Auditors’ perceptions of the impact of continuous auditing on the quality of Internet reported financial information in Egypt

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hala M. G. Amin ◽  
Ehab K. A. Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Continuous Auditing ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of auditors in Egypt toward the role that continuous auditing (CA) can play in offsetting the challenges facing the quality of Internet-reported financial information. The paper also examines the impact of audit firm type and years of experience on these perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – Ninety-six auditors working in the Big 4 and large local audit firms are surveyed to attain their perceptions on the issues examined. Chi-square, Mann–Whitney and t-test are used to test the research hypotheses. Findings – The overall results indicate that the majority of auditors in Egypt agree that implementing CA can offset the challenges associated with the Internet financial reporting (IFR) environment. The results also reveal that there are significant differences between auditors working in Big 4 audit firms and those working in local firms regarding the perceptions of the effect of CA on some aspects of the timeliness of information. Research limitations/implications – The paper extends the stream of research on both CA and IFR that confirms that the widespread use of the Internet in disclosing financial information continues to be a worrisome problem for auditing firms. Practical implications – The paper provides insights into the challenges facing auditing in the IFR environment and how implementing CA can help offset these challenges. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to examine issues related to CA in the IFR environment in the Middle East and, in particular, Egypt.

Voluntary disclosure of financial information on the internet by large companies in Slovenia

Kybernetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Dolinšek ◽  
Andreja Lutar-Skerbinjek
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Voluntary Disclosure ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Financial Disclosures ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of the determinants and characteristics of voluntary internet financial disclosures by large companies in Slovenia. With this research, the authors wanted to determine the factors which impact on the differences between companies that use internet financial reporting and those that do not. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted on a sample of large companies in Slovenia (n = 192), which was divided into two groups, depending on whether they use internet financial reporting. A binary logistic regression was undertaken to assess whether voluntary disclosure of financial information on the internet was related to the company’s size, profitability, age, company’s legal form, ownership dispersion and industry sector. Findings The research has shown that there is a statistically significant difference between the companies which use or do not use internet financial reporting. The likelihood that the companies will publish the internet financial information is greater in the case of public limited companies, companies that deal with the financial, energy or ICT sectors and companies that have a larger ownership concentration. Originality/value This is one of the first studies in Slovenia that was used to determine the factors according to which the companies that use internet financial reporting differentiate from those that do not.

Effects of leadership and accounting capacity on accountability through the quality of financial reporting by public organisations in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen Thi Tran ◽  
Nguyen Phong Nguyen ◽  
Trang Cam Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Public Organisations ◽  
The Impact

Purpose By drawing on the institutional theory and contingency theory, this study aims to examine the effects of leadership and accounting capacity on the quality of financial reporting and accountability of public organisations in Vietnam. Furthermore, this paper is to determine the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability. Design/methodology/approach The research model and hypotheses have been tested by partial least squares structural equation modeling, with 177 survey samples obtained from accountants and managers working in the public sector in Vietnam. Findings The research results indicate that leadership and accounting capacity have a positive effect on financial reporting quality; leadership and accounting capacity positively influence accountability; and the quality of financial reporting has a positive impact on accountability. Research limitations/implications The research results provide empirical evidence of the direct impact of leadership and accounting capacity on financial reporting quality and accountability of public organisations in a developing country. Moreover, the current work also provides important evidence for the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability. Practical implications Public sector organisations must realise that leadership and accounting capacity play a vital role in the accounting reform process. Public institutions likewise need to pay attention to develop accounting capacity and promote leadership. Moreover, the results respond to the continuing call for increased citizen trust in public organisations. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the chain from leadership, accounting capacity, financial reporting quality and accountability in the context of public sector organisations in an Asian transition market.

The impact of audit quality on earnings management and cost of equity capital: evidence from a developing market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Le ◽  
Paula Hearn Moore
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Equity Capital ◽  
Cost Of Equity Capital ◽  
Cost Of Equity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of audit quality on earnings management and cost of equity capital (COE) considering the impact of two owner types: government ownership and foreign ownership. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a panel data set of 236 Vietnamese firms covering the period 2007 to 2017. Because the two main dependent variables of the COE capital and the absolute value of discretionary accruals receive fractional values between zero and one, the paper uses the generalised linear model (GLM) with a logit link and the binomial family in regression analyses. The paper uses numerous audit quality measures, including hiring Big 4 auditors or the industry-leading Big 4 auditor, changing from non-Big 4 auditors to Big 4 auditors or the industry-leading Big 4 auditor, and the length of Big 4 auditor tenure. Big 4 companies include KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC, whereas the non-big 4 are the other audit companies. Findings The study finds a negative relationship between audit quality and both the COE capital and income-increasing discretionary accruals. The effects of audit quality on discretionary accruals and the COE capital depend on the ownership levels of two important shareholders: the government and foreign investors. Foreign ownership is negatively associated with discretionary accruals; however, the effect is more pronounced in the sub-sample of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the firms where the government owns 50% or more equity, than in the sub-sample of Non-SOEs. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, no prior similar study exists that used the GLM with a logit link and the binomial family regression. Global investors may be interested in understanding how unique institutional settings and capital markets of each country impact the financial reporting quality and cost of capital. Further, policymakers of developing markets may have incentives to improve the quality of financial reporting and reduce the cost of capital which should result in attracting more foreign investments.

