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Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently, deep learning technology has gradually penetrated various fields. Today, the field of healthcare is also closely linked to deep learning technology. Image processing technology based on deep learning can accurately segment medical images, which is convenient for medical research and pathological analysis. Accurate distribution of images can effectively save medical resources. Therefore, image processing techniques can contribute to the quantification and assessment of economic audit risks. In recent years, medical image segmentation has achieved many research results. However, with the improvement of accuracy, the segmentation standards of medical images are also becoming more and more stringent. For medical images, they tend to have rough and fuzzy boundaries and noise disturbances of different shapes. The above problems pose challenges for accurate localization and segmentation of lesion regions. On the other hand, in the field of medical images, there are also problems such as unbalanced number of samples and scarcity of large medical image datasets. In response to these problems, this paper conducts research work and proposes an Attention Mechanism and Multi‐Scale spatial Pooling‐based conditional Adversarial Network (AM‐MSP‐cGAN) model to achieve automatic segmentation of medical images. AM‐MSP‐cGAN can learn more detailed features from fuzzy boundaries, and effectively solve the problem of data lack, thereby promoting economic audit risk quantification and assessment in the healthcare field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SYNOPSIS: We examine whether critical audit matter (CAM) disclosures contain information about material misstatement risks that is priced in audit fees. We find that textual features of auditors' risk descriptions and the types of risks identified capture fee-relevant information. Further, the results are incremental to other determinants of audit fees considered in prior research and to managements' disclosures in the related notes to the financial statements. Overall, we provide evidence that auditors' perceptions of audit risks revealed in the newly expanded audit opinion capture information relevant for understanding audit pricing decisions. Data Availability: All data are publicly available from the sources identified in the paper. JEL Classifications: M41; M42; M48. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pandemic Covid 19 has impacted every business operation worldwide and increased business risk. Auditors' responsibility to provide audit quality has become more prevalent. This study aims to get empirical evidence of auditor experience, auditor industry specialisation, and audit risk on audit quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methods used quantitative with a survey approach; data gathered by a survey of Auditor. The result finds that during turbulent economic situations, the need for auditor experience and auditor's industry specialists has increased to mitigate the audit risk. Auditor experience and auditor industry specialists were needed to promote audit quality with low audit risk. The study has proved that auditor experience, industry specialisation, and audit risk impact audit quality. Assessing the auditor and public accounting firm using quality control standards from risk-based perspectives is urgently required. Other studies may investigate the issues using qualitative methods to get a deeper understanding.

