Review Partners and Engagement Partners: The Interaction Process in Engagement Quality Review

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Emby ◽  
Michael Favere-Marchesi
Keyword(s):  
Review Process ◽  
Interaction Process ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Quality Review ◽  
Contextual Features ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
Comprehensive Picture

SUMMARY: This study examines the engagement quality review (EQR) process from the perspective of the review partner. A questionnaire was administered to 127 audit partners in public accounting firms, experienced in performing EQRs. The questionnaire covered the elements, associations, and contextual features surrounding the EQR process. Partners recalled an engagement of their choosing where they acted in the role of review partner and where the review process involved direct negotiation or discussions with the engagement partner to resolve one or more issues. The results provide a comprehensive picture of a typical EQR; the issues involved, the process, and the outcomes that may result. Taken together, the results describe a professional, collegial, non-adversarial process, primarily focused on the objective of resolving difficult and complex client accounting issues. The ultimate resolution of the issue giving rise to the interaction may be a reflection of the suggestions of the reviewing partner or the engagement partner; frequently it is a new and synergistic solution.

scholarly journals Moderating Role of Audit Fees on the Effect of Task Complexity and Independence towards Audit Judgment

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Eny ◽  
Ratna Mappanyukki
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Audit Judgment ◽  
Public Accounting Firms

This study examines the effect of task complexity and auditor independence on audit judgment with audit fees as a moderating variable. Samples were obtained from auditors working in public accounting firms in West Jakarta and South Jakarta. Data collection was done using a survey method by distributing questionnaires to 100 auditors as respondents. The method of analysis used was Moderated Regression Analysis. The results show that task complexity hurts audit judgment. Auditor independence has a positive effect on audit judgment. Audit fees can strengthen the effect of task complexity on audit judgment. Besides, audit fees moderate the effect of auditor independence on audit judgment. It is recommended that public accounting firms consider the interaction of variables that affect audit judgment, such as task complexity, independence, and audit fees, to improve audit quality.

Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Public Accounting Firms

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra C. Vera-Mun˜oz ◽  
Joanna L. Ho ◽  
Chee W. Chow
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Cpa Firms ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
Audit Team

The goal of this study is to advance understanding of factors that may enhance or hinder knowledge sharing in public accounting firms and, in the end, provide practical recommendations for the firms. Attention to this topic is warranted for two reasons. First, today's regulatory environment and new auditing standards have broadened and intensified pressures on CPA firms to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the audit process. Second, knowledge and expertise are unevenly distributed among the members of the audit team. Thus, knowledge sharing can help CPA firms in leveraging the skills, knowledge, and best practices of their professional staff. Against this background, CPA firms' ability to effectively deploy knowledgesharing activities is increasingly vital to their competitive advantage, including gaining tangible benefits in terms of time and cost reductions. We draw upon prior research in accounting, organizational learning, psychology, and knowledge management to examine the role of three factors–information technology, formal and informal interactions among auditors, and reward systems–in encouraging knowledge sharing. We develop recommendations for public accounting firms and suggest several directions for future research.

Turnover in public accounting firms: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Nouri ◽  
Robert James Parker
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Accounting Firms

Purpose This paper reviews and synthesizes the extensive literature that investigates turnover in public accounting firms. Design/methodology/approach This paper initially identifies turnover studies by searching two commonly used business databases, ABI and Business Source. Subsequently, references in these studies are examined. Over 100 published studies of accounting firms are identified. Findings Prior turnover studies can be classified by the underlying theory: psychological attachment; role theory; mentoring; and organizational justice. Using these theories, prior research has examined a wide variety of issues such as the role of gender in turnover. Practical implications Turnover is a significant and long-term problem in accounting firms. Practitioners and researchers have long noted that firms lose the costs of training employees who leave the firm. Recently, many in the auditing field have recognized that employee turnover may reduce audit quality. This paper summarizes prior turnover research, which may provide guidance to future researchers and managers of accounting firms. Originality/value This study fills a void in the accounting literature, which is missing a comprehensive and up to date review of prior studies of turnover in accounting firms. Opportunities for future research are also explored. While much has been learned, some theoretical and methodological issues remain unresolved.

WARREN W. NISSLEY: A CRUSADER FOR COLLEGIATE EDUCATION

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott L. Slocum ◽  
Alfred R. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Independent Schools ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Graduate Level ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
College Programs

Warren W. Nissley's intense dedication to public accounting led him to crusade for development of schools of accountancy and improvement of education of accountants. Nissley conceived and championed the Bureau for Placements, 1926–1932, which resulted in: public accounting firms recruiting college graduates and developing permanent professional staffs, publishing the first Institute career publication, academic and student awareness of public accounting, and improved quality of college programs and graduates. Nissley's campaign for independent schools of accountancy, 1928–1950, influenced the Institute's committee on education. Many elements of his recommendations may be recognized in the evolution and current developments of accounting education. However, Nissley would continue to express disappointment in the failure to establish separate professional, graduate level, schools of accountancy for public accounting.

