Information technology competencies in the accounting profession : AICPA implementation strategies for IFAC International Education guideline no. 11 : implications for education and practice

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Fraud interpretation and disclaimer audit opinion: Evidence from the Solomon Islands public sector (SIPS)

PURPOSE: Financial transactions fraud (FTF) and financial statements fraud (FSF) grew exponentially during the past decades coupled with complex and sophisticated technological developments. This study aims to investigate the practitioners’ interpretation of fraud with recurring audit issues in the disclaimer audit opinions (DAOs) reports within the Solomon Islands public sector (SIPS). // DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The empirical study involves qualitative data analysis. The analysis alongside theoretical developments is informed by the “fraud triangle” theory. // FINDINGS: The research results revealed the practitioners’ acknowledgement of FSF, FTF and fraud in the SIPS, as generally prevalent and aligned to some components of the fraud triangle theory. This study is sceptic about the good intentions of the International Public-Sector Accounting Standards –Cash-basis framework and favours the Provincial Government Act 1997 and the Public Finance Management Act 2013 requirements. It further suggests that fraud is positively linked to repeated audited report issues and the executive management when DAOs issues appear repeatedly in annual audit reports. // ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study contributes to the literature on fraud and attempts to link the interpretation of fraud with recurring audit issues in the DAOs reports in the SIPS. It views fraud awareness and knowledge from the perspective of the audit practitioner. There is an increasing need to understand how fraud knowledge impacts decision making and the actions of auditors and others, an area that is underdeveloped

The employers’ priorities : vocational skills and capabilities for management accountants

There has been increasing pressure on the providers of higher education to align courses with the needs of employers. Surveys have documented the importance of developing a broad range of vocational skills. However, priorities must be established, based on the demands of the workplace, within this identified skills gap. The first section of this paper identifies the need for the development of vocational skills in general, and then specifically in the area of management accounting. The second section presents the views of employers of management accountants on the relative importance of a specified set of vocational skills, and the level of these skills exhibited by graduates and recently qualified management accountants. These measures are then combined in a ‘weighted importance indicator’ to indicate the skills that are most in need of development

Pervasive skills development for aspirant chartered accountants : academic versus training programmes

Abstract: Changes in the business environment have challenged both the technical and pervasive competencies of aspirant professional accountants (or chartered accountants [CAs]). Accounting bodies have responded to this need by adopting competency-based qualification models. Likewise, in 2008, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants developed a Competency Framework where aspirant CAs are now assessed on both technical and pervasive skills en route to qualifying as CAs, the latter being the focus of this article. The article aims to ascertain the views of aspirant CAs on the effectiveness of academic and training programmes en route to qualifying as a CA. It also seeks additional vehicles to improve the delivery of pervasive skills during qualification. This research uses empirical data in the form of a questionnaire with both open and closed response options. The study reveals that both programmes are critical to the success of qualifying as a CA, but further emphasis is required in developing pervasive skills for both programmes. The findings also demonstrate the importance of using methods such as cases, mentorship programmes and internship programmes in equipping candidates with pervasive skills. The use of separate modules to develop pervasive skills during both programmes was also strongly supported by the majority of aspirant CAs

On the road towards IPSAS with a maturity model: a Swiss case study

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) have driven the modernisation of public systems of financial information. The extent and pace of their implementation remain uneven. The goal of this study was to measure whether and how much governmental accounting standards converge towards IPSASs’ true and fair approach. The empirical context of the 26 Swiss cantons was used to apply a simplified maturity model. Under two successive reforms (maturity stages), each canton’s accounting standards were assessed and scored. The derived maturity levels indicate how close—or far—each canton has stood from a state of full IPSAS compliance (full maturity), at each stage of the process. As Swiss cantons have a certain degree of autonomy in setting their own accounting standards, the evolving paths they followed when implementing IPSASs were heterogeneous. The maturity level attained by each canton within each stage thus varies. However, the results show that the two successive reforms had an overall favourable impact on Swiss cantonal accounting standards compliance with IPSAS, and fairly improved the faithfulness of reported financial information. This research contributes to the international literature on public accounting standards and provides new insights for the assessment of convergence with IPSAS

Unintended Consequences in Implementing Public Sector Accounting Reforms in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka

Drawing on diffusion theory, this study investigates the implementation of public sector accounting reforms in three emerging economies - Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Data for the paper are derived through document analysis and semi structured interviews with public administrators, government accountants and members of professional accountancy bodies. The paper brings out the factors, including the bundling process, pro-innovation biases, informal and interpersonal networks, a boundary spanning process, organisational communication, power disparity, and dominance, all of which have either individually or collectively stifled the diffusion trajectory of public sector accounting reforms in Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka at the implementation phase. As a result, public sector accounting reforms have resulted in resistance, internal conflicts and unintended consequences, including the fabrication of results, in all three countries without any evidence of yielding better results for public sector governance and accountability

The role of intermediaries in the small business transfer process

This paper contributes to the emerging field of business transfer studies by providing qualitative, in-depth evidence on the role of intermediaries at different stages of the transfer process. Building on the resource-based view of the firm and agency theory, this paper identifies the specific resources different types of intermediaries offer small businesses in the transfer process. Further, it explores the role of intermediaries in managing risk and uncertainty in the interaction between buyer and seller. The results suggest that small business owners may need to navigate the use of a variety of intermediaries throughout different times leading-up-to and throughout the business transfer process. Finally, opportunities for further research are explored

The ISA 700 Auditor’s Report and the Audit Expectation Gap – Do Additional Explanations Matter?

In this paper we test the effectiveness of explanations as mandated by the revised ISA 700 auditor's report in reducing the audit expectation gap. German auditors and financial statement users participated in an experiment where they read a summary of a firm's financial statements and an auditor's report, the latter of which we manipulated as being the auditor's report including the explanations as mandated by ISA 700 versus a mere audit opinion-only version. We elicited participants' perceptions about auditor versus management responsibilities and financial statement reliability. We find strong evidence for a persistent expectation gap with respect to the auditor's responsibilities. Meanwhile, auditors and users reach a reasonable belief consensus regarding management's responsibilities and financial statement reliability. Most notably, explanations of the ISA 700 auditor's report do not result in a smaller expectation gap. Our findings suggest that the audit opinion alone may signal sufficient relevant information to users. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd