International Standards on Auditing in the International Financial Services Centres: What Matters?

Purpose- This paper aims to (1) investigate the position of International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the International Federation of Accountants’ countries’ status on International Standards on Auditing’s adoption and (2) assess the factors influencing ISA adoption in these Centres. Design/methodology/approach- This research drew its data from various sources, including the World Economic Forum dataset, the World Bank Report on Observation of Standards and Codes, the World Development Indicators and the Economic Intelligence Unit Report on Democracy Index on fifty countries classified as IFSCs. The adoption status is then regressed on a number of variables of interest. To establish that our results are robust, we used a combination of different regression techniques comprising OLS, multinomial and logistic regressions. Findings- In addition to GDP growth and education level, this paper adds new evidence to the literature by reporting the positive association between the level of democracy and the enforcement of securities’ regulation on ISA adoption. It argues that political, economic, social and legal factors impact on ISA adoption in the IFSCs. Research limitations/implications- The sample size is limited to 50 from a population of 99 IFSCs because of lack of data. Some of the independent variables are basically archival data. Reliance is placed on WEF with regard to the measurement of protection of minority interest, securities and exchange regulations, and on Economic Intelligence Unit for democracy index. Practical implications- This paper stresses the importance of ISAs in IFSCs and the role of political power and the enforcement of securities laws on the adoption of ISA. Originality/value-This study fills the research gap relating to the absence of empirical studies on ISA adoption and its drivers in IFSCs.N/

Threats to auditor independence: Evidence from Iran

This paper aims to examine threats to auditor independence in Iran. A mixed questionnaire, including both quantitative closed-ended questions and an open-ended qualitative question, is developed to investigate threats to auditor independence. Moreover, thematic analysis is used to triangulate the results against financial media articles throughout 1994 – 2014. Findings suggest that while bribery, non-audit services, and economic condition are key threats to auditor independence in Iran, gifts and presents do not compromise independence given the Iranian culture. This study contributes to a better understanding of auditor independence in Iran, which may apply to other regional settings. Moreover, it provides some suggestions to improve the current Iranian Audit Organisation’s auditor independence framework. (JEL M32)N/

An investigation into the application of continuous online auditing in the U.K

As online technology continues to have a significant influence on business activities and due to the vital role auditing plays in the financial reporting systems, auditors are gradually adopting online technology in carrying out their tasks. While a number of studies have focused on the phenomenon, none of the few that have emanated from the UK is empirical in nature. This paper reports on an empirical investigation into the possible benefits and drawbacks of Continuous Online Auditing (COA) with a view to assessing its relevance to the future of both internal and external auditing. The findings indicate that the readiness of audit professionals and their clients to adopt COA is still a contentious issue. The paper concludes with some reflections on what the expansion of COA might mean.Debido a que la tecnología online continúa teniendo una influencia importante en las actividades de negocios, y por su papel vital desempeñado por la auditoría en los sistemas de informes financieros, los auditores están adoptando poco a poco este tipo de tecnología para llevar a cabo sus tareas. Mientras un número de estudios se ha enfocado en este fenómeno, ninguno de los originados en Reino Unido es empírico en cuanto a su naturaleza. Este artículo informa los posibles beneficios e inconvenientes de Continuous Online Auditing (COA) – Auditoría Online Continua – a través de una investigación empírica, con una visión de aplicar su relevancia a la auditoría, tanto interna como externa, futura. Los hallazgos indican que la disposición de profesionales de autoría, y sus clientes a la hora de adoptar COA, es aún un tema polémico. Este estudio concluye con algunas reflexiones en lo qué podría significar la expansión de COA

CSR communication research: A theoretical-cum-methodological perspective from semiotics

Despite the proliferation of studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR), there is a lack of consensus and a cardinal methodological base for research on the quality of CSR communication. Over the decades, studies in this space have remained conflicting, unintegrated and sometimes overlapping. Drawing on semiotics – a linguistic-based theoretical and analytical tool, our article explores an alternative perspective to evaluating the quality and reliability of sustainability reports. Our article advances CSR communication research by introducing a theoretical-cum-methodological perspective which provides unique insights into how to evaluate the quality of CSR communication. Particularly, we illustrate the application of our proposed methodology on selected UK FTSE100 companies. Our two-phased analysis employed the Greimas Canonical Narrative Schema and the Semiotic Square of Veridiction in drawing meanings from selected sustainability/CSR reports. In addition, we present a distinctive CSR Report Quality Model capable of guiding policy makers and firms in designing sustainability/CSR reporting standards.N/

