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Auditors’ self-efficacy (SE) represents their level of confidence in improving their audit performance. This may be a crucial factor for auditors to perform effectively during the health crisis of COVID-19. This study aims to build on a social cognitive perspective to assess the SE of auditors during the coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) and to anticipate that mastery experience, verbal and social persuasion, vicarious experience, physiological and emotional states and virtual audit are determinants of auditors’ SE during COVID-19.

Based on data from Saudi Arabia, this study surveyed all auditors using an online questionnaire and collected 193 useful responses. Thus, this study analyzed the data using primary statistical tests and a structural equation model of partial least squares.

This study observes that auditors feel confident in their ability to perform audit activities as well during COVID-19 as at other times. This study also documents that VEs, physiological and emotional states and virtual audits play significant roles in SE. In further analyses, this study observes that auditors who are affiliated with big4 audit firms moderate the positive association between virtual audit and SE. All these results are verified under several econometrical appraisals and held constant.

This study provides a number of theoretical and practical implications.

Online user reviews have increasingly become a popular means by which the lay person can both procure advice and offer personal opinions. Amazon, the electronic retail giant, is a prominent example of a site which hosts such user generated content; the opinions of its repository of reviewers have become an important source of assurance provision. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that Amazon provides an example of how audit logics have entered new spaces. In Amazon, the author witnesses the construction of auditability in the virtual world. This may explain the popularity and authority seemingly enjoyed by user reviews.

The paper uses the methodological approach of netnography (Kozinets, 2002). This new methodology has emerged in order to undertake ethnographic research within virtual communities. Applying this methodology to the case of Amazon involved becoming familiar with the operational features of the site and analysing its textual discourse.

The paper identifies in Amazon, Power’s (1996) three examples of how auditability is invoked: through rhetorics of measurability, auditable systems of control, and reliance on experts. The paper therefore argues that online user reviews are reflective of the extension of audit society into the virtual world.

The paper explores the possibilities of the virtual world for accounting research, a world which is an increasingly prominent feature of popular culture. In addition, the paper responds to recent calls to examine the processes of assurance provision beyond the traditional domain of financial audit.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new concept: the online collaborative audit system, and to design a prototype system at the national level for financial auditors, members of a supervisory body.

Conceptualization, modelling, analysis, imagination, scientific abstraction and review of legislation are the research methods used.

An online collaborative audit system is defined as an interorganizational system which uses the methods of collaborative intelligence among the stakeholders of the audit process (audit firms, auditees, supervision bodies) in a given geographical area (e.g. country) and which is based on the Internet. By assessing the design of the system, we could anticipate that an online collaborative system is feasible to implement. The main characteristics of an online collaborative audit system are geographical dispersion, collaboration between the stakeholders of the audit process, electronic management of the audit documents, online/continuous auditing and dynamic virtual teams, etc.

The system presented in this paper aims to cover the research gap which exists in this area and also to produce a change of paradigm in the sense that nowadays the technology allows us to move the audit results to an integrated national platform for audit stakeholders. In this way, the transparency of audit results increases and the role of audit becomes more predictive compared with the traditional way of performing an audit. Compared with the research in the field, the system presented in this paper is innovative in the sense that it not only allows online auditing but also gathers the national audit community in a virtual environment, which allows information sharing and improvement of information access.

The online collaborative system for audit, which promotes collaboration between a large number of auditors and which is based on the networks of the supervision bodies, could be implemented not only by Romania, on which this research is based, but also by other countries.

The online collaborative systems for audit, which promotes collaboration between a large number of auditors and which is based on the networks of the supervision bodies, could be implemented not only by Romania but also by other countries.

This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on audit fees and audit delay at the auditor local office level.

The authors take advantage of the availability of the state-by-state lockdown data to measure the degree of public health restrictions in auditor office locations. Using multivariate regression analysis, this study empirically investigates the impact of the length of lockdown in auditors’ office locations on audit fees and audit delay. The authors also examine whether office-level characteristics (i.e. office size and office-level client importance) moderate the association between the length of statewide lockdown and both audit fees and audit delay.

The authors find that a longer lockdown in auditors’ office locations is associated with higher audit fees and longer audit delay. The increase in audit fees and audit delay due to lockdown is higher for clients of larger local offices than those of smaller offices. In contrast, the positive impact of lockdown on audit fees and audit delay is less for more economically significant clients of an auditor office than that for less significant clients. Smaller clients are more likely to bear the higher cost of audits and experience longer audit delay during the pandemic.

