Explanation-Based Auditing

To comply with emerging privacy laws and regulations, it has become common for applications like electronic health records systems (EHRs) to collect access logs, which record each time a user (e.g., a hospital employee) accesses a piece of sensitive data (e.g., a patient record). Using the access log, it is easy to answer simple queries (e.g., Who accessed Alice's medical record?), but this often does not provide enough information. In addition to learning who accessed their medical records, patients will likely want to understand why each access occurred. In this paper, we introduce the problem of generating explanations for individual records in an access log. The problem is motivated by user-centric auditing applications, and it also provides a novel approach to misuse detection. We develop a framework for modeling explanations which is based on a fundamental observation: For certain classes of databases, including EHRs, the reason for most data accesses can be inferred from data stored elsewhere in the database. For example, if Alice has an appointment with Dr. Dave, this information is stored in the database, and it explains why Dr. Dave looked at Alice's record. Large numbers of data accesses can be explained using general forms called explanation templates. Rather than requiring an administrator to manually specify explanation templates, we propose a set of algorithms for automatically discovering frequent templates from the database (i.e., those that explain a large number of accesses). We also propose techniques for inferring collaborative user groups, which can be used to enhance the quality of the discovered explanations. Finally, we have evaluated our proposed techniques using an access log and data from the University of Michigan Health System. Our results demonstrate that in practice we can provide explanations for over 94% of data accesses in the log.Comment: VLDB201

The Financial Report of the Universities: maintaining academic standards? An empirical research to the size with explanation of the differences.

This paper describes research done concerning the size, level and explanation of the financial reports of 14 Dutch universities. Based on earlier research in the USA concerning the financial report of niversities, 14 Dutch financial reports are examined. See the Tables. In spite of the regulations the quantity and quality of the financial university reports diverge much, in particular the information provided about costs and output of education and research varies from university to university. For an explanation of the data a number well-known hypothesis such as Zimmerman''s size, debt/equity hypothesis were tested first. After that a disclosure index was developed for expressing the several information items in a unique report mark per university. The results can be explained by the kind of university, the size (number of students and revenues) and the long-term liabilities, in accordance with the research abroad. Therefore the main conclusion is that the findings of the research outside the Netherlands such as the importance of size and long-term liabilities hold largely in the Netherlands, too.accounting and auditing ;

ChicoBag Tracking Report - China Factory Code 930015194H – August 25, 2009

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.FLA_2009_TR_ChicoBag_China_930015194H.pdf: 22 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The auditor as historian: Reflections of the epistemology of financial reporting

Concern has been growing recently that the modern commercial organisation is becoming less auditable. The volume and complexity of transactions and the opacity of computer-based information systems, coupled with the increased knowledge gap between auditors and clients, make the auditor reliant on evidence whose quality and reliability is open to broad challenges. At the same time, the changing nature of financial reports, from summaries of the past to images of the present and windows on the future, weakens the link between evidence of underlying activities and transactions and their representation in financial statements.This exacerbates the epistemological challenge faced by accountants and auditors: how can financial statements be said to be a faithful representation of an entity, and how can auditors give a well-grounded opinion that the financial statements give a true and fair view? These issues are by no means unique to financial reporting. Similar problems arise in historical research, where historical theorists and practical historians have had to grapple with the nature and status of evidence of the past and the relationship between evidence and historical narratives. By examining contemporary debates within the literature of historiography, insights into comparable issues within financial reporting and auditing should be gained.The paper concentrates in particular on the contribution to the historiographical debate made by Keith Jenkins. Through his books Re-thinking History (1991), On “What is History?” (1995) and Why History? Ethics and Postmodernity (1999), and his edited collection The Postmodern History Reader (1997), Jenkins has provocatively challenged more mainstream views of the historian’s relationship with evidence, indeed the nature of historical evidence itself, in ways that raise issues for the conventional understanding of evidence in the audit context. The arguments of Jenkins are contrasted with those of C. Behan McCullagh, whose The Truth of History (1998) explicitly explores the extent to which historical descriptions can be “true and fair”, and thus provides a direct analogy between the task of the historian and that of the auditor. The paper concludes that auditing stands or falls in an epistemological sense with history, in that the statements of auditors bear essentially the same relationship to audit evidence as those of historians bear to historical evidence. If, in a postmodern world,histories that claim to tell a unique “truth” are not just logically impossible but also ethically immoral, then so are financial statements and audit reports

Rhetoric in standard setting : the case of the going-concern audit

This paper seeks to explore in depth the ways in which the rhetoric of the standard setter responds to comments received during development of a standard. Previous research has explored the use of rhetorical strategies in accounting standards to construct and persuade as to what is 'good' and to silence potential criticisms and alternative proposals. The exploration is extended to the development of an auditing standard and is strengthened by relating the opinions of lobbyists to the rhetoric used in the response. The analysis shows that, in a situation where the standard setter's position changed significantly during the exposure of proposals to comment, rhetorical strategies in the exposure draft or standard were adapted to match the changing direction of persuasion, with silencing of potential counter-argument evidenced in the surrounding explanatory material. Research implications/limitations - The research demonstrates that those using standards should be aware of the normative nature of these documents and the subjectivity inherent in the nature of the text. The paper builds on Young's 2003 paper by exploring the dynamics of the ways in which the rhetoric of the standard setter responds to comment during the consultation process

The effect of audit quality on firm value : a case in Indonesian manufacturing firm

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of audit quality on firm value in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange in 2013 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach: Population in this study are all manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Sampling was carried out using a purposive sampling method. Research data were tested using multiple regression analysis. Findings: The results from this study show that audit quality has a positive effect on firm value in manufacturing companies on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Practical Implications: The Indonesian capital market gives a positive appreciation to companies that have higher quality audits. Higher audit quality is expected to reduce agency costs, reduce information asymmetry and increase firm value. Companies are advised to use higher quality auditors in order to increase firm value in the Indonesian capital market. Originality/value: Audit quality which is proxied by Big 4 and non-big 4 auditors has been proven to have a positive influence on firm value in manufacturing companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.peer-reviewe

Habitual accountability routines in the boardroom: How boards balance control and collaboration

open3siCorporate accountability is a complex chain of reporting that reaches from external stakeholders into the organization’s management structure. The transition from external to internal accountability mechanisms primarily occurs at the board of directors. Yet outside of incentive mechanisms, we know surprisingly little about how internal actors (management) are held to account by the representatives of external shareholders (the board). This paper explores the process of accountability at this transition point by documenting the routines used by boards to hold the firm’s management to account. In so doing we develop our understanding of the important transition between internal and external firm accountability.embargoed_20190401Nicholson, Gavin; Pugliese, Amedeo; Bezemer, Pieter JanNicholson, Gavin; Pugliese, Amedeo; Bezemer, Pieter Ja

The relationship between non-audit service fees and audit fees in the banking sector in Malaysia

The issue of audit fees and non-audit fees charged by the audit firms has been discussed regularly in accounting and auditing literature. Recently, due to the corporate scandals in United States, the issue is discussed together with a host of revelations about audit failures that led to the companies’ demise. The auditing profession is being badly blamed and some suggest that this could be due to the audit firm’s reliance more on non-audit services rather than the audit itself. Therefore, this study attempts to probe the situation in Malaysia using the banking sector as the subject of interest. Specifically, it tries to examine the impact of non-audit services conducted by audit firms to these banks on audit fees. The results showed that the variable of non-audit fees is statistically significant in determining audit fees as predicted. Further sensitivity analysis showed that the results are robust to different measurements and company size