Error Management in Audit Firms: Error Climate, Type, and Originator

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 303-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Gold ◽  
Ulfert Gronewold ◽  
Steven E. Salterio
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Error Management ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Climate Type ◽  
Error Type ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Willingness To Report

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the treatment of audit staff who discover errors in audit files by superiors affects their willingness to report these errors. The way staff are treated by superiors is labelled as the audit office error management climate. In a “blame-oriented” climate errors are not tolerated and those committing errors are punished. In contrast, an “open” climate characterizes error commitment as a normal, albeit unfortunate aspect of organizational life that offers opportunities for learning without sanctions on the originator. We examine error management climate in the context of audit-specific factors that might affect the decision to report errors: audit error type (conceptual or mechanical) and who committed the error (the individual who discovered it or a peer). An open climate results in an increase in the reporting of mechanical (but not conceptual) errors and all peer errors versus a blame climate. Post hoc findings suggest that one obstacle to reporting conceptual errors stems from an auditor's own impression management concerns. We discuss how auditing standards and regulatory inspections may impact audit firm error management climates. Data Availability: Experimental data are available from the second author subject to data confidentiality restrictions issued by the participating firms.

Does Audit Fee Homogeneity Exist? Premiums and Discounts Attributable to Individual Partners

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart D. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Homogeneity Assumption ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Made In

SUMMARY This paper investigates the implied assumption, made in many audit fee determination studies, that, within a given audit firm, all partners produce a statistically identical level of audit quality and earn a statistically identical level of audit fees. This is referred to as the “homogeneity assumption.” However, this is contradicted by the individual auditor behavioral literature, which shows that different individual auditor characteristics can have an impact on audit quality. Given the fact that audit partners differ in their quality, this paper hypothesizes that different audit partners will be able to earn differing levels of fees. This hypothesis is tested by estimating an audit fee model using data from 822 Australian publicly listed companies for the year 2005. Australia is an ideal audit market for this research, as the disclosure of the name of the audit engagement partner in the audit report is mandatory. The empirical results indicate that individual audit partners earn individual audit fee premiums (or discounts) that are not explainable by the audit firms of which they are members. Data Availability: All data have been extracted from publicly available sources.

Do Individual Auditors Affect Audit Quality? Evidence from Archival Data

2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1993-2023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinand A. Gul ◽  
Donghui Wu ◽  
Zhifeng Yang
Keyword(s):  
Significant Variation ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Quality Evidence

ABSTRACT: We examine whether and how individual auditors affect audit outcomes using a large set of archival Chinese data. We analyze approximately 800 individual auditors and find that they exhibit significant variation in audit quality. The effects that individual auditors have on audit quality are both economically and statistically significant, and are pronounced in both large and small audit firms. We also find that the individual auditor effects on audit quality can be partially explained by auditor characteristics, such as educational background, Big N audit firm experience, rank in the audit firm, and political affiliation. Our findings highlight the importance of scrutinizing and understanding audit quality at the individual auditor level. Data Availability: Data used in this study are publicly available from the sources described herein.

scholarly journals A modular approach to integrating multiple data sources into real-time clinical prediction for pediatric diarrhea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J. Brintz ◽  
Benjamin Haaland ◽  
Joel Howard ◽  
Dennis L. Chao ◽  
Joshua L. Proctor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Clinical Prediction ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Individual

AbstractTraditional clinical prediction models focus on parameters of the individual patient. For infectious diseases, sources external to the patient, including characteristics of prior patients and seasonal factors, may improve predictive performance. We describe the development of a predictive model that integrates multiple sources of data in a principled statistical framework using a post-test odds formulation. Our method enables electronic real-time updating and flexibility, such that components can be included or excluded according to data availability. We apply this method to the prediction of etiology of pediatric diarrhea, where “pre-test” epidemiologic data may be highly informative. Diarrhea has a high burden in low-resource settings, and antibiotics are often over-prescribed. We demonstrate that our integrative method outperforms traditional prediction in accurately identifying cases with a viral etiology, and show that its clinical application, especially when used with an additional diagnostic test, could result in a 61% reduction in inappropriately prescribed antibiotics.