scholarly journals Market Responsiveness to Corporate Social Responsibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Zev Fried
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Earnings Response Coefficients ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Market reaction to surprises in earnings announcements has long been used to measure the quality of the information content of the announcement, and studies have explored various factors affecting the response. This study adds to this body of research by factoring in the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) exhibited by the firm and employs a relatively new measure of a company’s level of CSR, rankings published by JUST Capital. I hypothesize that financial information reported by higher ranked companies is weighed more heavily by investors than those reported by non-ranked or lower-ranked companies. Using earnings response coefficients as a measure of the perceived quality of the financial information reported by the firms, my results provide direct support of the hypothesis, indicating that the market reacts more strongly to earnings surprises for firms with high JUST rankings than for unranked firms or firms with lower rankings. This result contributes new insights into the impact of a firm’s CSR in terms of the perceived quality of a firm’s financial reporting.

The impact of audit committee financial expertise on de facto use of IFRS: does external auditor’s size matter?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1243-1263
Author(s):  
Ahmed Atef Oussii ◽  
Mohamed Faker Klibi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Important Message ◽  
Financial Expertise ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
The Impact

Purpose De facto use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a particular form of voluntary compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS). It is practiced when an enterprise uses a number (and not all) of international standards as a complement to overcome the unachieved nature of local generally accepted accounting principles. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, at first, whether the financial expertise of Tunisian audit committee’s members is associated with de facto use of IFRS. Second, it explores to what extent and in what direction this association evolves when the factor auditor’s size is introduced as a moderator variable. Design/methodology/approach Data spanning a seven-year period (2012–2018) was hand-collected for a sample of 497 firm-year observations. Further, regression analysis was used to test the study’s hypothesis. Findings Findings show that the proportion of financial experts who sit on the audit committee is positively associated with the de facto use of IFRS. Besides, the association between audit committee members’ financial expertise and the voluntary use of IFRS is more pronounced when the company is audited by at least one BIG 4 audit firm. Practical implications The paper’s findings have implications for regulatory bodies and standards setters who are concerned with the functioning of the audit committee, especially when it comes to enhancing the quality of the financial statements. The results also shed light on the role of financial experts on the audit committee and Big 4 auditors to enforce the de facto use of IFRS. Originality/value The findings of this study contain an important message for the drift toward national de jure convergence with IAS.

Implementing IFRS in Saudi Arabia: evidence from publicly traded companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nurunnabi ◽  
Eva K. Jermakowicz ◽  
Han Donker
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ifrs Implementation

Purpose The Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) requires that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as endorsed in Saudi Arabia, be used by all listed and unlisted companies. This study aims to provide insight into IFRS implementation problems, based on a survey sent to Saudi Arabian companies listed on Tadawul, the Saudi stock market (i.e. financial hub in the Middle East). Design/methodology/approach The survey focused on the impact that IFRS conversion has had on companies, their accounting and their finance strategies. The benefits and challenges of the adoption of IFRS are analyzed, including matters pertaining to the level of understanding and experience with IFRS, perceptions about the quality of IFRS and the impact of adoption of IFRS on consolidated equity and net income. Findings The survey had a response rate of 72 per cent. The results indicate a majority of respondents support conversion to IFRS as it results in higher quality financial reporting; the most important expected benefits of adopting IFRS include greater reporting transparency and improved comparability with other businesses; other expected benefits include harmonization of internal and external reporting, and increased cross-border investment opportunities; the IFRS process is costly and ties up resources because of its complexity and training needed and companies expect increased volatility in reported financial results that will impact share option plans and/or other incentive plans tied to profits. However, the authors find strong support among preparers of the financial statements for IFRS, as evidenced by higher agreement among respondents to the survey on the benefits of adopting IFRS, rather than on the costs of its adoption. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the likelihood of Saudi Arabian firms that are in favor of adopting IFRS decreases if the audit firm is one of the Big 4. The reason for this negative relationship could be that the cost of transition toward IFRS will be high. Therefore, Saudi Arabian firms will not favor a transition toward IFRS when their audit firm belongs to the Big 4. Most difficult to implement IFRS, as listed by respondents, include those on financial instruments, revenue, leases and employee benefits. Originality/value The authors show how economic and environmental factors play a critical role in the IFRS implementation process. This study should be important to all countries worldwide that are in the process of adopting IFRS.

