Explore the vast range of titles available.

Purpose This paper aims to explore organisational intentions to use Big Data and Big Data Analytics (BDA) in external auditing. This study conceptualises different contingent motivating factors based on prior literature and the views of auditors, business clients and regulators regarding the external auditing practices and BDA. Design/methodology/approach Using the contingency theory approach, a literature review and 21 in-depth interviews with three different types of respondents, the authors explore factors motivating the use of BDA in external auditing. Findings The study presents a few key findings regarding the use of BD and BDA in external auditing. By disclosing a comprehensive view of current practices, the authors identify two groups of motivating factors (company-related and institutional) and the circumstances in which to use BDA, which will lead to the desired outcomes of audit companies. In addition, the authors emphasise the relationship of audit companies, business clients and regulators. The research indicates a trend whereby external auditors are likely to focus on the procedures not only to satisfy regulatory requirements but also to provide more value for business clients; hence, BDA may be one of the solutions. Research limitations/implications The conclusions of this study are based on interview data collected from 21 participants. There is a limited number of large companies in Lithuania that are open to co-operation. Future studies may investigate the issues addressed in this study further by using different research sites and a broader range of data. Practical implications Current practices and outcomes of using BD and BDA by different types of respondents differ significantly. The authors wish to emphasise the need for audit companies to implement a BD-driven approach and to customise their audit strategy to gain long-term efficiency. Furthermore, the most challenging factors for using BDA emerged, namely, long-term audit agreements and the business clients’ sizes, structures and information systems. Originality/value The original contribution of this study lies in the empirical investigation of the comprehensive state-of-the-art of BDA usage and motivating factors in external auditing. Moreover, the study examines the phenomenon of BD as one of the most recent and praised developments in the external auditing context. Finally, a contingency-based theoretical framework has been proposed. In addition, the research also makes a methodological contribution by using the approach of constructivist grounded theory for the analysis of qualitative data.

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to provide a selective and comprehensive literature review based on previous research within auditing and enterprise systems (ES). This is done to identify research gaps, propose directions for future research and guide researchers and practitioners on how to better synthesize these two areas. Interaction between ES and auditing is in need of more academic research and practical investigation, which may lead to the development of better solutions, guidelines and frameworks.Design methodology approach - A total of 31 academic studies from 2000 to 2010 were included in this study. After reading these studies, different areas had been selected and were addressed in five categories: the future of audit in ES environment, modern audit tools and techniques, changes of auditors' role, differences in perceptions between financial auditors and IT auditors, ERP and compliance with regulations.Findings - ES implementation results in audit process reengineering and increases the need of continuous monitoring of transactions. The presence of IT auditors becomes critical, while financial auditors are asked to enhance their skills in order to be able to conduct effective audit tests. Modern audit tools and techniques must be used so that internal control processes will be appropriate for an ES.Research limitations implications - It is not an exhaustive list and some relevant publications might have been overlooked. Much literature has been scanned by reading the title only. In order to conduct a comprehensive review the topical focus was kept relatively narrow on auditing and ES.Practical implications - Researchers and practitioners must take into consideration the interaction between ES and auditing in order to advance research in this area. Companies must understand the changes that occur in the audit procedure due to ES implementation, so that they will design efficient audit tests and auditors must enhance their knowledge in order to be able to conduct these tests effectively.Originality value - This study uncovers and classifies current research within auditing and ES (focusing mostly on ERP systems).

 Purpose – The objective of this study is to examine audit firms’ maturity in adopting emerging technologies across three dimensions: people, process and technology, and to identify the factors that shape this maturity. Design/methodology/approach – Using a structured maturity assessment framework, the study adopted a quantitative approach, employing descriptive statistics, MANCOV A, MANOV A and univariate regressions on data from 166 experienced auditors. Findings – Findings reveal that audit firms are currently at a moderate level of maturity. However, Big Four firms are transitioning from moderate to advanced stages, while non-Big Four firms are progressing from early to moderate stages. Organizational support and the use of emerging technologies for complex audit evidence collection are associated with higher maturity levels. Furthermore, frequent use of emerging technologies for audit evidence collection and auditor satisfaction are positively correlated with maturity. Research limitations/implications – The study uses auditors’ perceptions of adoption, as captured through a survey, which may differ from actual adoption due to social desirability bias. Practical implications – The moderate level of emerging technology adoption, with non-Big Four firms below this level and Big Four firms transitioning toward the advanced stage, offers a nuanced understanding of the persistent adoption gap. The findings also emphasize the importance of formal, firm-wide policies and guidelines tailored to appropriate technologies that enhance adoption maturity and auditor satisfaction. Furthermore, it is crucial for audit firms to integrate and frequently use emerging technologies when performing complex procedures, such as analytical procedures and inspections, to progress toward maturity. These findings underscore the need for proactive regulatory guidance to advance technology adoption in auditing. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the maturity level of emerging technology adoption in external audits using a structured assessment framework.

