scholarly journals Does Selling Non-Audit Services Impair Auditor Independence? New Research Says, “Yes”

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. P1-P6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Causholli ◽  
Dennis J. Chambers ◽  
Jeff L. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
New Research ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Non Audit Services

SUMMARY A recently published academic study by Causholli, Chambers, and Payne (2014) brings new evidence to a long-standing debate about whether the provision of non-audit services (NAS) can impair auditor independence. Prior research on this question has largely found no evidence of lower financial reporting quality when auditors provide high levels of NAS. By considering the potential that future NAS, rather than current NAS levels, could impair auditor independence, Causholli et al. (2014) bring a fresh perspective on the question. They argue that it is the potential for new NAS revenue that would most likely cause auditors to have impaired independence. They find strong evidence that audit quality suffers when clients are willing to purchase future NAS from their auditor.

COMMENTARY––A Public Interest View of Auditor Independence: Moving Toward Auditor Reliability When Considering and Promoting Audit Quality

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
F. Todd DeZoort ◽  
Mark H. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Regulatory Bodies

ABSTRACT A longstanding view inside and outside the auditing profession is that the public accounting profession rests on the foundation of independence (Previts and Merino 1998), with regulatory bodies requiring auditors to be independent both in appearance and in fact. For many decades, regulators and stakeholders alike have held the view that auditor independence is the auditor's endgame. We review recent research on the Reliability Framework, which recasts auditor independence with other professional constructs, including integrity, competence, and objectivity, as co-antecedents of auditor reliability and audit quality. On that basis, this commentary advocates that a public interest view of auditor independence must account for the auditor's real reason for existence based on what stakeholders want and need: reliable audit services that facilitate financial reporting quality and protect the public interest. Recent initiatives by the Center for Audit Quality and its member firms, as well as the profession's regulators, reveal movement consistent with this holistic view. These developments indicate that the public interest view of auditor reliability is shifting toward a revised view of independence, along with other professional constructs that co-create audit quality and reliable financial reporting.

scholarly journals The Impact of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Compliance with IFRS and Financial Reporting Quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-79
Author(s):  
Cheng-Wen Lee Lee ◽  
Yi Tang Hu
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Non Audit Services

The present study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on compliance with IFRS and financial reporting quality, especially focusing on non-audit service and accountant’s tenure. The adoption of IFRS is launched in Taiwan since 2012. The study aims to investigate this issue using a sample of 3997 data gathered from listed companies traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and OTC over the period from 2012 up to 2019. The results show the evidence to support that the collective effect of non-audit services/accountant’s tenure on audit quality has changed to be more influential. This research findings also open valuable insights to regulators, stock markets, practitioners, and academicians in this issue. JEL classification numbers: D22, G32, M41. Keywords: IFRS, Non-audit services, Accountant’s tenure.

Auditor and FASB Responsibilities for Representing Underlying Economics—What U.S. Standards Actually Say

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe-Vonna Palmrose ◽  
William R. Kinney
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Or Practice

SYNOPSIS Does the auditor's responsibility under U.S. authoritative guidance extend to providing assurance of financial reporting quality—specifically whether financial statements “faithfully reflect the firm's underlying economics”—after the auditor has concluded that financial statements are fairly presented in conformity with GAAP, in all material respects? The question arises because DeFond and Zhang (2014) state such a view and cite U.S. authoritative guidance as support. We review SEC, PCAOB, and FASB guidance and other sources and find no authoritative support for DeFond and Zhang's (2014) view. We also find that the PCAOB explicitly recognizes the lack of objective criteria that would be necessary to evaluate financial reporting quality beyond application of GAAP to events and transactions. Further, we find no evidence that practicing auditors do (separately) assess or assure that financial statements faithfully reflect the entire firm's underlying economics. Overall, these findings suggest DeFond and Zhang (2014) express a personal (and impracticable) normative view and not the auditor's actual responsibility or practice under extant U.S. standards. More broadly, results reinforce the importance of defining and measuring audit quality based on the auditor's actual responsibilities and the importance of accurately characterizing authoritative guidance and practice for scholarship regarding complex and multifaceted matters, including audit quality.

