• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.41-50
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• 2020

The paper aims to investigate auditors, auditing firms and other external factors that affect quality of information technology audit in Vietnam. We conducted 2 types of data collections including direct and on survey. For direct survey, we sent directly to auditors at the training classes organized by State Securities Exchanges Commission. An online survey was established and Google doc link was provided to the Big4 and non-Big4 auditors. We received 138 survey responses in that 90 auditors came from Big4 and 48 auditors from non-Big4 firms. The data are analyzed using a factor analysis and compare means approaches to illustrate the potential IT audit quality factors and identify differences between two groups of auditors. The results show that independence and accounting knowledge and audit skills are the most important factors. And since external auditors perform many assurance services, the independence is critical. The result also shows that the auditors need to have enough competent and professional skills when conducting an audit, especially within an IT environment that requires high quality. The findings suggest a similar pattern of two groups in the context of Vietnam and some factors of auditors and auditing firms appear to have a statistically significant impact on quality of IT audit.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.583-591
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• 2020

In recent years, the quality of auditing human resources in domestic auditing firms in Hanoi has certain limitations in which professional skills of auditors have not been given adequate attention. The number of customers at local auditing firms is forecast to increase gradually. Therefore, the quantity and quality of auditors need to be improved to meet requirements of the workload. Data for this research were collected through surveying 120 customers of domestic auditing firms in Hanoi on the 5-point Likert scale. Based on the collected data, we employ both qualitative and quantitative methodology along with some tools such as descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha, T-test and ANOVA to analysis, evaluate and measure the professional skills of auditors in local auditing firms in Hanoi. The results show that the professional skills of auditors in auditing firms include 17 attributes. The majority of respondents show appreciation for the professionalism and professional competence of auditors, while, they think that critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills are still limited and need to be improved. These findings, not only help auditors to improve themselves, but also provide solutions for managers of domestic auditing firms in Hanoi to enhance quality of audited human resources.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.797-808
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• 2021

This study examines the interaction between internal auditors' personality traits and the internal audit function effectiveness. It also investigates the effect of such interacted variables on financial reporting quality. This study employed a questionnaire survey to collect data from 193 internal auditors of Jordanian companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. The study model is validated and tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results reveal that all the examined personality traits of internal auditors significantly impact internal audit function effectiveness except for the extraversion trait. The results also show that personality traits have indirect effects on financial reporting quality via internal audit function effectiveness. These results suggest that internal auditors with high scores on openness to experience, emotional stability, and conscientiousness traits can be among the most significant contributors to the internal audit function effectiveness. The results also suggest that internal auditors' personality traits can be regarded as an internal audit function intangible resource that enhances effectiveness. The study's findings might be of interest to many different parties interested in enhancing internal audit function effectiveness and boosting the financial reporting quality, such as external and internal auditors, auditees, human resource departments, and Chief Internal Audit Executives.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.167-174
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• 2017

These days, people distrust the accounting transparency of firms in Korea. It can .increase the capital costs and reduce profitability of firms. Auditors say that one of causes on the low grades of the accounting transparency is free contracts between auditors and firms. Firms want auditors take low audit fees. In principle, if auditors take low audit fees, they cannot input auditor resources to proper audit. However, there are not any empirical evidence about the relation between the audit fees dumping and the audit quality. This study defines dumping auditors if their audit fees are lower than the average of industries, and examines whether these auditors showed low audit qualities or not. As a result, firms which are audited by dumping auditors presented low abnormal accruals. We can interpret this result as that dumping auditors have low audit qualities. This result helps to make policies to improve the accounting transparency of firms.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-54
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• 2002

With increasing use of the computers and rapid progress of system technology, the Judgment Process of information system auditors is exacerbated and the auditing environment is becoming very complex. Therefore, with limited resources, to achieve the ultimate goals of control & auditing, it is absolutely necessary for the auditors to Identify the relative importance and priority order of controls Accordingly. the auditors'review and evaluation of the internal control are becoming the Important issues in our modern auditing Process. The objectives of this paper are to identify the crucial and important control factors that are necessary for the control system, end to analyze the relative importance of the internal controls.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.7-19
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• 2021

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate (1) whether the interviewed auditors conduct higher quality audit than the non-interviewed auditors and (2) whether the frequency of audit engagement interviews has an impact on audit quality. Research design, data, and methodology: Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms between 2011 and 2019, this paper empirically tests the effect of audit engagement interviews on auditor's behavior. We collect the data of audit engagement interviews on the CICPA's website. We use OLS regression, fixed-effect model and random-effect model to examine the association between audit engagement interviews and audit quality. Results: Findings indicate that the audit quality of the interviewed auditors is significantly greater than that of the non-interviewed auditors. The frequency of the audit engagement interviews is positively associated with audit quality. The interviewed auditors spend significantly more time on the audit. Furthermore, the positive association between audit engagement interviews and audit quality only exists in non-Big 4 auditors. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of audit regulation enforcement. The results suggest that in an emerging market with weak legal systems, preventive regulations such as audit interviews have a deterrent effect and are necessary in alleviating information asymmetry and improving information environment.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.807-819
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• 2021