In the era of big data, audit risk assessment is facing increasing business volume. Hence, it is important to develop automatic audit risk assessment methods for enterprises with the assistance of intelligent algorithms. As a consequence, this paper proposes data-driven smart assessment for enterprise audit risks-based radial basis function (RBF) neural networks and grey correlation analysis (GCA). First, evaluation data are collected and analyzed to understand the characteristics and influencing factors of enterprise audit risks. Secondly, RBF interpolation is introduced to establish the network structure for RBF neural networks. Then, GCA is integrated with RBF Interpolation (RBFNN) to formulate the automatic audit risk evaluation method, and the proposal is named RBF and GCA. Such a combined methodology can improve audit risk assessment efficiency. Finally, we make some experiments to evaluate the proposed TBF-GCA on a real-world dataset, and some evaluation indicators are specified based on the actual audit risk situation of the enterprises. The obtained results reveal that RBF–GCA has high accuracy in identity precision and can effectively identify audit risks for enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive compensation contracts may influence financial reporting quality, and the CFO plays a key role in preparing the financial statements. This study examines whether the structure and components of CFO compensation are associated with audit risk as measured by audit fees for a sample of S&P 1500 companies during the period 2012–2022. We find that the percentage of total compensation composed of either stock or options is significant and positively related to audit fees, while non-equity incentive plan compensation is significant and negatively related to audit fees. We also find that the dollar amount of equity compensation is significant and positively related to audit fees, while the dollar amount of non-equity compensation is not related to audit fees. These results suggest that CFO compensation structure is an important factor in the assessment of audit risk, which is important for compensation committees as well as regulators. This is the first study, to our knowledge, that examines the relationship between the dollar amount and composition of CFO compensation and audit fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research suggests oversight inspections lead to unintended consequences by motivating auditors to manage inspection risk. The current study provides evidence of the impact of a misalignment between inspection and mis-statement risks at the account level, where planning decisions are made. We predict auditors feel pressures to address more immediate inspection risks at the expense of adequately responding to mis-statement risks as prescribed by auditing standards. Employing an experiment with 182 experienced auditors, we manipulate accountlevel inspection risk (low or high). As hypothesized, auditors plan more hours for an account with higher inspection risk and correspondingly assign fewer audit hours to other accounts with lower inspection risk, even if mis-statement risk is high for those accounts, suggesting an unwarranted shift in audit efforts. Our findings suggest inspection risks impair auditors' effort allocation decisions and thus may undermine the audit risk model as the normative benchmark for program planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study off-the-clock indiscretion accusations against corporate officers and directors and examine the extent, effectiveness, and context of auditors' response. In the year that indiscretion allegations are first publicized, auditors charge higher fees and are more likely to resign. Auditors respond to allegations against both top executives and board members. Further, reactions are strongest when allegations demonstrate a lack of individual integrity and, separately, when the audit office has previously audited other similarly accused clients. Importantly, the resulting increase in auditors' effort partially negates the association between indiscretions and lower financial reporting quality. However, auditors are primarily reactive, rather than proactive, and their response is stronger when the accused client is less important economically. These results suggest that company leadership's off-the-clock indiscretions are signals to auditors of poor tone at the top, but the audit response is not uniform across all clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case explores the subjective nature of professional judgment related to audit risk through the lens of a fictitious company, Sparked Intuition Power (SIP). SIP has just been accepted as a new audit client by an international accounting firm. Students play the role of associates on the audit engagement team. As part of their work on the audit, the students identify potential risks present at SIP as part of the initial risk assessment process. Once these risks have been identified, the students decide how to assess the potential severity of each risk and determine the resulting effect on the overall auditor workload. Through interaction and discussion with their instructors, the students should be better able to navigate the decision-making process related to risk evaluation in an audit engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining audit fees represent a worldwide phenomenon which draws particular attention and concerns in the audit profession. The study explores the guiding reasons of public interest entities (PIEs) in Europe when electing a particular auditor, and investigates whether these reasons are reflected on audit fees. Further, it considers the impact of the prevailing macroeconomic conditions on these reasons, and accordingly on the cost of the audit. To this end the study intends to investigate whether these guiding reasons represent a declining factor on audit fees and under which macroeconomic conditions. To achieve the study objectives, a pragmatic mixed methods research approach is adopted, comprising surveys of respondents at audit firms and PIEs, and semi-structured interviews with participants at purposively selected PIEs, in Europe. The study finds that the guiding reasons are associated with the macroeconomic conditions, and reflect PIEs’ expectations from the external audit. Ultimately, these expectations impact the cost of the audit depending on the current trends in the economy. The study proposes that the audit regulatory authorities should take actions to regulate PIEs’ expectations from the external auditors and regulate the reporting requirements of auditors and audit firms, to achieve a proper balance between the scope of the audit procedures and the cost of the audit. In this view, the study recommends audit regulatory authorities adopt guidelines for determining the cost of the audit based on the assessed audit risk and scope of audit procedures.

