Audit Efficiency Research Articles

ОТЛИЧИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ТИПОВ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО АУДИТА

At the current stage of the global development of inter-economic relations in the economy, Kazakhstan urgently needs to improve the mechanisms of influence of states on socio-economic issues. The introduction of state audit that meets international standards and includes an audit of financial statements, compliance and efficiency is also included in the Concept of a new budgetary policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The current model of government audit in Kazakhstan began in 2015 with the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "About State Audit and Financial Control". In the studies carried out, many problematic issues of government audit are considered in depth: ways of introducing modern forms and types of audit and control, such as strategic audit, audit of the effectiveness of the use of budget funds, assessment of strategic plans of government agencies and the activities of the quasipublic sector and their impact on economic development. In general, state audit is seen as a holistic and independent assessment of the effectiveness of audit objects, covering not only financial issues, but also all areas of their activities with the presentation of effective recommendations based on identified deficiencies and proposals for risk management. This article discusses the theoretical foundations, models and types of governmental audit in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the possibility of applying international experience in the development of the Kazakhstani model of governmental audit.

Conceptual Comparison of Internal Audit and Internal Control in the Marketing Environment

There is a conceptual problem in the adequate application of internal audit and internal control in the real business of the marketing environment. Although both of these managerial tools are theoretically defined, they are practically interchangeable in business. This limits their application. It is therefore necessary to focus on both concepts and make the theory and practice more precise or remove any overlaps. The aim of this paper is therefore a theoretical and practical comparison of internal audit and internal control concepts in the marketing environment. To fulfil this purpose and verify the hypotheses, this paper uses computer assisted self interviewing. The research was conducted in Q1 2021 with a sample of 3052 small and medium enterprises from the international environment of the EU 27. The research conclusions show a strong correlation of the theoretical perception of the terms of internal audit and internal control. At the same time, they show a weak correlation with the audit and control tools used in practice. They also define audit as planned independent assurance (soft consultation) and control as operational managerial assurance (hard comparison). This defines and clarifies scientific theories for managerial practice, thus enhancing and increasing the efficiency of internal audits and internal control in the business environment.

АУДИТ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ В СФЕРЕ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

In the modern era, priority among the means used in management and affecting the quality of services provided in the field of education in developed countries is given to professional standards created by employer associations, qualification requirements for graduates of educational institutions, which are formed by industry associations and professional associations, monitoring of educational institutions and educational programs carried out by rating agencies, public accreditation of higher education institutions, which Delivered by expert agencies. The category of these tools includes an audit of efficiency in the field of education as an integral part of the quality management mechanism of higher education, which allows you to combine an external assessment of its quality. This determines the relevance of the topic of the present study. The authors express the opinion that in modern Russia there are practically no scientific studies on the interaction of existing performance audit systems with the financial control system, as well as the review of control functions contained in each type of accounting. The lack of theoretical development restrains the development of individual control systems. It is concluded that a high level of material and technical support for the activities of educational institutions and the introduction of the latest achievements of science and technology can be achieved through adequate funding and its effective use. Also, the authors concluded that the auditor owns, uses and manages significantly larger instruments than those mobilized in the process of conducting a financial audit. Therefore, an audit of effectiveness should become an integral part of the state audit, should cover everything that the legislation of the country refers to the conduct of education.

How Has the Change in the Way Auditors Determine the Audit Report Date Changed the Meaning of the Audit Report Date? Implications for Academic Research

SUMMARY Archival research in accounting often relies on the audit report date to capture the constructs of audit efficiency, audit timeliness, audit effort, or audit completion. Auditors' view of what constitutes sufficient appropriate evidence to support the audit opinion, and consequently the date of the audit report, previously coincided with the substantial completion of audit fieldwork, which would be days or weeks before a 10-K filing. However, this view has shifted to coincide with the timing of the public issuance of clients' financial statements (i.e., the 10-K filing date) following several regulatory actions, audit practice changes, and professional standard-setting changes occurring since the turn of the century. In this study, we present evidence of this shift in auditor perspective and discuss implications for academic research and standard setting.