scholarly journals Social Aspects of Health Communication – Towards a Research Agenda

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. I-IV
Author(s):  
Sarah Geber ◽  
Tobias Frey ◽  
Thomas N. Friemel
Keyword(s):  
Health Communication ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual

Health and health-related behaviours are embedded in social contexts in various ways which comprise both risks and opportunities for health communication. We propose a research agenda on social aspects of health communication and introduce the articles of the present special issue. Owing to the complexity of individuals’ social contexts, the research agenda addresses questions lying at the individual, interpersonal, and societal levels. The issue’s articles cover different and highly relevant questions of this research agenda, ranging from stigmatisation to impression management to collective action and from experimental designs to qualitative interviews and netnography. In sum, the articles demonstrate not only the diversity but also the relevance of academic research on social aspects of health communication. We expect that this topic will continue gaining importance, given the ongoing digitalisation of the media environment and the increasing interconnectedness of producers and users, doctors and patients, and experts and laypersons.

scholarly journals Monitoring changes in the shape of the spine in children with postural disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Żurawski ◽  
Zbigniew Śliwiński ◽  
Grażyna Nowak Starz ◽  
Wojciech Kiebzak (Kiebzak)
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Spine Deformity ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Lateral Deviation ◽  
Method Of Measurement ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
And Control ◽  
Postural Disorders

Abstract BackgroundDue to numerous complications of an abnormal shape of the spine, it is extremely important to systematically monitor its shape. Precise and routine method of measurement enables comparison of the scores obtained over time and possible early intervention in order to avoid complications.The aim of the work is to present the pattern for monitoring changes in the shape of the spine in children with postural deformities.MethodsThe study group (n = 211) consisted of the patients with diagnosed shape of the spine deformity, who underwent a four-month therapy, supervised by a physiotherapist. The control group (n = 101) were the children with no shape of spine deformity.The children in the study group underwent a three-dimensional computer analysis of the shape of the spine. The DIERS test was performed in both groups (study and control). In the study group it was performed four times. It involved the measurement of seven parameters enabling a complete assessment of body posture.ResultsStatistically significant scores of the Friedman test for imbalance, pelvic tilt, kyphosis angle, lordosis angle, and lateral deviation were observed. Therefore, a series of post-hoc analyzes were performed using Dunn-Bonferroni tests. It was observed that changes in individual parameters analyzed in the authors' study come up at a different pace.ConclusionsDetailed monitoring of the parameters describing the position of the spine makes it possible to control the course of the treatment process of patients with disorders of the position of the spine. The dynamics of changes taking place within the spine position varies for the individual parameters analyzed.

The Effect of Corporate Governance on Auditor-Client Realignments

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory A. Cassell ◽  
Gary A. Giroux ◽  
Linda A. Myers ◽  
Thomas C. Omer
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Portfolio Decisions ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Governance Index

SUMMARY Events leading up to the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) increased the public's focus on corporate governance and increased regulatory scrutiny of corporate governance mechanisms. These events also contributed to a massive restructuring in the audit market that resulted in the transfer of a large number of clients from Big N to non-Big N audit firms. We extend prior research examining the determinants of auditor-client realignments by investigating the effect of corporate governance on downward (i.e., from Big N to non-Big N auditors) switching activity. We develop a corporate governance index comprised of governance characteristics that we expect auditors to find more desirable in their clients (specifically, board and audit committee independence, diligence, and expertise). The results suggest that Big N auditors consider client corporate governance mechanisms when making client portfolio decisions. Specifically, downward auditor-client realignments are more likely for clients that score lower on our corporate governance index. However, the influence of audit committee-related corporate governance components on downward auditor-client realignments decreased post-SOX. The reduced effect of audit committee-related corporate governance components is consistent with what would be expected if the audit committee-related rules imposed by SOX reduced the variation in audit committee quality across clients. Data Availability: The data used are publicly available from the sources cited in the text.