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

SUMMARY: This study investigates whether audit clients' blockchain activities (including crypto-related activities) affect audit risk by examining the association between blockchain disclosures in 10-K filings and audit fees. Focusing on U.S. firms between 2013 and 2020, we empirically show that audit fees are higher for companies disclosing blockchain activities in 10-K filings. We further find that this positive association is more pronounced for companies disclosing current blockchain implementation than for companies with plans for blockchain activities. The results indicate that clients' blockchain activities influence audit risk as assessed by external auditors. As blockchain technology and its applications are emerging, our findings have implications that should be considered by auditors, regulators, and top management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If there are no auditing standards or auditing processes of big data, the audit risks of enterprises are increased. This paper first introduces the topic through the research background and literature review in order to ensure the integrity and accuracy of audit evidence to the maximum extent, and then analyses the causes of enterprise audit risk. When analysing the risk level of material misstatement, it is mainly the audit risk generated by the enterprise's unique business model, information system and financial management. Audit risk is mainly caused by the ability of auditors and audit process management. After quantitative analysis of the correctness of enterprise audit risk assessment indicators, this paper builds a multi-level comprehensive assessment model of enterprise audit risk on the basis of AHP analysis. At the same time, this paper puts forward specific measures to improve audit methods and audit processes and prevent audit risks in view of the actual problems encountered in the current audit risk of enterprises, so as to provide certain references for enterprise risk management and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Driven by innovation strategy, Chinese enterprises' innovation investment, and research and development capability have been continuously improved, and the audit risk caused by this has attracted widespread attention from the academic community. This study takes China's A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2021 as samples to empirically test the relationship between innovation input and audit pricing of Chinese enterprises. Research shows that the higher the innovation investment, the higher the audit cost. High-quality corporate governance, sufficient research and development personnel, research and development subsidies, and operating cash flow can all play a negative moderating role. A good innovation environment will weaken the positive influence between innovation input and audit fees. This study theoretically confirms the risk-oriented audit pricing mechanism, which is of great significance for optimizing enterprise innovation risk management and improving audit service levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze audit planning decisions of small and medium-sized Spanish audit firms and the resulting impact on audit risk and effort. Prior research examining audit risk overwhelmingly focuses on Big 4 audit firms, and little is known about how audit planning decisions influence audit risk in smaller firms, a significant part of the audit profession. Thus, it is important to examine the planning judgments in small and medium sized audit firms and the link between planning risk assessments and the extent of audit effort put forth to achieve an acceptable level of audit risk. Using audit engagement specific data derived from publicly available databases and survey data, this study investigates the factors assessment of their client’s risk of material misstatement and whether the effort applied in performance of the audit engagement effectively responds to that risk. We find a significant statistical relationship between audit risk and audit effort, which provides empirical evidence that auditors modify the extent of audit effort based on perceived audit risk and brings into debate the work of the small firms. Additional analysis shows that audit effort (i.e., hours) is significantly influenced by the tenure and the timing of the audit engagement (i.e., peak audit season). However, audit engagements with longer tenure do not adjust their audit effort in response related to low management integrity or weak internal controls, which suggests familiarity, that is, auditors may not be as skeptical of management incentives. This paper contributes to debate about audit quality and whether the size of audit firms serves as an observable characteristic associated with higher audit quality.

This study explores the variables of workload, level of audit fees and audit risk on audit quality by testing the three research hypotheses using SPSS with multiple linear regression methods. The study was conducted at a Public Accounting Firm in East Java, Indonesia, with a population of 48 officially registered auditors. A questionnaire instrument was used to collect research data, containing questions/statements related to research variables tested for validity and reliability. The collected data were analyzed using multiple linear regression methods. The research results show that workload variables, audit fees, and risk levels significantly positively affect audit quality. The main research contribution of this study is aimed at practitioners and authorities or associations that, in the preparation and implementation of audit standards, must consider the auditor's internal and external factors and the client's real condition. The association needs to bridge the mistakes of the auditor or KAP when dealing with different client conditions. In addition, based on the results of this study, it is necessary to consider work overload and working time for auditors because they affect audit quality.

The research carried out through this article was structured starting from the clarification of some key concepts of external public audit, continuing with revealing the role of the supreme institutions of external public audit (such as the Romanian Court of Auditors) in this action of great importance and complexity and concluding with the practical aspects related to the conclusions drawn by the Court of Auditors in the audit missions of the financial statements performed in recent years in army entities. Thus, the approach was structured on the following chapters:

Starting from the premise that the great economic crises of the last decades were based on the great financial scandals that shook the world economy, I found that auditing in general, and the process of auditing financial statements, has started to be questioned. Thus, I believe that it is necessary and obligatory to analyze whether financial audit, as it is now, is still suitable for modern society, i.e. whether its construction and methodology still meets the requirements of a constantly evolving market economy. Because of this, I considered it appropriate to carry out an analysis, aimed to identify new perspectives for the development of financial auditing in line with the requirements of a constantly changing market economy.