Purpose The objective of this study is to examine audit firms’ maturity in adopting emerging technologies across three dimensions: people, process and technology, and to identify the factors that shape this maturity. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured maturity assessment framework, the study adopted a quantitative approach, employing descriptive statistics, MANCOVA, MANOVA and univariate regressions on data from 166 experienced auditors. Findings Findings reveal that audit firms are currently at a moderate level of maturity. However, Big Four firms are transitioning from moderate to advanced stages, while non-Big Four firms are progressing from early to moderate stages. Organizational support and the use of emerging technologies for complex audit evidence collection are associated with higher maturity levels. Furthermore, frequent use of emerging technologies for audit evidence collection and auditor satisfaction are positively correlated with maturity. Research limitations/implications The study uses auditors’ perceptions of adoption, as captured through a survey, which may differ from actual adoption due to social desirability bias. Practical implications The moderate level of emerging technology adoption, with non-Big Four firms below this level and Big Four firms transitioning toward the advanced stage, offers a nuanced understanding of the persistent adoption gap. The findings also emphasize the importance of formal, firm-wide policies and guidelines tailored to appropriate technologies that enhance adoption maturity and auditor satisfaction. Furthermore, it is crucial for audit firms to integrate and frequently use emerging technologies when performing complex procedures, such as analytical procedures and inspections, to progress toward maturity. These findings underscore the need for proactive regulatory guidance to advance technology adoption in auditing. Originality/value This study is the first to explore the maturity level of emerging technology adoption in external audits using a structured assessment framework.

Purpose Prior research has examined the impact of corporate governance mechanisms, including external auditing, on accounting restatements likelihood. However, little is known about auditor’s monitoring role in restatement disclosure practices. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by investigating the impact of auditor’s oversight on the timeliness of accounting restatement disclosures as measured by the length of the restatement dark period. Design/methodology/approach The study examines panel data from a sample of restating publicly traded US firms. Negative binomial regression is used to analyze the data because the dependent variable is a count variable and is over-dispersed. Findings The main study’s results indicate that longer auditor tenure and non-audit services provision improve restatement disclosure timeliness. Conversely, companies whose auditors exerted abnormally high levels of audit effort have longer restatement dark periods. Originality/value This study is the first archival research that focuses on auditor’s monitoring role and its impact on the timeliness of restatement disclosures. By doing so, this study contributes to the auditing academic research, professional practice and regulation by providing empirical evidence on an exasperating issue for all participants in the financial markets. In addition, it provides a better understanding of auditor’s monitoring role in the accounting restatement process and offers insights to policymakers, practitioners and investors interested in corporate financial transparency and corporate governance.

We develop a theoretical model that combines the auditing literature with the frictional banking system and the monetary and supervisory policies. Banks have incentives to misrepresent the quality of collateral. The cost of faking collateral hinges on the production of auditing services and the central bank’s supervision intensity. The reliance on private auditing creates opportunities for banks to falsify the quality of audits. An increase in dividends of private assets worsens these frictions and increases the haircuts when government debts are sufficiently scarce. A monetary easing coupled with an opaque audit sector—which provides fraudulent audits for a sufficiently small fee—exacerbates the paucity of safe collateral, causing the overproduction of audits and reducing welfare. The supervisory policy that eliminates incentive problems generated by the asset misrepresentation is feasible, but it is suboptimal.

