Social Ties impacting Audit Quality Exploring Government Entities

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the first hand data regarding intimacies between government entities and government audit institution of Pakistan, to see its impact on the quality. Design/Methodology/Approach: Qualitative research design is used to explore the concept base on theoretical saturation technique. Findings: The results revealed by default presence of social ties among interactive agents. It further explores indirect relationship between audit quality and social interactions in the presence of petty corruption due to familiarity, unwarranted mutual trust and favoritism however this relationship is shifted toward direct relationship in the presence of material corruption due to fear of losing good reputation, loss of job, fear of departmental inquiry, threat of floating your weaknesses before your rival clique. Implications/Originality/Value: The results presented in this paper should therefore be of great interest to government, regulators and standard-setters charged with developing accounting standards to improve the audit quality of reporting information related to existing government auditing setup.

The embeddedness of digital infrastructures for data collection by the Courts of Accounts

ABSTRACT This study aimed to identify the trajectories for data collection automation in various Courts of Accounts (Tribunais de Contas), the standard features of the systems that have emerged, and the impacts on fiscal and accounting oversight in Brazil. Data collection automation is part of the digital transformation in the field of auditing; however, the literature on public sector auditing in Brazil, on digital transformation, or digital infrastructure, does not analyze how this transformation occurs and how the infrastructures are stabilized and shape the field of auditing. Data collection automation has unexpected implications for the content of public sector audits and the financial management of the public sector auditees. Identifying the trajectories for digital tools of data collection automation enables a discussion on whether currently adopted solutions vary and the effects on the standardization of government audits. The automation of data collection by the Court of Accounts, particularly its scope and frequency, affects how the audited public organizations prioritize the adoption and maintenance of accounting, budgeting, and financial planning policies and processes. The digital infrastructures that emerge from these digital tools shape the entire field of auditing, they become embedded, and they increase the cost of future changes, perpetuating the heterogeneity in the auditing and financial management of governments in the Brazilian federation. The article presents a longitudinal case study (1994 to 2020), with narratives built based on questionnaires and interviews with auditors from 26 Courts of Accounts. The automation of budgetary and accounting data collection by Courts of Accounts has changed the logic of the field of government auditing in Brazil. The digital infrastructures that emerge by connecting Courts and the audited public organizations under their jurisdictions have embedded concepts, definitions, and implicit expectations in a remote auditing logic.

The role of government auditing in controlling the level of corruption in Indonesia

The regional autonomy system has a great impact on the Indonesian local government to create good governance so as to prevent corruption. This study aims to examine the impact of detection of irregularities, audit opinion, and audit rectification on the level of corruption in provincial governments in Indonesia. The data collected in this research was the audit report of the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia and the annual report of The Corruption Eradication Commission in 34 provinces in 2015-2019. Further, the data was analyzed using multiple linear regression. The results indicate that the detection of irregularities and audit rectification has a positive impact on the level of corruption, while the irregularities and audit opinion do not have impact on the level of corruption. These results are expected to encourage the government to strengthen its financial supervision system.

Going GAGAS for due process: examining Yellow Book standard participation

PurposeThe US federal government requires auditors to follow governmental auditing standards when performing audits of entities expending significant federal government dollars. This study explores stakeholder participation during the comment letter phase of government auditing standard setting to determine if participation is symbolic or substantive.Design/methodology/approachResearchers conduct an analysis of the 179 comment letters submitted to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and received for their 2010 and 2017 exposure drafts of government auditing standards.FindingsThe distribution of stakeholder participation groups in the government auditing standard-setting process differs from the distribution in the private company auditing standard-setting process. On average, participants submit letters that are greater than two pages in length. Participants also contribute feedback on topics that the GAO directly solicits. Taken together, the results demonstrate stakeholder behaviors that are consistent with a substantive rather than symbolic due process involvement for government auditing standards.Research limitations/implicationsStakeholder beliefs are inferred based on the observed behavior of comment letter submissions. Also, there is a subjective element to the classification of the comment letters for the study.Practical ImplicationsGiven the far-reaching implications of Yellow Book auditing standards on public, private and nonprofit entities, the findings are relevant to a heterogeneous audience. This study reveals opportunities for users of government auditing standards, practitioners and academics for greater involvement in due process standard setting to bring additional legitimacy to the GAO and its standard-setting activities.Originality/valueBeyond the current study, little empirical research examines Yellow Book auditing standards or the due process through which these standards are established. This is the first study to examine the complete set of comment letters for the 2010 and 2017 exposure drafts of government auditing standards.

The Soap Box as a Black Box: Regulating transparency in social media recommender systems

NOW AVAILABLE IN OPEN ACCESS AT THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND TECHNOLOGY: https://ejlt.org/index.php/ejlt/article/view/786 Social media recommender systems play a central role in determining what content is seen online, and what remains hidden. As a point of control for media governance, they are subject to intense controversy and, increasingly, regulation by European policymakers. A recurring theme in such efforts is transparency, but this is an ambiguous concept that can be implemented in various ways depending on the types of accountability one envisages. This paper maps and critiques the various efforts at regulating social media recommendation transparency in Europe, and the types of accountability they pursue. This paper identifies three different categories of disclosure rules in recent policymaking: (1) user-facing disclaimers, (2) government auditing and (3) data-sharing partnerships with academia and civil society. Despite their limitations and pitfalls, it is argued, each of these approaches has a potential added value for media governance as part of a tiered, variegated landscape of transparency rules. However, an important element is missing: public disclosures. Given the deeply political and value-laden context of media governance, it is argued, this field cannot rely exclusively on technocratic, institutionalized forms of transparency emphasized in current proposals. The final section articulates the distinct benefits of public disclosures as a supplement to existing transparency measures, and suggests starting points for their design and regulation.