Explaining the (non-) adoption of advanced data analytics in auditing: A process theory

Audit firms are increasingly engaging with advanced data analytics to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of external audits through the automation of audit work and obtaining a better understanding of the client’s business risk and thus their own audit risk. This paper examines the process by which audit firms adopt advanced data analytics, which has been left unaddressed by previous research. We derive a process theory from expert interviews which describes the activities within the process and the organizational units involved. It further describes how the adoption process is affected by technological, organizational and environmental contextual factors. Our work contributes to the extent body of research on technology adoption in auditing by using a previously unused theoretical perspective, and contextualizing known factors of technology adoption. The findings presented in this paper emphasize the importance of technological capabilities of audit firms for the adoption of advanced data analytics; technological capabilities within audit teams can be leveraged to support both the ideation of possible use cases for advanced data analytics, as well as the diffusion of solutions into practice.

Assessment of the Level of Implementation of Internal Audits in Polish Public Hospitals

Purpose: The aim of the article is to evaluate the work of internal audit units in Polish public hospitals. An additional objective was the assessment of the indicators used by the Ministry of Finance (MF) to verify the work of auditors in government administration units. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors have analysed specialized literature concerning audit issues in hospitals analyzing data included in the MF reports for 2012-2019, presenting indicator values related to internal audits, their quality and efficiency. Findings: Studying the literature of the subject revealed that there is a research gap concerning evaluation of the efficiency of internal audits at hospitals. Practical Implications: The authors’ analysis of MF reports of internal audit units in hospitals and the interpretation of the indicators contained in them enabled evaluation of the functioning of internal audits at analysed hospitals and determining their position compared to other entities from the research sample. Indicator values for hospitals vary from those obtained from other public sector units, as particular public finance sector units’ function in various legal and organizational environments and vary in operational aims and specificity. Originality/Value: The results from the conducted analysis should be regarded as a starting point for more advanced evaluation studies of the functioning of internal audits in hospitals.

Research on the Accounting and Auditing Risk Calculation Strategies of Enterprises in the Information Age

After entering the information age, the accounting and auditing work of Chinese enterprises must be updated according to the new changes of the society and the enterprises. As the top priority of modern enterprise management, enterprise accounting auditing requires continuous optimization of the management within the enterprises so that the enterprises’ development could keep pace with the social changes. By introducing information technology into enterprise accounting auditing, it is possible to improve the efficiency of enterprise accounting auditing and to ensure the accuracy of enterprise auditing. This article starts with the status quo of enterprise accounting auditing in the information age. Then, it analyses the current risks of enterprise accounting audit and puts forward some suggestions to prevent the risks. This thesis is expected to provide useful reference for the development of enterprise accounting auditing in the information age.

Impact of Information Communication Technology Competency Among Auditing Professionals

The objective of this study is to find out the influence of Impact of Information Communication Technology competencies and Information Communication Technology Training among auditing professionals. This paper proposes a defined set of survey questionnaires to measure Information Communication Technology (ICT) competency and ICT Training variables. The sample size focuses on junior qualified professional auditors who were selected based on their experience in the field of accounting or auditing. The sample of population consists of individual practicing auditors from small audit firms in Kerala. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling approach (PLS-SEM). Expectedly, ICT competencies among auditing professionals and their ICT training are imperative among junior auditing professionals for auditing in a computer-based environment. The impact of audit efficiencies, ensuring client's fair financial statements, and timeliness of audit tasks were achieved by auditing professionals with ICT competencies and ICT training. This is important not only for junior staff, but also for lead auditors who have the authority to sign audit reports. The value of the research studies lies with a comprehensible examination of findings of various previous studies and enlightened commentaries on ICT enabled audit practice by sole proprietorship practicing audit firms, mainly in rural locations. In addition, such scientific method of understanding the implications of ICT enables auditing which involved in auditing professional policy makers intervention.

A Fast Audit Doubt Finding Model

In order to improve the audit efficiency and accuracy under the condition of big data, an audit doubt discovery model (CLOWF) based on an adaptive clustering outlier detection algorithm is proposed. The model first uses the slope ratio method to obtain the K value of the K-means++ algorithm, thereby effectively ensuring the clustering effect; At the same time, for the problem of slow pruning speed, a parallel calculation method for the data radius and centroid of each cluster is proposed and designed; Combined with the weighted local outlier factor detection algorithm to calculate the outlier factor, the data greater than the epsilon threshold of outlier is proposed as an indicator to determine the audit doubt. Through auditing application cases, comparing the local outlier factor detection algorithm and the cluster-based outlier detection algorithm, the results show that the execution time of the CLOWF model is the shortest and the accuracy rate is 97.3%.