Little is known about the role of the supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in reducing negative social capital, although these organisations, due to their place in macrostructure - states, should play an important role in improving the functioning of the public sector. The research problem concentrates on understanding negative social capital as low and anti-social capital and the role of SAIs in reducing negative social capital. We used qualitative and quantitative research. Studies have shown that SAIs can catalyse negative social capital through improper auditing standardisation and integrity selfassessment. SAI's effectiveness in combating corruption, a crucial factor in negative social capital, is declared in official documents but not achieved in practice. Therefore, although the SAI role in the macrostructure - states is undoubtful, the SAI influence on reducing low social capital is questionable. The study contributes to better understanding of state governance and socio-economics problems and is valuable for practitioners.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the continuous auditing system based on continuous monitoring and its implementation methodology; also to present a systematic case study of actual continuous auditing systems implemented in the financial industry and the manufacturing industry.Design methodology approach - The paper examines the method of implementing the continuous auditing system in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment, and suggests how the continuous auditing system can take firm root by looking at the successful introduction of the continuous auditing system in the financial industry and the manufacturing industry.Findings - The proposed method of implementing the continuous auditing system has the 2stage approaches which can be applied to various kinds of companies in the ERP-based environment. In addition, the proposed cases have the important practical implications acquired in the process of implementing the continuous auditing system in the financial industry and the manufacturing industry.Practical implications - This study will help many corporations facing various types of corruption or circumvention of internal control, with their internal auditing, by showing them how to use the continuous auditing system to reinforce internal control. Also, it will make the independent auditor understand audited company's continuous monitoring system and lead to use the infrastructure for efficient and effective external auditing.Originality value - The proposed method and cases of implementing the continuous auditing system offer an innovative approach to auditing in the ERP-based environment because it facilitates both internal auditor and external auditor to achieve the audit objectives efficiently and effectively.

Despite several studies on the supreme audit institutions (SAIs), the research question of what maximises SAI auditors' utility remains unanswered. Since SAIs are key public suppliers of audit services, it is essential to determine how they perform their duties and obligations to the stakeholders. This paper follows the grounded theory paradigm using qualitative and quantitative methods. This study is pioneering in many ways because the motivation of SAI's auditors is rarely the subject of research. We formulate the model of SAI's utility and determine the SAI auditor's motivators. The study results prove that SAIs seek to impose their system of preferences through audits and derive usefulness from this. From a long-term perspective, this may lead to a negative autonomy of SAI. Additionally, the study reveals that auditors strive to maximise monetary income and perceive employment stability as a motivational factor. However, job stability could lead to lower auditors' engagement during the audits. The study proposes a pay-for-performance system, which does not reduce the auditor's motivation linked with job stability and simultaneously encourages auditors to achieve better job results. This study contributes to a better understanding of the problems associated with interactions of public officials inside the state.

Purpose - This study aims to examine the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) number 520 relating to analytical procedures (APs) and adapt relevant aspects of prior studies on APs to the Egyptian audit context. The study investigates the extent of use of APs in Egypt during the three main stages of an audit by size of firms and level of staff. It examines auditors' perceptions of the frequency and effectiveness of different types of APs in achieving a selected set of audit objectives. The study also identifies the types of assurance provided by APs and their influence on detailed testing as well as analyzing the role of auditing standards in the context of the use of APs.Design methodology approach - The design and research method are empirical using a questionnaire survey to collect information on actual uses of APs from 14 audit firms in Egypt which audit the 100 actively traded companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) as measured by the EGX 100 index. The survey was carried out between 2008 and 2009.Findings - The results of the study showed relatively low use of APs by Egyptian auditors with wide variations in its use by Big 4 and other auditing firms. Auditors from Big 4 firms are found to use APs to a greater extent than auditors from non-Big 4 firms. Also, the reliance on APs tends to differ by auditors rank and position. The majority of auditors consider APs useful in achieving audit objectives. Audit firms of all size continue to emphasize judgment-based compared to quantitatively based procedures. The results also indicated a lack of confidence in the use of APs as substantive procedures. Finally, the study confirmed prior research findings in that auditing standards are regarded as most effective in codifying existing large firms practice. It was found that ISA 520 has been least effective in stimulating change in the Egyptian audit practice.Research limitations implications - The different economic, political, educational, and culture environment in Egypt may restrict the generalisability of this study results.Practical implications - In order to increase the use of APs by Egyptian auditors in the various stages of the audit engagement, auditors need to understand the requirements of the Egyptian Auditing Standards regarding their use. Auditors also need to be aware of the application of various APs techniques, especially those associated with statistics and mathematical models. Educational institutions and the Egyptian Association of Accountants and Auditors must play significant role in educating auditors about APs techniques and their use in planning, testing and final review of the financial statements.Originality value - This paper contributes to an understanding of the nature and uses of APs within the Egyptian culture and economic context. The study will stimulate further research in understanding the importance of the use of APs in audit engagements in different perspectives.