Essays on international auditing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

This research investigates the determinants of both audit fees and the purchase of non-audit services using multi-country data. In the current globalized economy and in an environment of increased labour mobility, auditors play a crucial role in assuring the quality of financial reporting. At the same time, auditors could provide certain professional non-audit services to their audit clients. Understanding the factors influencing the demand for, or the provision of, audit and non-audit services is of interest to standard setters, corporate governance participants, and both individual and institutional investors, among others. Furthermore, under the current globalized environment, the role played by country-level institutional factors is especially important. This thesis is organized into three essays: (i) workforce environment, labour market flexibility, and audit fees; (ii) a literature review of auditor-provided tax services (APTS, one type of non-audit services); and, finally, (iii) book-tax conformity and the demand for APTS. In Essay One, using a dataset from 30 countries over the period from 2002 to 2017, I examine the effects of audit clients’ workforce environment on audit fees as well as the role that national labour market flexibility plays in this relationship. I find evidence that audit fees are significantly lower for firms with a good workforce environment, suggesting that auditors perceive such clients as less risky; as a result, auditors expend less effort and/or charge a lower risk premium. Furthermore, I find this effect to be stronger for firms in countries with a more flexible labour market. My study contributes to the international audit fee literature by identifying employee welfare as a distinct audit pricing factor, above and beyond the effects of overall corporate social responsibility practices. Essay Two reviews the empirical literature on the determinants and consequences of APTS and provide some directions for future research. I first summarize two theoretical but competing perspectives on the provision of APTS, namely, the knowledge spillover effect and the impaired independence effect. I then review the evolution of APTS-related disclosures and regulations in selected jurisdictions. My review of the determinants of APTS suggests that such decisions are related to the cost-benefit trade-off. I then review the literature on the consequences of APTS. This strand of the literature in the U.S. supports the knowledge spillover effect, but the findings in non-U.S. settings are mixed. The market perceptions of APTS in both the U.S. and non-U.S. settings suggest that market participants react to APTS negatively during uncertain periods, whereas non-archival studies suggest that the perceptions of APTS vary between stakeholder groups and with the types of APTS provided. Finally, Essay Three examines the impact of different levels of required book-tax conformity on audit clients’ demand for APTS. Utilizing a sample from 11 European Union (EU) countries between 2013 to 2019, I find evidence that listed firms in EU countries with a high level of required book-tax conformity are less likely to purchase tax services from their incumbent auditors, and also tend to pay lower tax service fees. Furthermore, I find these effects to be weaker after the implementation of the APTS-related EU Regulation that became effective from 2016. My findings contribute to the APTS literature by identifying a country-level institutional characteristic, i.e., the required level of book-tax conformity, as a potential determinant of appointing incumbent auditors as tax service providers. I also provide preliminary evidence of the effect of relevant EU regulation on changes in the demand for APTS

Morphology of Caulobacter crescentus and the Mechanical Role of Crescentin

AbstractBacterial cells exist in a wide variety of shapes. To understand the mechanism of bacterial shape maintenance, we investigate the morphology of Caulobacter crescentus, which is a Gram-negative bacterium that adopts a helical crescent shape. It is known that crescentin, an intermediate filament homolog of C. crescentus, is required for maintaining this asymmetrical cell shape. We employ a continuum model to understand the interaction between the bacterial cell wall and the crescentin bundle. The model allows us to examine different scenarios of attaching crescentin to the cell wall and compute the shape of the bacterium. Results show that if the sole influence of crescentin is mechanical, then the crescentin bundle is unrealistically rigid and must be attached to the cell wall directly. The model suggests that alternative roles for crescentin such as how it influences cell wall growth must be considered

Cyclic thermo-mechanical material modelling and testing of 316 stainless steel

A programme of cyclic mechanical testing of a 316 stainless steel, at temperatures of up to 600 °C under isothermal conditions, for the identification of material constitutive constants, has been carried out using a thermo-mechanical fatigue test machine (with induction coil heating). The constitutive model adopted is a modified Chaboche unified viscoplasticity model, which can deal with both cyclic effects, such as combined isotropic and kinematic hardening, and rate-dependent effects, associated with viscoplasticity. The characterisation of 316 stainless steel is presented and compared with results from tests consisting of cyclic isothermal, as well as in-phase and out-of-phase thermo-mechanical fatigue conditions, using interpolation between the isothermal material constants to predict the material behaviour under anisothermal conditions

Organization of FtsZ Filaments in the Bacterial Division Ring Measured from Polarized Fluorescence Microscopy

AbstractCytokinesis in bacteria is accomplished by a ring-shaped cell-division complex (the Z-ring). The primary component of the Z-ring is FtsZ, a filamentous tubulin homolog that serves as a scaffold for the recruitment of other cell-division-related proteins. FtsZ forms filaments and bundles. In the cell, it has been suggested that FtsZ filaments form the arcs of the ring and are aligned in the cell-circumferential direction. Using polarized fluorescence microscopy in live Escherichia coli cells, we measure the structural organization of FtsZ filaments in the Z-ring. The data suggest a disordered organization: a substantial portion of FtsZ filaments are aligned in the cell-axis direction. FtsZ organization in the Z-ring also appears to depend on the bacterial species. Taken together, the unique arrangement of FtsZ suggests novel unexplored mechanisms in bacterial cell division

Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster

Over the past 50 years, the use of mathematical models, derived from physical reasoning, to describe molecular and cellular systems has evolved from an art of the few to a cornerstone of biological inquiry. George Oster stood out as a pioneer of this paradigm shift from descriptive to quantitative biology not only through his numerous research accomplishments, but also through the many students and postdocs he mentored over his long career. Those of us fortunate enough to have worked with George agree that his sharp intellect, physical intuition and passion for scientific inquiry not only inspired us as scientists but also greatly influenced the way we conduct research. We would like to share a few important lessons we learned from George in honor of his memory and with the hope that they may inspire future generations of scientists.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Molecular Biology of the Cel