Differential market valuations of board busyness across alternative banking models

This study comparatively assesses the influence of board busyness (i.e., multiple directorships of outside directors) on stock market valuations of both Islamic and conventional banks. For a sample of listed banks from 11 countries for the period 2010-2015, results show that board busyness is differentially priced by investors depending on the bank type. In conventional banks, board busyness is significantly and positively valued by the stock market. This result suggests that investors perceive some reputational benefits arising from a busy board (e.g., extended industry knowledge, established external networks or facilitation of external market sources). In contrast, we find no supporting evidence on the market valuations of board busyness in Islamic banks. This result might be attributed to, both, the complex governance structure and the uniqueness of the business model which require additional effective monitoring, relative to that employed in conventional banking. Our results also show that investors provide significantly low market valuations for busy Shari’ah advisory board which acts as an additional layer of governance in Islamic banks. Findings in this study offer important policy implications to international banking studies and regulations governing countries with dual-banking systems.N/

The adoption of IPSAS (accrual accounting) in Indonesian local government: a neo-institutional perspective

This study investigates the speed and drivers of IPSAS adoption in Indonesia. Using data from 205 local government entities, the results show while the interaction between auditors and representatives of opposition on the council has more impact on the speed of adoption than with the councillors representing the government, the timing of the council meeting has delayed the adoption of IPSAS accrual. Government grant, Supreme Audit Office, councillors and religious beliefs are the isomorphic drivers of IPSAS adoption. Our results support the hypotheses that the three institutional pressures (coercive, mimetic and normative) influence the speed of IPSAS adoption.N/

A Principal Component Analysis of Project Management Competencies for the Ghanaian Construction Industry

This is a joint research with two colleagues in Ghana. The first author is a Project Management Practisioner and the second author is an acadenic at Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology. The copyright of the article belongs to Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building.The study adopts a data reduction technique to examine the presence of any complex structure among a set of project management competency variables. A structured survey questionnaire was administered to 100 project managers to elicit relevant data, and this achieved a relatively high response rate of 54%. After satisfying all the necessary tests of reliability of the survey instrument, sample size adequacy and population matrix, the data was subjected to principal component analysis, resulting in the identification of six new thematic project management competency areas ; and were explained in terms of human resource management and project control; construction innovation and communication; project financial resources management; project risk and quality management; business ethics and; physical resources and procurement management. These knowledge areas now form the basis for lateral project management training requirements in the context of the Ghanaian construction industry. Key contribution of the paper is manifested in the use of the principal component analysis, which has rigorously provided understanding into the complex structure and the relationship between the various knowledge areas. The originality and value of the paper is embedded in the use of contextual-task conceptual knowledge to expound the six uncorrelated empirical utility of the project management competencies

Reinforcing users’ confidence in statutory audit during a post-crisis period : An empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that are perceived as important for the statutory audit function to restore confidence in the financial statements, its value relevance and decision usefulness in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach – This research used a structured questionnaire to collect data from practising accountants, auditors and accounting academics within the UK. A factor analysis was undertaken to examine the potential inter-correlations that could exist between different factors obtained from the literature. The analysis reduced these variables into the more important factors which were subsequently modelled in a logistic regression analysis. Findings – The paper identified, as critical factors for enhancing statutory audits, “a continuously updated accounting curriculum”, “expansion of the auditor's role”, “frequent meetings between regulators and auditors”, “mandatory rotation of auditors”, “limiting the provision of non-audit services”, “knowledge requirements from disciplines other than accounting” and “encouraging joint audits”. It is hoped that addressing these issues might improve confidence in the audit profession, thereby reinforcing its value relevance. Research limitations/implications – The study's findings imply that professional accountancy bodies, accounting educators and accounting firms will need to incorporate the key factors identified in this study into their curriculum and training schemes. However, the generalisability of these findings might be limited as the research data were primarily obtained from UK accountants alone. Originality/value – This study extends the frontiers of knowledge on critical factors that could reinforce users’ confidence in the statutory audit function and have implications for policy and practice.N/