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

SUMMARY: This study draws on human capital theory to measure the quality of accounting personnel based on their education level and investigate whether the education level of the client firm's accounting personnel affects auditors' assessment of audit risk by examining audit outcomes. It shows that auditors charge higher fees and are more likely to make audit adjustments for companies whose accounting personnel have a lower level of education. The relationship between the education level of accounting personnel and audit fees (audit adjustments) is robust to an instrumental variable model, an entropy balancing approach, and a difference-in-differences analysis. Audit firms strategically assign more experienced partners to audit companies whose accounting personnel's average education levels are relatively low. Taken together, these findings suggest that the education level of clients' accounting personnel affects auditors' assessment of audit risk and audit outcomes. JEL Classifications: M40; M42; J01; J24. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining audit fees represent a worldwide phenomenon which draws particular attention and concerns in the audit profession. The study explores the guiding reasons of public interest entities (PIEs) in Europe when electing a particular auditor, and investigates whether these reasons are reflected on audit fees. Further, it considers the impact of the prevailing macroeconomic conditions on these reasons, and accordingly on the cost of the audit. To this end the study intends to investigate whether these guiding reasons represent a declining factor on audit fees and under which macroeconomic conditions. To achieve the study objectives, a pragmatic mixed methods research approach is adopted, comprising surveys of respondents at audit firms and PIEs, and semi-structured interviews with participants at purposively selected PIEs, in Europe. The study finds that the guiding reasons are associated with the macroeconomic conditions, and reflect PIEs' expectations from the external audit. Ultimately, these expectations impact the cost of the audit depending on the current trends in the economy. The study proposes that the audit regulatory authorities should take actions to regulate PIEs' expectations from the external auditors and regulate the reporting requirements of auditors and audit firms, to achieve a proper balance between the scope of the audit procedures and the cost of the audit. In this view, the study recommends audit regulatory authorities adopt guidelines for determining the cost of the audit based on the assessed audit risk and scope of audit procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista CEA is the property of Revista CEA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introducción/objetivo: la auditoría forense se especializa en obtener evidencia y transformarla en prueba legal cuando se presentan procesos penales. El propósito de este artículo es identificar los riesgos de auditoría, los elementos del fraude y la materialidad; el alcance consiste en estudiar los riesgos que se asocian con la actividad que se examina. Así pues, el riesgo de fraude se refiere a una posible incorreción material en los informes de los estados financieros anuales. Metodología: para la investigación se aplicó la técnica del análisis discriminante, dado que admite pronunciar los elementos comunes y las dificultades de los problemas; por otra parte, se utilizó el enfoque no experimental que consiste en valorar hechos históricos y analizarlos posteriormente, sin alterar los resultados. Resultados: los estudios identifican que la importancia relativa y el riesgo de auditoría tienen un papel clave en la planificación de la auditoría forense frente al fraude, porque, en esta relación, el auditor permanece atento para identificar posibles delitos, hechos irregulares provenientes de prácticas deshonestas, que perjudican la reputación del ente, el valor de la empresa en el mercado, y una posible quiebra y cierre de la entidad por perjuicios financieros. Conclusiones: la principal contribución de la auditoría forense como apoyo a los procesos judiciales es contribuir con evidencia suficiente, creíble y fiable desde la práctica financiera para que la Corte especializada en delitos financieros, corrupción y fraude pueda compactar dicha información con otras pruebas proporcionadas desde el ámbito penal y que le permitirá tomar las mejores decisiones. Introduction/objective: The forensic audit specializes in obtaining evidence and transforming it into legal proof when criminal proceedings are filed. The purpose of the article is to identify audit risks, elements of fraud and materiality, the scope is to study the risks that are associated with the activity under review. thus, the risk of fraud refers to a possible material misstatement in the reporting of the annual financial statements. Methodology: For the investigation, the discriminant analysis technique was applied, because it admits to pronounce the common elements and the difficulties of the problems, on the other hand, the non-experimental approach was used, which consists of evaluating historical facts and analyzing them later, without altering the results. Results: Studies identify that materiality and audit risk play a key role in planning a forensic audit against fraud, since, in this relationship, the auditor remains alert to identify possible crimes, irregular acts based on dishonest practices that they harm the reputation of the entity, the value of the company in the market, and a possible bankruptcy and closure of the entity due to financial damages. Conclusion: The main contribution of the forensic audit as support to judicial processes is to contribute with sufficient, credible and reliable evidence from financial practice so that the court specialized in financial crimes, corruption and fraud can compact said information with other evidence provided from the criminal field and that will allow you to make the best decisions.