Hiring Auditors with a Part II Quality Control Report: An Opportunity for Increased Earnings Management or Lower Audit Fees?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
Jared Eutsler ◽  
D. Kip Holderness ◽  
Megan M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
The Public ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Public Company ◽  
General Demand ◽  
Systemic Quality

ABSTRACT The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Part II inspection reports, which disclose systemic quality control issues that auditors fail to remediate, signal poor audit quality for triennially inspected audit firms. Auditors that receive a Part II inspection report typically experience a decrease in clients, which demonstrates a general demand for audit quality. However, some companies hire auditors that receive Part II inspection reports. We examine potential reasons for hiring these audit firms. We find that relative to companies that switch to auditors without Part II reports, companies that switch to auditors with Part II reports have higher discretionary accruals in the first fiscal year after the switch, which indicates lower audit quality and a heightened risk for future fraud. We find no difference in audit fees. Our results suggest that PCAOB Part II inspection reports may signal low-quality auditors to companies that desire low-quality audits. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.

Social Psychology

2017 ◽  
pp. 206-231
Author(s):  
John G. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Jean Paul ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Early Recruitment

In this chapter, we investigate the recent situation concerning the seduction of consumers by advertising and the media. A new plethora of media-organised conglomerates is attempting to monopolise our attention and steer our emotions, opinions and choices towards increased consumption through imposed wants in the interest of gross profits for a semi-invisiblised few. Herein we consider: the colonisation of public places (advertising), the work/spend cycle, increased work at the cost of leisure; impression management, status-conscious and conspicuous consumption, reflective versus pre-reflective thinking in consumer choices, the early recruitment of children, how human emotions can become the fuel of overconsumption, class-based emotions and fashion consumption, obsessions with body image, the evasion and silencing of criticism by the corporate media. The approach is one founded in critical theory - a perspective that describes the individual as reciprocally constituted by the society in which she lives, rather than as a passive entity existing prior to socialisation. It seeks to reveal the seduction of our subjectivities (running marketing strategies ‘from within') as contrasted with the value-free, ‘objective' approach of much contemporary social psychology. Contemporary theoreticians in sociology and consumer studies, including Pierre Bourdieu and Juliet Schor, are cited along with deeper philosophical perspectives from the earlier philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, complete with references from contemporary books and journals.

Unobtrusive Observation of Cycling Tourists in the Wild

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-42
Author(s):  
Benjamin Poppinga ◽  
Martin Pielot ◽  
Wilko Heuten ◽  
Susanne Boll
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
In Situ Observation ◽  
In Situ Techniques ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Real Challenge ◽  
Unobtrusive Observation

The observation of cycling tourists is a real challenge. Traditional in-situ observation techniques fail as they threaten the intimateness of the experience and often interfere with the users' tasks. In post-hoc studies, like interviews, participants are unable to recap all details of their earlier experience accurately. This paper investigates how a hybrid, i.e., in-situ and post-hoc, observation approach can overcome the individual limitations and thereby provide detailed insights without disturbing the cyclists. The authors demonstrate the approach in a field study, where we observed 11 tourists with three unobtrusive in-situ techniques and used the gathered data to jog their memories in a post-hoc interview. They found that the observation technique allows to get detailed and accurate insights, and the communication between experimenter and participant becomes clearer. The authors conclude that hybrid observation would be valuable in other mobile field study settings.

Making sense of climate: A meta-analytic extension of the competing values framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 136-168
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Beus ◽  
Shelby J. Solomon ◽  
Erik C. Taylor ◽  
Candace A. Esken
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Competing Values Framework ◽  
Analytic Extension ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
Climate Type ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses

Organizational climate research has surged recently, but the disbursement of research contributions across domains has made it difficult to draw conclusions about climate and its connections with performance. To make sense of the climate literature, we used the competing values framework (CVF) to classify domain-specific climates into four climate types (clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market climates). We did so by conceptually linking domain-specific climates that are manifestations of the same underlying strategic values. We then conducted meta-analyses to examine the magnitudes, mechanisms, and moderators of the individual and group-level associations between the CVF climates and performance. These meta-analyses revealed positive climate–performance associations for each climate type and supported job attitudes as a common mediator. We also examined several methodological moderators of climate–performance relationships, testing the source of climate and performance measures, the temporal assessment of these constructs, and the level of within-group agreement in climate measures as possible boundary conditions.

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