Author: Benito Arrunada
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475767285
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 203
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Book Description
This book focuses on market mechanisms which protect quality in the provision of audit services. The role of public regulation is thus situated in the context defmed by the presence of these safeguard mechanisms. The book aims to contribute to a better understanding of these market mechanisms, which helps in defining the con tent of rules and the function of regulatory bodies in facilitating and strengthening the protective operation of the market. An analysis at a more general level is provided in the three chapters making up Part 1. In the four chapters of Part 2, on the other hand, this analysis is applied to a particular problem to determine how those non-audit services often provided by auditors to their audit clients should be regulated. Finally, Chapter 8 contains a summary of the analysis and conclusions of the work. The conclusion with regard to non-audit services is that their provision generates beneficial effects in terms of costs, technical competence, professional judgment and competition and, moreover, need not prejudice auditor independence or the quality of these services. This as sessment leads, in the normative sphere, to recommending a legislative policy aimed at facilitating the development and use of safeguards provided by the free action of market forces. Regulation should thus aim to enable the parties-audit firms, self-regulatory bodies and audit clients-to discover through competitive market interaction both the most efficient mix of services and the corresponding quality safeguards, adjusting for the costs and benefits of each possibility.
Author: Sylvia Chai
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Auditing
Languages : en
Pages : 45
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Book Description
This study investigates whether auditors compromise their independence when they provide audit and non-audit services jointly to their clients. The relationship between the level of non-audit services fees and two independence-related measures: (i) the level of earnings management and (ii) the type of audit opinion issued, is examined. The results indicate that for Big 6 audited companies purchasing higher levels of non-audit services engage in higher levels of earnings management compared to companies purchasing a lower level of non-audit services from their incumbent auditor. However, the study finds that high level purchasers of non-audit services are not more likely to receive a clean opinion compared to low level purchasers of non-audit services. In order to explain the conflicting results, further tests are conducted to determine whether companies that purchase concurrently a high level of non-audit services and indulge in high levels of earnings management are more likely to receive a clean audit opinion. This is important since auditors will only be perceived as compromising their independence if they fail to issue qualifications when the level of earnings management is high. The findings indicate that no relationship exists between the type of audit opinion issued and the interaction between the level of non-audit service fees and the level of earnings management. Hence, it is concluded that auditors do not impair their independence in terms of willingness to issue deserved qualifications when providing joint services.00000 g.
Author: Michael Firth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
There has been a strong growth in accounting firms' provisions of non-audit services to their audit clients. To date, however, there have been few studies into the determinants of this joint provision of audit and non-audit services. One reason for the paucity of research is the lack of publicly available data with which to empirically examine relationships and test theories. However, recent legislation in the United Kingdom requires disclosure of non-audit fees paid to a company's auditor and this provides data with which to investigate the joint provision of consultancy and audit services. A model is developed that seeks to explain a company's decision to hire non-audit services from the auditor. The model argues that companies that face potentially high agency costs purchase relatively smaller amounts of non-audit services from their auditor. High agency cost companies require independent audits in order to reassure investors and creditors; the provision of joint services, which increases the economic bonding of the auditor to the client, may jeopardize independence or the appearance of independence. The model is tested using data observations from 500 companies and the results indicate that companies that have higher agency costs proxies are associated with smaller purchases of non-audit services from their auditors.
Author: Benito Arruñada
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 27
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Book Description
The provision of non-audit services by auditors to their audit clients reduces total costs, increases technical competence and motivates more intense competition. Furthermore, these services do not necessarily damage auditor independence nor the quality of non-audit services. This assessment leads to recommending that legislative policy should aim at facilitating the development and use of the safeguards provided by the free action of market forces. Regulation should thus aim to enable the parties-audit firms, self- regulatory bodies and audit clients-to discover through competitive market interaction both the most efficient mix of services and the corresponding quality safeguards, adjusting for the costs and benefits of each possibility. Particular emphasis is placed on the role played by fee income diversification and the enhancement, through disclosure rules, of market incentives to diversify.