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

SUMMARY: In this study, we examine whether increased financial flexibility afforded by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) affects small accounting firms' public audit client portfolio decisions. We find some evidence suggesting that accounting firms receiving PPP loans exhibit greater public audit client selectivity. Specifically, accounting firms receiving PPP loans exhibit an increased likelihood of auditor switching and engage new clients that exhibit less financial and auditor business risk but greater potential for profitability relative to departing clients. Relative to both departing and continuing clients, new clients of firms receiving PPP loans exhibit some evidence of lower audit risk. Collectively, the results provide some evidence to suggest that the increased financial flexibility afforded through the PPP loans provided smaller accounting firms an opportunity to selectively manage their public audit client portfolio. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M42; M48. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology has become more common in the audit industry, posing new problems for traditional audit work. Researchers have been studying the effect of customers' use of blockchain technology on audits, especially on audit risk and audit methods. This paper examines audit cases of Chinese enterprises that use blockchain technology. It analyzes the effect of the use of blockchain technology on the audit and the new audit problems. It also examines an Australian blockchain audit case using a questionnaire. This case study showed that the application of new technologies to the audit industry may lead to increased inherent risks and control risks. The audit methodology is uncertain and there are two possible approaches: (1) a combination of direct, indirect, account-level, and entity-level evidence and (2) an increase in indirect and entity-level evidence. This paper puts forward the reference case of the Australian blockchain audit experience and suggestions for developing blockchain audits in China. Plain Language Summary: Navigating New Horizons: Challenges and Opportunities in Auditing with Blockchain Technology Blockchain technology is changing how audits are done. We studied how Chinese companies using blockchain affect audits. We also looked at an Australian case using a survey. Our findings suggest that using new tech in audits can make things riskier. Figuring out the best way to do audits with blockchain is tricky, but we suggest using a mix of different evidence sources. This paper gives advice based on the Australian experience for improving blockchain audits in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Business Administration & Social Studies is the property of Aves Yayincilik Ltd. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

From the perspective of institutional change of IPO regulation, this paper discusses the relationship between IPO pricing regulation and audit fees in China. This paper finds that the audit fees of IPO companies are higher in the stage of pricing regulation in comparison to the stage of pricing marketization. We also find auditors charge higher audit fees for the private companies than state-owned companies during the IPO pricing regulation period. Furthermore in regions with tighten legislation, IPO audit fees are higher in the IPO pricing regulation period.

This study empirically aims to prove the effect of client acceptance decisions on improving the reputation of public accounting firms. This research was conducted with a quantitative approach sourced from primary data. The data was obtained from 210 respondents who are audit partners of public accounting firms (KAPs) and have a practice license from the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia. The analytical tool used in this research is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The results showed that: the client's business risk, audit risk, and public accounting firm risk have a negative effect on client acceptance decisions, and audit fees have a positive effect on client acceptance decisions; Furthermore, the decision to accept clients affects the reputation of the public accounting firm. Conversely, public accounting firm risk does not affect the reputation of the public accounting firm. Public accountants in audit practice are expected to have the expertise to decide whether to accept audit clients. The reputation of public accounting firms may be affected by this decision.