This study aims to determine the availability of forensic accounting application factors sought by auditors' representatives of Jordanian Certified Public Accounting and auditors working in the Audit Bureau. The study identifies as well the role of these application factors in enhancing the efficiency of auditors due to the increased responsibility on them in the face of various fraud cases on the one hand, and their appearance in the courts as financial experts supporting the judiciary to adjudicate financial cases on the other hand. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers used the descriptive analytical method because of its suitability for the nature of the research. The population of the study consisted of 433 Jordanian certified public accountants and 520 auditors working in the Audit Bureau, from which a sample of 426 was constructed. A questionnaire was developed to collect data and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was utilized to analyze data and test hypotheses. The study found that there is a statistical difference between the responses of the two samples of the study, and it concluded a set of recommendations, which are hoped to help legislators in strengthening and developing the forensic accounting profession in Jordan.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.93-102
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• 2022

The goal of this study was to see how big data analytics (BDA) affected external audit procedures in the Middle East. The measurement model and structural model of this investigation were evaluated using PLS-SEM (3.3.3). The study sample members were (361) auditors who work in auditing companies in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq. A questionnaire was chosen to the study sample members electronically, and the study sample members were (5093) auditors who work in auditing companies in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq. To choose the sample, the researchers used a stratified random sampling procedure. The findings show that BDA has an impact on audit procedures at all phases of the auditing process, where it contributes to information delivery that helps auditors understand the client's internal and external environments, which in turn influences the choice to accept the audit assignment. Furthermore, by providing essential information, BDA enables auditors to simply run analytical procedures, estimate client risks, and understand and evaluate the internal control system. As a result, auditors must develop their abilities in the BDA field, as it adds to the creation of additional value for both auditors and their clients.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.561-573
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• 2022

This study aims to obtain empirical evidence of the absence of testing the effect of professional ethics, emotional intelligence, and internal auditor performance on professional skepticism. According to this study, internal auditors can use professional skepticism to better understand red flag fraud. Questionnaires were used as the research instruments in this study. The participants included 186 auditors. Using structural equation modeling, this study confirms the hypothesis. The results show that the application of professional ethics and emotional intelligence has a positive effect on professional skepticism. The findings show that 1) professional skepticism can improve internal auditors' understanding of the red flags of fraud, 2) professional ethical norms influence how people behave and accomplish jobs, and 3) how constructive findings are produced by an audit procedure that adheres to the requirements of an audit expert, not just an espionage agent trained to infiltrate. As a result, internal auditors' higher performance in performing functions as a building agent rather than a secret agent like intelligence can be attributed to this. This study provides evidence that 1) not only does the use of professional ethics increase professional skepticism, but high emotional intelligence also plays a role, and 2) professional skepticism can improve internal auditors' understanding of red flags of fraud.

• Journal of East Asia Management
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-51
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• 2023

We investigate whether the association between management overconfident tone and the level of audit effort measured by audit fees and hours differs depending on the level of earnings management. Prior studies suggest that firms led by overconfident managers are likely to initiate risky investments, report low quality financial statements, and have material weaknesses in internal control system. These characteristics, combined together, result in higher audit risk. At the same time, auditors assess audit risk based on the quality of financial reporting, measured by level of earnings management. As a result, the assess audit risk is likely to reflect the combined effect of management overconfidence and the level of earnings management. In this paper, we investigate whether auditors differentiate the effects of real earnings management (REM) and accrual-based earnings management (AEM) when they assess the audit risk related management overconfident. Using the CEO's letter published in 2018, we measure the CEO's tone representing the degree of overconfidence (i.e., activity). Based on this measure, we find that the positive association between managerial overconfident tone and audit effort is more pronounced as the level of REM is higher. However, we find that the baseline association does not vary depending on the level of AEM. These results suggest that auditors consider the managerial overconfident severer when such characteristic accompany the higher level of REM, which can be outcome of aggressive business decisions possibly leading to the higher audit risks. We further find that these results are stronger for Big 4 auditors and continuing auditors. This paper contributes to the literature and practice as follows. First, we provide contextual evidence on how auditors reflect managerial characteristics in the audit process by documenting that auditors actively increase their audit efforts only when overconfident managerial characteristics are highly likely to lead to audit risk. This result suggests that auditors conduct external auditing considering both the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process. Second, we suggest that auditors use information obtained from a wide range of sources to identify audit risks. Our results provide evidence of how the auditing standards, which do not provide detailed guidelines for audit risk assessment, are being applied in practice. Finally, our results also enhance the understanding of how audit fees are determined. Combined with the studies related to audit pricing, we provide the important reference for discussion between the auditor and the auditee about the audit fee that has created acute tension after the enforcement of the new External Audit Act.