The results suggest that COVID-19 restrictions have forced auditors to change the nature, scope and timing of their tests, resulting in higher audit fees and longer delays in completing audit engagements. Beyond the main effect of lockdowns on audit fees and audit delay, the study finds evidence of the moderating effect of auditor office size and office-level client importance, providing some insights on how auditor local offices cope with COVID-19 restrictions.

The aim of this study is to examine continuous auditing in the digital age from the perspective of audit firm employees. It also investigates contemporary factors affecting continuous auditing, as well as the techniques that could be utilised for its implementation.

Internal audit departments of private companies were contacted via email and given a questionnaire developed based on the extant literature. The sample consisted of 105 individuals employed in the largest audit institutions in Greece. Data were analysed using multiple regression.

As expected, technological advances are indispensable for the establishment of an effective digital auditing system. The impact of data protection measures against cyber-attacks as well as employees' skills and training were found to be significant. Particular attention should be given to the preparation and building of virtual auditing teams.

The fact that the digital era is still nascent with its final outcomes not yet visible makes it difficult to produce accurate predictions and draw conclusions. Further, there is a need to survey salient stakeholders in other country contexts beyond Greece pursuant of producing generalisable results.

The actions taken by companies to ensure cyber security and the formation of virtual teams were found to be highly significant for the implementation of a real-time auditing process. Traditionally, factors such as cost and time play an important role in optimising internal continuous auditing. Technological advancements combined with careful, strategic and case-specific implementation have the potential to enhance the efficacy of older methods.

The positive propensity of staff to adopt technology and modern techniques illustrates how implementation difficulties can be overcome through the redefinition and scheduling of an organisation's objectives and training of its personnel.

Audit firm employees highlighted the protection of personal data, the avoidance of cyber-attacks and training as major continuous internal auditing goals. The results indicate acceptance towards technology and modern techniques, provided companies ensure adequate preparation and staff training conditions.

This paper aims to consider the impact of Michael Power’s (1997) Audit Society thesis for understanding the rise of audit logics in the virtual world.

The paper reviews some of the key concepts in Audit Society and discusses them with reference to the role of the user review.

The paper argues that user reviews are an illustrative example of Audit Society in the online world, with notions of independence, measurability and expertise being deployed to create a sense of comfort and trust.

The paper enhances our understanding of the impact of Audit Society on everyday lives with particular reference to the lives of the digital citizen.

The objective of this study is to systematically review the current body of literature in order to gain insights into the progress of research in accounting and auditing of cryptocurrencies, while also highlighting the associated risks and identifying gaps for future exploration.

To achieve this, a structured literature review was carried out, presenting a thorough and critical assessment of the available studies focused on cryptocurrencies within the accounting and auditing domain.

The analysis reveals that the majority of the research has concentrated on the reporting and measurement aspects of cryptocurrencies, neglecting the auditing aspect. Regarding the methodology, future investigations should incorporate both theoretical and empirical manners to address this gap. Various spheres require further exploration, as they have the potential to significantly impact practitioners and academics.

The significance of this paper lies in its comprehensive examination of the existing literature, synthesizing and organizing information pertaining to accounting and auditing considerations of crypto transactions. Moreover, it provides valuable insights into best practices and prompts identifying avenues for further research in this field.

It is argued that the current generation of online catalogues do not meet basic user expectations about how to search for information. After a brief examination of virtual reality audits associated technology, a new form of online catalogue, the virtual reality library is proposed. Users browse an information space, a computer‐controlled set of shelf orderings for items. Its form, workings and design are investigated in detail. The concept of the virtual reality library is then applied to information resources which either have no physical repository or have one which is not accessible to users.

Virtual communities are useful sources of travel information for tourists. To better promote the sustainable development of virtual communities and provide theoretical guidance, this study aims to explore how the cognitive load generated by tourists in the information-seeking process facilitates the formation of their continuance intention.

Built on the cognitive load theory and flow theory, this study investigates the formation mechanism of virtual community users’ continuance intention to seek travel information. A total of 328 valid questionnaires were collected and used for hypothesis testing.

The results show that perceived usefulness, perceived information consistency and prior experience positively affect continuance intention. Concentration and time distortion have significant effects on continuance intention. Moreover, concentration and time distortion mediate between prior experience and continuance intention.

This study clarifies the formation mechanism of virtual community users’ continuance intention of travel information seeking from a new perspective. The conclusions enrich the research on consumer behavior in the information search field and provide a reference for virtual communities.