How internal audit can champion continuous monitoring in a business operation via visual reporting and overcome barriers to success

Many auditing professionals would contend that continuous monitoring is a function of management and not internal audit. However, effective continuous auditing is highly dependent upon a strong continuous monitoring system. Further, by integrating technology of these two systems, continuous assurance can be achieved, and audit efficiency and effectiveness can be improved through the reduction of costs and effort. This paper discusses how internal audit can collaborate with a business operation to develop a continuous monitoring application utilizing visual reporting and overcome the potential barriers to success. The specific business operation selected for modification was the procurement card program at a large public university. Following an introduction of the scenario, an overview of the ProCard™ program is provided, highlighting the program risks and controls. Third, a four-phased approach used to develop the continuous monitoring tool is described, including specific steps taken to ensure effective use of the real-time data by auditors. Fourth, challenges the internal function encountered when implementing the system are described, including how those challenges were addressed. Fifth, the paper provides concluding comments and future initiatives planned. Finally, the paper provides additional examples for continuous auditing and monitoring and suggests future research topics in this area. Keywords: Continuous auditing, continuous monitoring, visual reporting, internal audit, procurement card.

Probabilistic Audits and Misreporting – the Influence of Audit Process Design on Employee Behavior

We investigate how the design of audit processes influences employees’ reporting decisions. We focus specifically on detective employee audits for which several employees are randomly selected after a defined period to audit their ex-post behavior. We investigate two design features of the audit process, namely, employee anonymity and process transparency, and analyze their impact on misreporting. Overall, we find that both components influence the extent of individuals’ misreporting. A nonanonymous audit decreases performance misreporting more than an audit in which the employee remains anonymous. Furthermore, the high incidence of performance misreporting in the case of anonymous audits can be decreased when the process transparency is low. Thus, our study informs accountants about how the two design features of employee anonymity and transparency of the audit process can be used to constrain performance misreporting to increase the efficiency of audits.

Research on the problems of enterprise internal audit under the background of artificial intelligence

With the progress of science and technology and the popularization and development of the Internet, emerging technologies such as big data, intelligence, mobile Internet, cloud computing and blockchain technology have been applied and promoted. Facing the new background, new situation, new changes and new requirements, enterprise internal audit is facing opportunities and challenges. The wide application of artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies can effectively improve the efficiency and quality of internal audit, but also bring many challenges to the development of internal audit. Internal audit should re-examine its own functions, and actively make adjustments in the stages of audit preparation, audit implementation and audit completion, so as to meet the development needs of the new era. This paper expounds the problems faced by enterprise internal audit under the background of artificial intelligence, and puts forward the methods to solve the problems. In order to provide reference for the development of internal audit, and truly realize the value-added role of internal audit for enterprises.

АУДИТ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ В СФЕРЕ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

The article discusses the directions and key issues of audit of efficiency in healthcare in foreign countries and in Russia. The analysis of the impact of the performance audit on the solution of socially important problems of maintaining public health is carried out. The authors determined the purpose of the audit of efficiency in the health sector, which is to promote the financial interests of the state, to ensure public health needs, to support accountability and responsibility regarding the activities of healthcare institutions. The medical effectiveness of healthcare institutions is determined as the degree of achieved results in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, rehabilitation of patients, which is expressed as a percentage (or shares) based on the ratio of the number of cases of achieved results to the total number of observations. The absence of a specialized and legislatively fixed list of executive bodies endowed with control and supervisory powers in relation to healthcare institutions was noted. It was revealed that the requirement to exercise control related to the licensing functions of state supervision in Russia has not been established. Based on a study of foreign practice of financial control, it was found that performance audits represent a significant proportion of the control measures taken, and is the most progressive form of financial control. The article systematizes the bodies for monitoring compliance with mandatory requirements for goods, works and services at the level of medical institutions. Their non-systematic work, lack of interconnection in the implementation of supervisory activities as a factor that reduces the effectiveness of their authority is revealed.

