Search results

This paper analyses the internal auditor's role from a perspective which emphasises the pluralist nature of organisational life. The internal auditor operates in organisational contexts where norms and values are at best only partially shared, and where the auditor's formal concern for improved efficiency and control of resource use may be viewed with varying degrees of favour. The pluralist nature of organisational life reflects itself in day‐to‐day strains, tensions and conflicts between internal auditors and auditees, which cannot be eliminated through traditional “Human Relations” approaches to organisational problems. There are inherent conflicts between audit and other organisational roles, and also insofar as its modern conception is concerned, within the internal auditor's role itself.

Three decades ago, the National Audit Office (NAO) in the UK acquired the powers to evaluate the extent that the British Administration was managed with economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The NAO has since adopted a dual mission: to help Parliament hold government to account and to improve public service. This study aims to investigate value-for-money (VFM) auditors’ internalisation of a dual organisational identity: “obstructive” actions as representatives of a Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) and “enabling good practice”, induced by a will stated in the mission that the NAO authorities have adopted.

The organisational identity held and promoted by VFM auditors working at the NAO was explored in this research project. The authors specifically examined the understanding of those who claim to be serving both Parliament and organisations audited in their quest for performance improvement. The authors prompted the auditors to explain how they manage to reconcile these seemingly incompatible roles, namely, that of guardians and watchdogs who must publicly report gaps noted and that of assistants in government’s learning process. To this end, the authors conducted a field study at the NAO in September 2012 during which 21 auditors were interviewed individually and as part of two discussion groups.

The findings indicate that the auditors interviewed do not perceive a dichotomy in NAO’s double mission, which they believe to be congruent with their audience’s expectations. They draw meaning and usefulness from their role of monitoring the Administration if they believe they have contributed to improve public affairs management. In their view, the singular role of guardian no longer suffices. The authors conclude that VFM auditors’ recently acquired identity of “moderniser” reflects a self-efficacy expectation that prevents them from recognising the apparent paradox within their dual identity and that lets them fantasise about their real influence on the Administration.

Admittedly, the limited number of auditors interviewed and who took part in discussion groups is not conducive to generalisation of the conclusions to all auditors in the NAO or to other SAIs. However, although modest in number, the auditor respondents have accumulated many years of VFM audit practice and have contributed to the production of many reports. The respondents could therefore rightfully speak of their work as VFM auditors and as representatives of an institution such as the NAO.

This study contributes to the debates about the place and role of SAIs in the control environment of Administrations. By soliciting testimonials from the actors working within the NAO, the authors could thus question certain a priori assumptions held by stakeholders in the political and administrative world for whom auditors are mere “watchdogs” of Administrations, and nothing more.

The dual mission that the NAO has adopted (similar to many other SAIs) has been formally and publicly stated. It was therefore worth investigating how experienced auditors such as those interviewed had internalised this mission. The authors argue that this dual mission, perhaps inspired by the managerialist culture that has shaped changes to the British Administration (and many other occidental Administrations) since the early 1980s and that is seemingly encouraged by Government, twists the legislator’s intentions, which are to consider SAIs’ auditors as guardians and watchdogs of Administrations, not as agents of change and improvement.

This study on auditor’s conflict consists of three parts. The first is a discussion of the theory regarding auditor’s role conflict. From a theoretical basis, the causes for role conflict are distinguished by the structural inconsistency of roles, the “free engagement system” which is a kind of free market system of audit contracting between auditors and clients, and the expectation gap. The second part is a review of the Korean environment and a history of the audit in order to see what causes auditor’s role conflict. The results show that auditors in Korea face a substantial role conflict. The conflict arises because auditors try to maintain their professional norms and at the same time consider the client manager’s wishes. The third part is a proposed solution based on an empirical study conducted in Korea to resolve the auditor’s role conflict. This study stresses the need for a separation of the auditor’s role into a service function and a monitoring function.

This chapter combines quantitative studies of the connections between stressors and performance in accounting settings and identifies the mediators and moderators of stressors–performance relationships. Using meta-analyses and path analyses, this research compiles 72 studies to investigate the relationships of stressors with accountant and auditor performance. As hypothesized, bivariate meta-analyses results indicate that work-related stressors negatively affect performance, and burnout and stress are negatively related to performance, whereas motivation is positively related to performance. Moreover, a meta-analytical structural equation modeling indicates that role stressors have significant direct and indirect effects (through burnout and stress) on job performance. Accumulation of multiple samples through meta-analysis bolsters statistical power compared to single-sample studies and thus reveals the sign of residual direct effects of role stressors on job performance in accounting settings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the silence of internal auditors. To this end, the impacts of the perceived climate of silence, professional commitment, independence commitment, role conflict and role ambiguity on internal auditor silence have been investigated. Furthermore, the effects of role conflict and role ambiguity through independence commitment on internal auditor silence were investigated.

The statistical population of the study consisted of Iranian internal auditors in 2021. The study used a self-administered survey of 217 internal auditors. In this research, a hierarchical component model in the partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was used to examine the hypotheses.

The results of testing the hypotheses indicated that the perceived climate of silence and role ambiguity have positive effects, and professional commitment and independence commitment have negative effects on internal auditor silence. Furthermore, role conflict has an insignificant effect on internal auditor silence. In addition, role conflict and role ambiguity affect the internal auditor silence through the independence commitment.

