Auditors' perceptions of time budget pressure, premature sign offs and under-reporting of chargeable time: Evidence from a developing country

This study examines the existence and effects of auditors' time budget pressure, premature sign-offs (PSO) and under-reporting of chargeable time (URT) in the context of a developing country, namely Mauritius. Several antecedent variables of budget pressure were also considered. Based on a mailed questionnaire survey, the perceived extent of time budget pressure (as measured by budget tightness) was found to be significantly lower than in other developed countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and United States). Significant cross-national differences were also observed for the levels of PSO and URT. Although budget tightness was significantly related to PSO, this was not the case for URT. This has led to the suggestion that URT may be less dependent on levels of budget tightness and may have become an 'institutionalised' practice within audit firms. Finally, none of the hypothesised antecedent variables were significantly related to budget tightness.<br/