The ties that bind: Knowledge-seeking networks and auditor job performance

The dissemination of knowledge in audit firms is a critical process that has gone relatively unexamined by researchers. Using social network analysis to quantify the knowledge-seeking networks in a Big 4 audit firm in the U.S., we examine the association between the types and patterns of knowledge-seeking ties and individual auditor performance. Our initial finding is that auditor job performance is negatively associated with the number of knowledge-seeking ties. Further, our analyses demonstrate that this negative association is being driven by explicit knowledge-seeking rather than tacit knowledge-seeking activities and is stronger for higher-ranked auditors. Thus, knowledge-seeking by auditors may come at a cost, particularly when that knowledge is codifiable and when the seeking is done by those at higher levels of the firm. In a post-hoc analysis, we find that tacit knowledge-seeking ties to managers can be beneficial for auditor performance, and tacit knowledge-seeking ties to senior managers and partners is sometimes detrimental. In sum, this suggests that who is seeking knowledge and who is being sought for knowledge are both important for performance. Our findings may assist researchers to better understand how auditors leverage their social connections to learn, which in turn may affect audit efficiency and effectiveness. Further, audit firms might benefit from better understanding the consequences of knowledge-seeking from different sources and use this understanding to make decisions that maximize desirable information flows.

The Influence of Government Regulations on Auditing Practices: A Qualitative Research

This qualitative research investigates the influence of government regulations on auditing practices, aiming to provide insights into how regulatory frameworks shape audit methodologies and impact audit quality. The study employs semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and participant observation to gather data from key stakeholders in the auditing profession. Thematic analysis is used to analyze the qualitative data, revealing the complex interplay between regulatory compliance, audit methodologies, and audit quality. The findings indicate that auditors adapt their procedures and practices to meet regulatory requirements while maintaining audit efficiency and effectiveness. Regulatory compliance serves as a cornerstone of audit practice, influencing the allocation of resources and the adoption of risk-based audit methodologies. Moreover, the study explores the impact of regulatory reforms, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, on audit quality and financial reporting integrity. While some participants perceive regulatory reforms positively, others express concerns about the regulatory burden and unintended consequences of compliance. Document analysis further underscores the mixed perceptions surrounding the effectiveness of regulatory oversight mechanisms in deterring audit failures and enhancing auditor accountability. Overall, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between government regulations and auditing practices, with implications for policymakers, regulators, audit practitioners, and other stakeholders striving to enhance the effectiveness of regulatory regimes and promote transparency and integrity in financial reporting.

ОБЛІК І АУДИТ ДОХОДІВ І ВИТРАТ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ В УМОВАХ ГЛОБАЛЬНИХ ВИКЛИКІВ

Formulation of the problem. In the context of global challenges, enterprises operate in a dynamic, unpredictable external environment, so to ensure break-even conditions and increase profitability of the company requires a modification of the existing management system, the effectiveness of which, in turn, is determined by the level of accounting and analytical costs. types of activity of the enterprise, therefore improvement of the account and audit of incomes and expenses of the trading enterprises is actual, especially in the conditions of modern global challenges. The aim of the research is improvement the procedure for accounting and auditing revenues and expenses of commercial enterprises. The subject of the research is the system of accounting for enterprise income and expenses. The methods of the research: analysis, synthesis, abstract logic; historical, comparative and statistical, generalization and grouping; system-structural and functional. The hypothesis of the research. The current accounting system and audit procedure should be modified in accordance with the realities of existing trading companies in the conditions of their activity during modern global challenges. The statement of basic materials. The organizational provisions of accounting for costs and revenues by type of activity are analyzed and shortcomings in the existing practice of their accounting are identified on the example of one of the trading companies – JACQUARD LLC, measures to improve the accounting of costs and revenues by type of activity are identified. The task of auditing costs and revenues by type of activity of the enterprise, the audit plan and test questions of the auditor to verify the correctness of the organization of cost and income accounting and the results for the trading company. The originality and practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of applying the proposals for improvement the accounting and audit of costs and revenues by type of enterprise activity. Conclusions and perspectives of further research. The research will improve the efficiency of accounting and auditing of costs and revenues, and timely and proper accounting will facilitate more effective management decisions in the process of generating net income, and the use of audit plans of costs and revenues will more accurately identify deficiencies in the organization and accounting of the enterprise