Noticing the growing interest of the auditing profession in providing services to the users at the highest level of performance, it has appeared an increasingly stringent need for ethical standards, which purpose is to promote the ethics culture in the audit activity. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on all aspects of life, but also on the audit activity. This situation, required the auditors to review the audit process, and the resulting economic risks led to an increase in the auditor's attention to obtaining reasonable assurance as to the continuity of his client's business by providing sufficient adequate audit evidence. This is the reason why it is necessary that the auditor respect every time the ethical standards, decreasing in this way the audit risks and protect the image of audited entity. This scientific work seeks to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maintaining ethics in auditing. In this case, an online questionnaire covering the aspects of professional ethics was disseminated among the Moldovan auditors. The obtained answers show the fidelity of the auditors towards the principles of professional ethics in auditing and in unforeseen circumstances.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine whether auditors react to market information - stock price volatility and market value fluctuations - and to what extent this has an effect on their propensity to issue a modified opinion or include emphasis of matter paragraphs in their audit reports. Methodology: The empirical tests were based on estimates of logistic regression with data from 338 non-financial companies listed in the B3 [Brazilian Stock Exchange] during the period 2009-2020 and obtained directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and the database of the Economatica platform. Results: The results revealed that the entities which recorded greater volatility in stock returns, were more likely to include changes of opinion and emphasis of matter paragraphs in their audit reports. This suggests that the auditor regards this market risk as a sign of an audit risk for the entity that will lead to stricter judgments and even act as kind of self-protection. However, no link was found between market value fluctuations or emphasis of matter paragraphs, which contradicted the expectation that the greater the losses in market values, the greater the probability of the auditor's opinion being modified. Research Contributions: The empirical evidence fills a gap in the literature in this area. What is usually examined is the effects of the content on the marketing audit report, whereas this study concentrates on exploring an inverse relationship - the effect of information in the market on operational audits. In addition, the findings help to obtain a better understanding of the work of the auditors and provide valuable assistance to professionals and regulators in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether internal control (IC) managers' experience in accounting influences audit quality, employing a regression analysis by utilizing a novel dataset of Korean firms from 2018 to 2020. According to the findings, IC managers who have a deeper understanding of accounting or more expertise in the field have a positive impact on audit quality. Nuancing this link between the accounting-specific experiences of IC managers and audit quality, the study examines how ESG investment impacts the relationship between IC managers' accounting-related experiences and audit quality. The result confirms that the negative effect of low ESG investment on a firm's sustainability is reduced when IC managers are with strong accounting competency. In other words, in a circumstance in which a company's audit risk is high due to insufficient ESG investments, IC managers's high degree of accounting proficiency cope with audit risk to increase audit quality. Additionally, by analyzing a dataset recently obtained from Korea that assesses the level of accounting expertise possessed by IC managers, it has become evident that this experience plays a key role in the process of improving audit quality. These findings imply that policymakers' and standard setters' efforts to promote high-quality audits should be coordinated with IC managers' accounting experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether the quality of a firm's internal controls affects a board's decision to hire an insider as CEO. We find that the board is less likely to select an insider as CEO following an internal control material weakness (ICMW) disclosure. In cross-sectional analyses, we find that the adverse effect of weak internal controls on the likelihood of hiring an insider CEO is attenuated for firms that restate past misstatements and is pronounced when boards are more independent. We also find that audit fees are lower for ICMW firms when an outsider CEO is appointed, indicating that external auditors perceive lower audit risk. Taken together, our findings suggest that in the presence of a weak internal control environment, the board prefers an outsider CEO over an insider who may have been a part of the internal control issues, notwithstanding the fact that evaluating the outsider CEO can be challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether and how information asymmetry in the stock market affects the quantum of audit fees paid by auditees. It is based on a sample of 218 US publicly traded companies and adopts two well‐established proxies for information asymmetry, namely bid‐ask spread (BAS) and probability of informed trading (PIN). Empirical results provide evidence that, after controlling for all main audit fees determinants, information asymmetry is positively related to the quantum of audit fees paid. Overall, evidence supports the contention that less transparent companies convey higher audit risk, and therefore auditors require higher compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