A Contemporary Analysis of Accounting Professionals' Work-Life Balance

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Buchheit ◽  
Derek W. Dalton ◽  
Nancy L. Harp ◽  
Carl W. Hollingsworth
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Accounting Professionals ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Public Accounting Firms

SYNOPSIS In recent years, work-life balance surpassed compensation as the most important job satisfaction factor among AICPA members (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] 2004). Despite the continued importance of this issue in the accounting profession (AICPA 2011), prior research has not examined work-life balance perceptions across different segments of the profession. We survey 1,063 practicing CPAs in order to assess the comparative work-life balance perceptions across (1) Big 4 versus smaller public accounting firms, (2) audit versus tax functions, and (3) public accounting versus industry work contexts. Consistent with predictions based on institutional logics theory, we find that work-family conflict and job burnout perceptions (our proxies for work-life balance) are highest in the Big 4. We are the first study to measure both support-for and viability-of traditional alternative work arrangements (AWAs), and we report an important distinction between these two constructs. Specifically, while CPAs across all public accounting firms (i.e., Big 4, national, regional, and local firms) report similar levels of organizational support-for AWAs, Big 4 professionals report significantly lower perceived viability-of AWAs (i.e., the ability to use AWAs and remain effective at one's job) compared to accounting professionals at smaller public accounting firms. Further, we find no differences between audit and tax professionals' perceptions across any of our work-life balance measures. We also document nuanced differences regarding work-life balance perceptions in public accounting versus industry. For example, contrary to conventional wisdom, work-life balance is not uniformly “better” in industry (e.g., burnout is actually lower in smaller public accounting firms compared to industry). Finally, we use open-ended responses from a follow-up survey to provide several recommendations for firms to improve their work-life balance efforts.

An Analysis of Cross-Sectional Differences in Big and Non-Big Public Accounting Firms' Audit Programs

2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Blokdijk ◽  
Fred Drieenhuizen ◽  
Dan A. Simunic ◽  
Michael T. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Big 5 ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
Audit Approach ◽  
Control Risk

A significant body of prior research has shown that audits by the Big 5 (now Big 4) public accounting firms are quality differentiated relative to non-Big 5 audits. This result can be derived analytically by assuming that Big 5 and non-Big 5 firms face different loss functions for “audit failures” and is consistent with a variety of empirical evidence from studies of audit fees, auditor changes, and the stock price reaction to audited earnings. However, there is no existing evidence (of which we are aware) concerning the underlying production differences between Big 5 and non-Big 5 audits. As a result, existing empirical evidence cannot distinguish between the possibility that Big 5 audits are simply perceived to be different (e.g., by investors) or actually differ in how they are produced. Our research objective is to identify the production characteristics of audit engagements that may explain the differences in expected audit quality between Big 5 and non-Big 5 firms. In this archival study, we examine the total audit effort and the allocation of effort to four audit phases—planning, (control) risk assessment, substantive testing, and completion—for a cross-section sample of 113 audits of Dutch companies in 1998/99 by 14 public accounting firms. We find that, after controlling for client characteristics: (1) both types of auditors exert about the same amount of total audit effort; (2) Big 5 auditors allocate relatively more effort to planning and (control) risk assessment, and relatively less to substantive testing and completion; and (3) client size, use of the business-risk-based audit approach, and reliance on client internal controls affect audit hours differently for the two auditor types. We conclude that the Big 5 firms actually produce a higher audit quality level, and that this quality difference is related to how audit hours are deployed in a more contextual and less procedural audit approach.

A Theoretical Framework of the Relationship between Public Accounting Firms and Their Auditors

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dreike Almer ◽  
Julia L. Higgs ◽  
Karen L. Hooks
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sociology Of Professions ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
Current Article ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Significant Attention

The behavior of auditors in the context of their employment by public accounting firms has received significant attention in the accounting literature. The current article extends this literature by providing a framework that identifies what auditing professionals contribute and receive as a result of their work efforts, as well as related influences. Using agency theory modified with fundamental ideas from the sociology of professions literature, we develop a model of the auditor-public accounting firm employment relationship. This framework is grounded in a timely, contextually rich description of the public accounting work environment, and the pressures and incentives faced by auditors. Propositions for future research are suggested that arise from understanding the auditor-firm relationship.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Educators, Accounting Students and Accountants Public Accountant against Ethics of Financial Statement Preparation (Studies at University and KAP in Semarang)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Imam Prayogo ◽  
Teuku Afrizal
Keyword(s):  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Public Accounting Firms ◽  
Public Accountant

This study aims to examine differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students, and accountants on the ethics of preparing financial statements. Ethical indicators for the preparation of financial statements are represented in earnings management, misstatements, disclosures, cost-benefits, and responsibilities. This research was conducted at universities and public accounting firms in Semarang. This research was conducted with a survey method of 70 respondents from teaching accountants, 75 accounting students, and 40 accountants respondents at universities and public accounting firms in Semarang. As an analysis tool, ANOVA is used for hypotheses H1, H2, H3, and H4. Before testing the hypothesis, first the validity and reliability tests are carried out for all the questionnaires that have been collected. Validity and reliability tests show that all data are valid and reliable. Then the questionnaire was tested by ANOVA and strengthened by the Independent Sample T Test. Anova results show that there are differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students and accountants. However, there was no difference in perceptions between teaching accountants and accountants. Therefore it can be concluded that there are differences in perceptions between teaching accountants, accounting students, and accountants on the ethics of preparing financial statements.

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