Digital corporate reporting and value relevance: evidence from the US and Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan George Shan ◽  
Indrit Troshani
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Value Relevance ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Financial Reporting

PurposeThe study improves current understanding concerning the implications of digital corporate reporting technology on the informativeness of accounting information.Design/methodology/approachIt looks at how XBRL, an exemplar digital corporate financial reporting technology, affects value relevance of accounting information in the US and Japan, two key jurisdictions where XBRL has been mandated. We operationalise stock price and return value relevance models to assess and compare predicted associations between selected accounting measures and market value of equity in these countries.FindingsWe predict that the selected accounting measures are more value relevant after XBRL was mandated than before. We find evidence to support our prediction for the US sample. We also predict and find that the contribution of XBRL to the value relevance of the selected accounting measures is greater in the US than in Japan. Overall, our evidence provides support that digital corporate reporting technology enhances relevance and reliability of accounting measures.Originality/valueThe study appears to be the first to have examined the impact of XBRL on value relevance whilst comparing between two major jurisdictions. The study extends emerging but limited literature concerning the benefits of digital corporate financial reporting for enhancing the communication between firms and users of financial information. The findings are useful to both users of financial information and standard setters.

Regulating non-financial reporting: evidence from European firms’ environmental, social and governance disclosures and earnings risk

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arif ◽  
Christohper Gan ◽  
Muhammad Nadeem
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Earnings Risk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Purpose Motivated by the enactment of non-financial reporting regulations by the European Parliament, this paper aims to investigate the impact of European Union (EU) directive 2014/95/EU on the quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by the S&P Europe 350 index firms. This study also investigates whether the implementation of the non-financial information (NFI) reporting regulations influences the association between ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk. Design/methodology/approach To measure the impact of mandatory regulations on the quantity of ESG disclosures, this study estimates the average treatment effects using a propensity weighted sample. Then this study uses the difference-in-differences method to estimate the differences in the association between ESG disclosures and earning risk before and after implementation of the EU directive. Findings The results show a significant positive impact of the EU directive on the quantity of ESG disclosures for the sample European public-interest entities, which indicates that the mandatory NFI reporting requirements could boost the availability of increasingly demanded ESG related information. The enhanced association between the ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk during the post-directive period reveals that mandating NFI reporting also increases the quality of ESG disclosures. Originality/value Using the legitimacy and decision-usefulness theories, this study provides novel evidence concerning the impact of the EU directive on the quantity and quality of ESG disclosures.

The effect of gender composition in joint audits on earnings management

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan-Hua Kung ◽  
Yu-Shan Chang ◽  
Minting Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Industry Expertise

Purpose This paper aims to examine the association between gender composition of joint auditor pairs and the quality of reported financial information. More specifically, the authors attempt to assess whether and how these gender compositions affect the client firms’ earnings management behavior. Design/methodology/approach The authors utilized the unique institutional setting of Taiwan, where joint auditors are required by law. They studied the effect of gender in joint auditor pairs on accrual earnings management and real earnings management to achieve financial reporting objectives. Findings Empirical results indicate that engaging a woman as the lead auditor can constrain accrual earnings management, regardless of whether the joint auditor is male or female. The authors also found that all-male signing auditor pairs with industry expertise can significantly reduce accrual earnings management. The authors also documented that all-female signing auditor pairs and auditor industry expertise could drive clients to engage in real earnings management activities as an alternative to accrual earnings management. Originality/value The empirical results demonstrate that gender indeed plays a role in the quality of client’s reported financial information. Female auditors in a lead position and male auditors with industry expertise tend to be more successful in delivering better-quality audits.

scholarly journals How to regain public trust in audit firms? The case of the Financial Reporting Council

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Khaled Eldaly ◽  
Magdy Abdel-Kader
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Uk

Purpose This study aims to provide a better understanding of the role of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), as the unified regulator of the audit profession in the UK, in restoring public trust in audit profession in the UK. It further analyses the views of partners in the Big 4 audit firms on this role. Design/methodology/approach The research data were gathered by conducting 17 semi-structured interviews with the top management of FRC’s members and executive partners of the Big 4 firms in the UK. The interviews were complemented by analysing data available on the web pages of the Big 4 firms and published reports related to the FRC’s projects. Findings This study identified three main strategies followed by the FRC to promote the trust and enhance the choice of auditors in the UK audit market. These strategies are improving the audit quality, increasing the transparency of the big audit firms and reducing the barriers to compete in the big audit market. Practical implications An analysis of the FRC’s efforts may help auditors to identify what they are expected to do to improve the reliability of information provided in the capital market. Audit committees can get a better understanding of the criteria that they need to improve the process of auditors’ choice. Auditors will also better understand how and why current audit regulations have been issued. This may improve their satisfaction with regulations and standards, and their efficient implementation. Furthermore, it is believed that audit regulators need to get feedback additional to the formal feedback they receive to improve their performance and current regulations. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by discussing the auditors’ criticism to the Audit Inspection Unit’s inspectors and the way the inspectors defend themselves. The findings suggest that partners of the Big 4 believe that the FRC’s projects effectively participate in improving the audit quality, as well as providing wider information about the audit firms to the public. However, different actions need to be taken to enhance the choice of auditors and increase the number of big audit firms that compete in the market.

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