The relationship between evidence characteristics and audit efficiency and effectiveness: evidence from Middle Eastern countries

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between three evidence characteristics (namely, sufficiency, reliability, relevance) and audit quality. We employ a multi-method approach that is broken down into two tools; questionnaires and interviews with 103 external auditors working in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The current study adopted the decision usefulness theory as a theoretical framework. The main finding of the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between sufficiency and audit quality (both the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit). Interestingly, the results show that reliability and relevance are associated with audit effectiveness, but did not show significant association with audit efficiency. The contribution of the current study is that it increases awareness of the evidence characteristics and their impact on the audit quality. This kind of awareness aids the decision makers to have a better vision that enables them to take sufficient, relevant and reliable decisions.