FAR Newsletter: New 2018 FAR Research Proposals

In this newsletter:

• New 2018 FAR Research Proposals: determinants of audit quality
• Save the date: International FAR Conference 2019
• Pre-announcement: call for papers 2019
• FAR Director Olof Bik appointed as professor Behavioral Research in Auditing
• Links to other relevant sources

New 2018 FAR Research Proposals: determinants of audit quality

Based on its call for research proposals 2018, the FAR invited researchers to submit research proposals that aim to examine the determinants (drivers and root causes) of audit quality. The three topics that were selected for this year were:

• Data Driven Auditing: How are data driven audits (e.g. big data and block chain analytics) impacting audits?
• Audit Quality Indicators: What are the most informative engagement level AQI’s during the audit?
• Audit Committee Involvement: What is the impact of (increased) audit committee involvement with the audit on audit quality?

This call resulted in the submission of eight research proposals by researchers in the Netherlands and abroad, all of which were carefully and thoroughly reviewed by all the FAR board members. So far, after several review rounds, three research teams have been selected for a grant from FAR. This grant is a combination of financial resources and access to data. Discussions are still ongoing with other teams.

The three research projects currently selected in 2018 are:

Research Program B – Empirical Research Projects

• How auditors’ internal and external interactive relationships impact their judgment and decision-making: experimental evidence on the underlying causes of good and poor audit quality – Prof. dr. E. Cardinaels (KU Leuven)
• The drivers and impact of audit committee involvement on audit quality – Prof. dr. A. Vanstraelen (Maastricht University)
• How Can Audit Committee Support Improve Auditors’ Application of Professional Skepticism? – Prof. dr. A. Gold (VU)

Save the date: International FAR Conference 2019

FAR’s fourth International Conference is coming up in the spring of 2019. A conference that will focus on sharing what science can teach us about relevant questions from the auditing practice. During the conference we will also share the intermediate outcomes of the FAR Research Projects, views from practice, ways of further strengthening audit quality, and new research opportunities. This year the international FAR conference will take place on 3 and 4 June 2019 at the Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands (Straatweg 25, 3621 BG, Breukelen). Don’t miss out and save the date now in your agenda to accompany us on these two inspirational days! The conference is free of charge and participants can apply for Dutch credits for permanent education (PE points). Program, registration and further detailed information will be available soon.

Pre-announcement: call for papers 2019

We are proud to inform you that FAR will be announcing its 4th Call for Research Project Proposals (2019) by mid December 2018.

FAR supports projects using multiple research approaches and methods. A strong focus of the program is to expand the understanding of the theoretical substance of auditing by making available archival empirical data collected from audit firms, while the participating audit firms have also agreed to cooperate with survey research, interviews, experiments, and case studies.

Keep an eye on the FAR website for the 2019 Call.

FAR Director Olof Bik appointed professor of Behavioral Research in Auditing

As per September 1st 2018 Olof Bik has been appointed Professor Behavioral Research in Auditing at Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Bik was already at Nyenrode as program director of Accountancy education and will keep fulfilling this role as Academic Director. He is also Managing Director of the Foundation for Auditing Research, residing at the Nyenrode estate. In his research, Bik focusses on the professional behavior and judgement of accountants, the factors influencing this from the perspective of organization, culture and context, and the impact of this on the audit quality.

Read the full news item on the website of Nyenrode Business Universiteit

Links to other relevant sources

• European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress 2019 – http://www.eaa-online.org/r/default.asp?iId=FFMIHL
• International Symposium on Audit Research (ISAR) 2019 – http://www.isarhq.org/index.html
• American Accounting Association 2019 Auditing Section Midyear Meeting – http://aaahq.org/Meetings/Meeting-Info/sessionaltcd/19AUD01
• The European Accounting Review: We Invite you to Submit to a Special Issue – http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/bes/rear-si-auditing?utm_source=CPB&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=JMK03366