How to Use Blockchain Effectively in Auditing and Assurance Services

2019 ◽  
pp. 457-471
Author(s):  
Ipek Turker ◽  
Ali Altug Bicer
Keyword(s):  
Assurance Services

The Association between Sustainability Governance Characteristics and the Assurance of Corporate Sustainability Reports

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary F. Peters ◽  
Andrea M. Romi
Keyword(s):  
Value Relevance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Assurance Services ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Sustainability Report

SUMMARY This study provides evidence on whether sustainability-oriented corporate governance mechanisms impact the voluntary assurance of corporate sustainability reports. Specifically, we consider the presence and characteristics of environmental committees on the Board of Directors and a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) among the management team. When examining assurance services, we make a distinction between those services performed by professional accountants, consultants, and internal auditors. We find that the presence of a CSO is positively associated with corporate sustainability report assurance services, and this association increases when the CSO has sustainability expertise. Supporting the position that some firms establish sustainability-related governance merely to conform to socially desired behavior, we find that only those environmental committees containing directors with related expertise influence the likelihood of adopting sustainability assurance. Presently, environmental committees with greater expertise appear to prefer the higher-quality assurance services of professional accounting firms. Expert CSOs, on the other hand, prefer assurance services from their peers with sustainability expertise, as evidenced by their choice to employ consultants. When analyzing firms' environmental contextual characteristics, we find that firms employing a CSO and exhibiting poor environmental performance, relative to other firms in their industry, prefer to report sustainability results without assurance. While we do find that larger firms in the U.S. are significantly less likely to employ assurance, this result decreases over time. Further, we provide initial evidence that the value-relevance of sustainability assurance is increasing with time.

The Value of Assurance on Voluntary Nonfinancial Disclosure: An Experimental Evaluation

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Coram ◽  
Gary S. Monroe ◽  
David R. Woodliff
Keyword(s):  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Financial Report ◽  
Nonfinancial Performance ◽  
Assurance Services ◽  
Context Specific

SUMMARY: This study examines whether assurance on the voluntary provision of nonfinancial performance indicators affects the stock price estimates of a group of sophisticated financial report users. We conducted an experiment where participants were provided with a case study containing excerpts from a hypothetical company's annual report. Nonfinancial performance and assurance were manipulated in a 2 (positive and negative nonfinancial performance indicators) ×2 (assurance and no assurance) +1 (control condition) between-subjects design. After reading the case materials, the participants indicated whether they believed the company's stock price would increase or decrease based on the information provided. As expected, we found that the nonfinancial performance indicators had a significant effect on stock price estimates. In addition, consistent with attribution theory, an assurance report on the voluntarily disclosed nonfinancial performance indicators only had a significant effect on stock price estimates when the nonfinancial performance indicators were positive, suggesting that the value of assurance is context-specific. Our research contributes to the discussion on the value of expanded assurance services and also on the value of enhanced corporate disclosure.

scholarly journals To Trust Or Not To Trust: The Impact Of WebTrust On The Perceived Trustworthiness Of A Web Site

2001 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Portz ◽  
Joel M. Strong ◽  
Larry Sundby
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Web Site ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Computer Experiment ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Certified Public Accountants ◽  
Assurance Services ◽  
The Impact

Despite the explosive growth of electronic commerce, many individuals are still reluc-tant to conduct business transactions on the Internet. Individuals may mistrust sending private information over the Internet or they may have concerns about the existence, performance, standing, and integrity of online businesses. In direct response to these concerns, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has developed an electronic commerce assurance service called WebTrust which is intended to improve the consumer's confidence in the process and the quality of information disclosed on vendor web sites. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of WebTrust by examining the influence of WebTrust on consumers' perceptions of a web site's trustworthiness. The question is investigated through a computer experiment. The results of this study are very encouraging for electronic commerce assurance services in general, and the WebTrust service in particular. Evidence is found that the presence of WebTrust on a web site has a positive impact on the perceived trustworthiness of the website. The results also show that knowledge of WebTrust plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between perceived trustworthiness and the presence of WebTrust. When subjects have prior knowledge of WebTrust they perceive a web site with WebTrust to be more trustworthy than a web site without whereas, the presence of WebTrust has no impact when subjects are uneducated about the WebTrust assurances. Also, when WebTrust is present, subjects with knowledge of WebTrust are more confident in the web site than those without knowledge of WebTrust. When WebTrust is not present, knowledge subjects are more unsure of a web site without WebTrust than those without knowledge.

Specifying High-Assurance Services

Computer ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 64-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Atkinson ◽  
Daniel Brenner ◽  
Giovanni Falcone ◽  
Monika Juhasz
Keyword(s):  
Assurance Services ◽  
High Assurance

Biometric Identity Assurance Services

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Kevin Mangold ◽  
Matthew Swayze
Keyword(s):  
Assurance Services

Developing Risk Skills: An Investigation of Business Risks and Controls at Prudential Insurance Company of America

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Walker ◽  
William G. Shenkir ◽  
C. Stephen Hunn
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Control Environment ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Special Committee ◽  
Business Professionals ◽  
Poor Control ◽  
Assurance Services ◽  
A Company

The Prudential Insurance Company was involved in the largest life insurance churning scam of the 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, Prudential had weak business controls, and its corporate culture was characterized as ineffective and loose. However, this scandal is rooted in something deeper than a poor control environment. Prudential was a company facing several risks; many company decisions allowed these risks to have a dramatic impact on the company. As a result, its weak control environment came to the forefront, allowing the churning scam to reach its record levels. This case demonstrates the value of identifying and assessing risks in an organization. Further, the case demonstrates how to build control solutions to match the risks. Learning how to manage risks is a valuable skill for business professionals. In fact, the AICPA's Special Committee on Assurance Services (AICPA 1997), also known as the Elliott Committee, identified risk assessment as one of the emerging assurance services offered by CPAs.

Information Assurance Seals: How They Impact Consumer Purchasing Behavior

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexei Nikitkov
Keyword(s):  
Information Assurance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Purchasing Behavior ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Assurance Services ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Time To Learn ◽  
Role Of Information

Public accounting firms and other independent assurance providers have developed and marketed web assurance services resulting in a seal as an indicator of compliance. Academic research finds that seals potentially meet some of the most acute consumer concerns, but that consumers have inadequate understandings about the seals, and low regard for them. This study extends the research on the role of information assurance seals as an antecedent of trust by examining the use of seals on the eBay auction site. The study analyzes a sample of transactions in which buyers acted with their own money, and had time to learn about various signals and consider their strengths. The transactions are examined to see whether presence of a seal on the seller's web page made a significant difference on actual consumer purchasing behavior. Empirical tests found significant associations between the presence of seals and consumer purchasing behavior in both auction and posted-price contexts.

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