Understanding the Relation between Financial Reporting Quality and Audit Quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Milici Gaynor ◽  
Andrea Seaton Kelton ◽  
Molly Mercer ◽  
Teri Lombardi Yohn
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Recursive Relation ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
Future Research

SUMMARY A primary goal of both financial reporting research and audit research is to understand the determinants of quality, and researchers in both areas have identified a wide set of variables that enhance or impair quality. In this paper, we define financial reporting quality and audit quality and use a person/task/environment framework to summarize prior findings on the determinants of each. We use this framework to discuss the links between the financial reporting and audit academic literatures and highlight the recursive relation between financial reporting quality and audit quality. Our discussion provides insights and suggestions on how financial reporting and audit researchers can learn from each other to improve our collective understanding of financial reporting and audit quality. Using this framework, we also identify opportunities for future research.

scholarly journals AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY IN PRE AND POST IFRS ADOPTION: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIAN COMPANIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-35
Author(s):  
Citrawati Jatiningrum ◽  
Fauzi ◽  
Rita Irviani ◽  
Mujiyati ◽  
Shahanif Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose of study: This study sought to investigate the effect of the audit committee on Financial Reporting Quality (FRQ), explicitly focuses on the period pre- and post-mandatory IFRS adoption in Malaysia. The Financial Reporting Quality in this study proxied by earnings management. Malaysian. Methodology: The sample study has covered 81 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia, with 567 observations, which examined the time of 2009 to 2015. The relationship was analyzed by statistical multiple regression linear methods and also examined the significance of differences between pre and post IFRS adoption by paired sample t-test. Result: The main finding reveals that the relationship between the audit committee and financial reporting quality after IFRS adoption in Malaysia has more significant. However, empirical evidence showed that the post period of mandatory IFRS evidently no significant difference level of earnings management practice. This result indicates that the IFRS adoption cannot reduce managerial discretion yet and the possibility for EM manipulation for Malaysian companies. Implication/Application: This finding has critical implications for regulators and policymakers, that the consequences of IFRS adoption do not increase the quality of financial reporting when EM practices still continue in the different forms. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study gives empirical evidence that there are differences in relationship level between audit quality and earnings management in the period before and after IFRS mandatory adoption in Malaysia companies.

scholarly journals Analysis of the effects of changes in Spanish auditing regulation on audit quality and its differential effect depending on the type of auditor

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Cabal-García ◽  
Javier De-Andrés-Suarez ◽  
Carlos Fernández-Méndez
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Differential Effect ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Financial Reporting Quality ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Legal Enforcement ◽  
Per Se

The objective of this paper is to provide evidence on the effect of the reforms of the Spanish auditing legislation, enacted in 2002, 2010 and 2015, on audit quality. More specifically, we study whether the reforms had a differential effect depending on the type of auditor. To this end, the auditors were classified according to their size. We analyzed the specific case of non-financial listed Spanish companies which are considered as Public Interest Entities (PIEs). The main results indicate that none of the reforms caused an improvement in financial reporting quality. This could mean that legal reforms per se are not sufficient to achieve the intended objectives in countries with weak legal enforcement, as is the case of Spain. Because of this, it may be necessary to implement mechanisms to encourage auditors to apply the new rules. El objetivo de este trabajo es aportar evidencia sobre el efecto de las reformas de la legislación auditora española, efectuadas en 2002, 2010 y 2015, sobre la calidad de la auditoría y, más concretamente, sobre si las mismas tuvieron un efecto diferencial en función del tipo de auditor. Para ello, los auditores fueron clasificados en función de su tamaño. Se analizó el caso concreto de las empresas españolas cotizadas no financieras, colectivo que tiene la consideración de Entidades de Interés Público (EIP). Los resultados principales indican que ninguna de las reformas causó mejoras en la calidad de la información financiera. Esto podría significar que las reformas legales per se no son suficientes para lograr los objetivos previstos en países con débil aplicación legal, como es el caso de España. Por ello, podría ser necesario implementar mecanismos para alentar a los auditores a aplicar las nuevas reglas.

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