This study examined the factors affecting the internal auditor silence by combining the construct of the perceived climate of silence that has been previously discussed in the field of management with the professional (professional commitment and independence commitment) and role (role conflict and role ambiguity) factors that are discussed in the internal audit profession. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines the factors affecting internal auditor silence behavior. The importance of conducting this study is that it investigates a phenomenon among internal auditors that conflicts with the mission and origin of internal audit.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the Official Scrutineer in the annual film awards ceremony of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a role currently occupied by the audit firm Deloitte. The case of BAFTA provides an illustrative example of the increasing demand for discretionary assurance services from audit firms (Free et al., 2009), which in turn is reflective of Power's (1997) “audit society”. It showcases the power of audit as a legitimating tool. The paper seeks to understand the role of the auditor as assurance provider by drawing upon Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical framework. Viewing the auditor as “performer” and a range of interested stakeholders (BAFTA voting members, sponsors, award winners and industry commentators) as the “audience”, this theoretical lens facilitates insights into the nature of assurance provision.

The paper gathers interview data from within the case organization (BAFTA), it's Official Scrutineers (Deloitte), BAFTA voting members, sponsors, award winners and film industry commentators.

Drawing on Goffman's (1959) work on impression management to inform its theoretical argumentation, the analysis of results from 36 interviews indicates that Deloitte are highly effective in delivering a successful performance to their audience; they convey a very convincing impression of trust and assurance. The paper therefore suggests the importance of performance ritual in the auditor's role as assurance provider. Additionally, it argues that such a performance may be particularly effective, in the eyes of the audience, when played by a well known audit firm.

The paper highlights the expanding territorial scope of assurance provision by audit firms. By focusing on a glamorous media event, it also furthers an understanding of the role of accounting within the domain of popular culture.

The paper aims to offer an exploration of the Banking Act 1987 which was passed following the failure of Johnson Matthey Bankers (JMB) in 1984. This Act extended the role of auditors in banking supervision by removing traditional confidentiality constraints and created a new role of “reporting accountant”. The paper seeks to examine the origin and development of these new reporting roles. In addition, the paper considers the extent to which the findings of this historical investigation might contribute to current debates on the role of auditors in banking supervision.

The paper draws on official documents, personal accounts of individuals responsible for dealing with the JMB crisis, and semi‐structured interviews conducted with audit partners and banking supervisors who had direct experience of implementing the supervisory reforms instituted under the Banking Act 1987. Power's explanatory schema of controversy, closure and credibility is adopted as a framework for the analysis of documentary sources and interview data.

The failure of JMB generated sufficient controversy so as to require reform of the system of banking supervision. The paper shows that JMB was a controversy since it disturbed what went before and carried with it sufficient allies for change. To achieve closure of the controversy, agreement by key actors about changes to the nature of the role of auditors was required to ensure legitimacy for the reforms. Backstage work undertaken by the auditing profession and the Bank of England provided the necessary credibility to renormalise practice around the new supervisory arrangements.

The paper develops Power's schema which is then employed to analyse the emergence of the new role of reporting accountant and extended role for auditors in UK banking supervision. The paper provides empirical evidence on the processes of controversy, closure and credibility that help to ensure the legitimacy of accounting and auditing change.

Tenders are generally considered important in auditing research and practice, and are associated with significant difficulties for the auditing profession, as well as for individual auditors in the context of client relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way auditors respond to complex client expectations related to the audit tendering process.

Using a role-theory perspective, the authors analyzed 75 client evaluations of auditors, along with in-depth interviews with high-level auditors.

The authors present a theoretical framework of audit tenders that identifies different formal and informal practices auditors may employ in response to evolving client expectations that arise throughout different phases of the tendering process, and elucidate relevant conditions that may enable or impede these practices.

First, the study reveals that, in the context of auditor-client relationships, expectations cannot be considered stable, but may vary significantly throughout the tendering process. Second, the study indicates that auditors are not only determined by the formal tendering procedures, but are also influenced by their level of agency.

The framework has practical value by providing individual auditors guidance in managing their client relationships and, further, top management guidance for creating favorable conditions for auditors to meet client needs.

The findings provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the autonomy auditors have in responding to the contemporary pressures exerted on them.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a concept of auditor as consigliere in family firms, that captures additional functions to monitoring, those of advice, mediating, and conveying.

The concept is tested through a survey conducted on 309 Swedish auditors.

The data indicate that the consigliere role is generally not emphasized, indicating that auditors primarily perform the monitoring role of the audit. However, the authors do find indications of the auditor performing the consigliere role, through performing the advisory and mediating functions and, to a smaller degree, the conveying function.

The survey is limited in response rate and in separating governance situations from consigliere functions.

With reservation for professional independence, the auditor as consigliere could be part of the governance of the family firm, but should be trained for this activity.

Regulators should pay attention to the consigliere role when, for example, stipulating compulsory rotation of auditors.

The paper shows that the auditor is more than a monitor in family firms. The consigliere role, even if not at all dominating, has to be considered, at least in family firms.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare in a qualitative way how internal auditors perceive their current role in risk management within US and Belgian companies.

In order to get adequate data, Chief audit executives from 10 different companies were interviewed and relevant documents were analyzed.

In the Belgian cases, internal auditors' focus on acute shortcomings in the risk management system creates opportunities to demonstrate their value. Internal auditors are playing a pioneering role in the creation of a higher level of risk and control awareness and a more formalized risk management system. In the US cases, internal auditors' objective evaluations and opinions are a valuable input for the new internal control review and disclosure requirements mentioned in the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

Given the qualitative nature of this study, generalization to all Belgian and US companies is not possible. The time specific character of the subject is an opportunity for future longitudinal research.

In Belgium, the internal auditing profession is actually in a kind of “transition phase”. In order to survive this transition phase, internal auditors need to assume a “teaching role” vis‐à‐vis the different management levels to make them aware of their responsibilities in risk management. After this transition period, internal auditors will be able to focus more on their core activities.

In addition to a number of quantitative studies, this paper extends in a qualitative and comparative way the understanding of the specific role of internal auditors in risk management within US and Belgian companies.