Toward an Archival Measure of the Likelihood of Auditor–Client Management Negotiation: An Exploration of the Audit Lag Measures Conjecture*

ABSTRACTSalterio (2012) hypothesized that adaptations of an audit efficiency measure, audit report lag (the length of time between the financial statement year‐end date and the auditor's report date), could provide measures of underlying auditor–client management (ACM) negotiation likelihood. Salterio argued that these measures would enable archival researchers to examine issues that heretofore were the exclusive domain of experimental and field researchers. Using an audit report lag measure and a measure of abnormal audit report lag lags (the residual based on audit report lag determinants model), we show that a larger lag is associated with higher audit fees after controlling for other known determinants of audit fees. We also show that larger lags are associated with higher levels of discretionary accruals—that is, lower accrual quality. Based on our findings, we suggest that there is support for Salterio's hypothesis that audit report lags and abnormal audit report provide valid archival proxies for the differences in year‐end ACM negotiation likelihood. We suggest that this proxy will allow researchers to study issues related to published accounting numbers in light of whether negotiations are likely to have occurred in addition to providing regulators and others the means to determine what clients of audit firms are more likely to have different types of ACM relationships.

Audit Partners' Co-Working Experience and Audit Outcomes

SUMMARYWe examine whether increases in co-working experience between the lead and concurring audit partners affect engagement audit quality and audit efficiency. We define co-working experience as the lead and concurring audit partners having worked together in these roles on previous audit engagements for clients other than the focal client. A priori, increases in co-working experience could increase or decrease audit quality, but are expected to increase audit efficiency. Using data from Taiwan, where the identities of lead and concurring audit partners are known, we find that co-working experience is positively associated with audit quality and audit efficiency. Further, the effects of co-working experience on audit quality and audit efficiency are more pronounced when co-working experience is more intensive, the two partners are more accessible to each other, the audit firm is less experienced with the client or less knowledgeable about the client's industry, or client audit risks are higher.Data Availability: Data are available from the sources cited in the text.JEL Classifications: M4; M42.

Dose banding of intravenous ganciclovir: Banding scheme proposal and audit of toxicity and efficiency.

Dose banding is a strategy to optimize processing without reducing patient safety. Prescribed doses are rounded up or down to predetermined standard doses. Although it has been mostly used in chemotherapy, other drugs are suitable for this strategy, such as the antiviral ganciclovir. The aim of this work is to assess the safety and efficiency of a dose-rounding system for intravenous ganciclovir. Dose bands were established for a maximum of 10% variation from the individualized dose. The number of annual preparations that expired before use and the number of ganciclovir vials saved were documented as indicators of efficiency. Toxicity was assessed comparing haematological parameters before and after ganciclovir treatment in a sample of patients who received doses above the theoretical dose (n=121) and in the rest of the cohort (n=129). Five ganciclovir standard doses were established. It was shown that the bulk of the preparations (83.7%) had a maximum variation between the exact dose prescribed and the adjusted dose of ±10%. Three years after its implementation, a mean of 2848 annual preparations were compounded. The average percentage of annual expired preparations was lower than 1% of the total compounded doses, and the dose-rounding system allowed for saving 699 manufactured ganciclovir vials annually. There was no significant difference between haemoglobin and leucocyte levels measured before and after ganciclovir treatment in both groups. Ganciclovir dose banding allows for efficient management of preparations without an increased risk of acute haematological side effects.

The Association between Audit Partner Busyness, Audit Partner Tenure, and Audit Efficiency

The main purpose of this study is to provide evidence of how audit partner busyness and tenure are associated with audit efficiency. Based on a pooled OLS regression analysis of 232 observations from non-financial companies listed on the Omani capital market between 2013 and 2016, the results reveal no association between partner busyness and audit efficiency—although it does improve audit efficiency for clients of the Big 4 audit firms. Moreover, longer partner tenures are shown to significantly enhance audit efficiency. Given the lack of evidence currently available, this study reinforces the importance of examining audit outcomes at the level of audit partner, providing important insights into audit efficiency for regulators, companies, and auditors. Overall, this study is one of few presenting empirical evidence on the importance of the characteristics of partner incentives in the context of audit efficiency.