SUMMARY: Prior research finds that firms' stock liquidity is associated with more aggressive discretionary accruals and revenues, suggesting that firms face pressure to make more aggressive accounting decisions when liquidity is high. However, the literature has yet to examine whether the effects of liquidity on financial reporting quality are severe enough to impact audit risk. We address this gap and offer three main findings. First, we find a positive association between stock liquidity and the probability of restatements, suggesting that the pressures from liquidity to engage in aggressive reporting decisions are severe enough to increase audit risk. Second, we find a positive association between stock liquidity and audit fees, suggesting that auditors at least partially incorporate the audit risk from liquidity into their pricing decisions. Finally, we find that the positive association between liquidity and audit pricing is concentrated in firms with poor corporate governance mechanisms. JEL Classifications: G12; G30; M42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: We examine whether consumer-generated tweets about purchases (interest) and sentiment are useful in assessing the risk of misstated revenue in the planning stage of the audit, as reflected in improvements to analytical procedures, for firms in consumer-facing industries. We obtain consumer-generated tweeting activities from 2012 to 2017 for 76 companies in 20 consumer-facing industries from a data provider. We find that, relative to a benchmark model, Twitter consumer interest, but not consumer sentiment, improves the prediction and error-detection ability of analytical procedures for most firms in consumer-facing industries. Our findings are robust to different model settings. In additional tests, we observe that the effect of Twitter consumer interest is more pronounced in smaller industries and that it remains useful in analytical procedures when compared to firms' advertising and employee headcount. Together, our results suggest that this new source of information improves auditors' assessments of the risk of misstated revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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I investigate the impact of the disruption of free information access via search engines on audit fees using a quasi‐natural experiment provided by Google's withdrawal from China. Employing a difference‐in‐differences design, I document an increase in audit fees for firms with overseas business relative to firms without overseas business after Google's withdrawal. The results are robust to matched samples, placebo tests, alternative specifications, excluding alternative explanations and different event windows. This trend in audit fees suggests that Google's withdrawal hampers firms' foreign information streams and increases audit risk and audit effort. Consistent with this argument, after Google's withdrawal, firms with overseas business conduct more earnings management, pay more abnormal audit fees and experience longer audit report lags. Furthermore, the increase in audit fees is greater for firms with poor information environments, more retail investors or non‐Big 4 auditors. My findings suggest a potential auditing cost of restricting the free flow of public foreign information about firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To build trust, SMEs must pass on information as clearly as possible, which can be achieved through a transparent financial reporting process. The article aims to study the impact of six accounting quality risk indicators in audit risk assessment from SME audit reports in EU countries, comparing the findings with the analysis of the same indicators at CEECs level. The qualitative research methodology consists of a descriptive study of the risks in the audit reports, emphasizing their types and connection with the company's characteristics. The study is based on a sample of 443 SMEs listed on the European stock markets and included in the Audit Analytics database, an online platform with information from the company's financial statements and audit reports. According to the results, the "Audit Fees-Significant Non-Audit Fees" indicator had the highest accounting quality risk impact on SMEs audit reports in the EU. In contrast, for the CEECs companies, the "Audit Fees–Significant Change" index had a more significant impact on the audit reports. The study's results showed an average trend of 15–16 reported situations per year, with a substantial increase over recent years for CEECs. The main conclusion from the study is that the uncertainties reported by the auditors depend more on the company's field of activity and how it is managed; therefore, the SME sector should be coordinated according to the accounting regulations regarding the principles and the content of the financial reports. Considering the fast evolution of risks that may affect the audit reports of a small company and the fact that this topic has yet to be thoroughly researched, we find it relevant. The contribution of this article consists of a systematic analysis of the audit risk matrix completing the existing literature, which is why the field can be discussed more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of local gambling attitudes on audit quality. As a preference for gambling correlates to a greater tendency to take risks, we hypothesize that auditors make a greater magnitude of audit adjustments for clients headquartered in gambling‐prone areas to reduce heightened audit risk. Consistent with our hypothesis, the empirical results show a positive relation between local gambling attitudes and the magnitude of audit adjustments. Further analyses show that this association is more pronounced when the regulatory cost is higher, and when the board chair or CEO comes from a gambling‐prone area. We also find evidence that gambling culture results in greater magnitudes of both upward and downward audit adjustments, audit firms appoint more experienced audit partners to gambling‐prone clients, and there is a fee premium for gambling‐prone clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]