Author: Nasrollah Ahadiat
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Purpose - While a few US studies on the impact of the provision of non-audit services on auditor judgment have found potential harm to independence, it is the purpose of this study to investigate whether the British and Australian auditors' involvement with both audit and non-audit services for the same clients may also produce similar results.Design/Methodology/Approach - The parametric t-tests and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney tests are used in this study on the empirical data from the British and Australian companies to examine the potential for loss of independence when high levels of non-audit services are provided to audit clients.Findings - The results corroborated the US Securities and Exchange Commission's contention that the provision of non-audit services may indeed impair independence.Research Limitations/Implications - No attempts were made to isolate the effects of other factors that could result in the issuance of qualified opinions. In addition, the sample used in this investigation is comprised of firms that had voluntarily disclosed non-audit fees in the early years of the study. This could potentially introduce a self-selection bias. Nevertheless, this study is one of a kind in the international arena.Originality/Value - This paper extends the line of research examining the impact of non-audit services on the auditor's independence.
Author: Richard M. Frankel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Auditing
Languages : en
Pages : 44
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Book Description
We examine the association between the provision of non-audit services and earnings quality. Because of concerns regarding the effect of non-audit services on financial reporting credibility, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued revised auditor independence rules requiring firms to disclose in their annual proxy statement the amount of fees paid to auditors for audit and non-audit services. Using data collected from proxy statements filed between February 5, 2001 and June 15, 2001, we present evidence that firms purchasing more non-audit services from their auditor are more likely to just meet or beat analysts' forecasts and to report larger absolute discretionary accruals. However, the purchase of non-audit services is not associated with meeting other earnings benchmarks. We also find that the unexpected component of the non-audit to total fee ratio is negatively associated with stock returns on the filing date. These results are consistent with arguments that the provision of non-audit services strengthens an auditor's economic bond with the client and that investors price this effect. Keywords: Auditor independence; Auditor fees; Earnings management; Discretionary accruals. JEL Classification: G12, M41, M43, M49, L84.
Author: David Gwilliam
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781783631568
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Author: United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0359536395
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 234
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Book Description
Audits provide essential accountability and transparency over government programs. Given the current challenges facing governments and their programs, the oversight provided through auditing is more critical than ever. Government auditing provides the objective analysis and information needed to make the decisions necessary to help create a better future. The professional standards presented in this 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards (known as the Yellow Book) provide a framework for performing high-quality audit work with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence to provide accountability and to help improve government operations and services. These standards, commonly referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), provide the foundation for government auditors to lead by example in the areas of independence, transparency, accountability, and quality through the audit process. This revision contains major changes from, and supersedes, the 2011 revision.
Author: Allen T. Craswell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The provision of management advisory and other services by auditors to their audit clients has long been regarded, by regulators in Australia and overseas, as a threat to auditor independence. Evidence of the impact of non?audit services on auditors' independence has been derived using case studies and questionnaires and has focused on perceptions of independence. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the provision of non?audit services impairs auditor independence by testing for an association between the provision of non?audit services and auditors' reporting opinions. Based on publicly available information for Australian listed companies for several years, the evidence suggests that auditors' decisions to qualify their opinions are not affected by the provision of non?audit services.
Author: Lisa Milici Gaynor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Recent corporate governance reforms that require audit committees to pre-approve audit and non-audit services increase audit committees' accountability to third parties for actual auditor independence and audit quality. Other SEC reforms mandate the disclosure of fees for auditor-provided services and are aimed at influencing investors' perceptions of auditor independence. These fee disclosures also reveal audit committees' pre-approval decisions, enhancing public accountability. Thus, audit committees may be less willing to hire auditors for non-audit services to avoid fee disclosures even when joint provision improves audit quality. One hundred experienced corporate directors, responding as audit committee members or investors, participated in an experiment in which we manipulated the effect of the auditor's provision of non-audit services on audit quality and the fee disclosure requirement. We find that audit committee members are more likely to recommend joint provision if audit quality improves, consistent with investors' preferences. However, unlike investors, committee members are more reluctant to recommend joint provision when public disclosures are required, even at the expense of audit quality. These findings offer evidence about an indirect effect of recent reforms.
