world entered into an intense competition and it led the companies in capital markets into a panic. During the competition for being at the top, the companies may sometimes have recourse to various frauds, corruption, or manipulations. The advancing technology is the most useful instrument of companies for this purpose. Countering these frauds and corruptions, which are gradually becoming more complex, is the profession of “auditing” which entered into an institutionalization and professionalization process. One of the most important milestones in this process is the emergence of the forensic accounting profession. The forensic accounting services, especially in the USA and Canada, provide courts and lawyers with support by making use of accounting, auditing, and analytical investigations on legal issues involving financial disputes. The forensic accountants offer service to relevant persons and institutions in order to determine the frauds made by the companies and support the lawsuits.

The objective of the present study is to provide information about the forensic accounting profession and its development in the world, as well as contributing to the development and recognition of forensic accounting practices.

The accelerated pace of change in the global economy and capital markets along with the complexity of transactions and financial reporting that involve applying fair value measurements (FVM) is a major third-party user concern. The 2008 financial crisis highlighted risks that investors are exposed to when making FVM-related capital allocations. Accounting estimates often involve subjective assumptions and measurement uncertainty, increasing potential management bias (Choudhary, 2011; Ramanna & Watts, 2012). FVMs are of critical importance to the reliability of the financial statements. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to inform educators of the possible need to evaluate their curriculum as to coverage of FVM topics. The support for this evaluation is based on our attempt to: (1) evaluate the extent of reported FVM-related deficiencies with reference to regulatory bodies’ findings of significant deficiencies in FVM; (2) examine the use of FVM specialists; (3) determine if colleges and universities are keeping pace with FVM demands; (4) list the Uniform CPA Examination Blueprint FVM testing areas; and (5) provide curricular FVM topic recommendations.