Extern onafhankelijk toezicht op de kwaliteit van de accountantscontrole

Gebleken is dat het huidige systeem van zelfregulering door accountants onvoldoende waarborgen biedt voor de kwaliteit van de uitvoering van de wettelijke controle. Het vertrouwen van het publiek in het functioneren van de externe accountant en de door hem afgegeven verklaring is geschaad. In dit artikel wordt beschreven op welke wijze onafhankelijk extern toezicht op accountants, zoals voorzien in de Wet toezicht accountantsorganisaties, kan bijdragen aan de kwaliteit van de wettelijke controle en aan het herstel van het publieke vertrouwen. Hierbij is een rol weggelegd voor de door de sector ontwikkelde kwaliteitssystemen. Niet alleen wordt de rol van de beoogde toezichthouder, de Autoriteit Financiële Markten nader toegelicht, maar wordt ook stilgestaan bij de eigen verantwoordelijkheid van de beroepsgroep. Gegeven het beoogde extern onafhankelijk toezicht is dit artikel met name relevant voor een ieder die momenteel betrokken is bij de uitvoering van wettelijke controles

Earnings management: the effects of national audit environment, audit quality and international capital markets

This paper studies earnings management in an international context. More specifically, the effects of three factors on earnings management are studied: national audit environment, audit firm quality and reliance on international capital markets. National audit environments vary strongly in terms of independence rules, auditor education and auditor liability. Hence, it can be expected that the restrictions imposed by national audit environments on earnings management vary. However, there are two factors that can mitigate the national audit environment effect. First, there is strong evidence that audit firm quality, as indicated by the Big 5 and non-Big 5 dichotomy, affects earnings management opportunities for clients. In the context of this study an important issue is to what extent this quality effect overrides national differences. In other words, to what extent do the international audit firms provide a standardized high quality audit across different jurisdictions? Second, the reliance on international capital markets might reduce companies ’ earnings management, irrespective of the opportunities provided by the national environment. The study uses data for the period 1991- 1999 from listed firms in four jurisdictions

"Research opportunities in auditing in the EU", revisited

This article presents a number of research opportunities in auditing in the EU that have come along with changes in the EU regulatory framework for financial reporting and auditing during the past decade. In doing so, we build on Schilder (1996), who raised a number of key research questions, and conclude that some of those questions remain unanswered and are still relevant today. At the same time, new opportunities arise in the changed EU landscape. We identify some important areas where research can help advance our knowledge and provide relevant information for policy makers. These research areas include: public oversight, audit market concentration, audit quality, audit firm ownership structures, audit firm operating structures, audit firm governance, and auditor liability. The research questions that we raise are of global interest, but the EU market provides some unique natural experimental settings to address these questions