Newsletter April 2021
30 April 2021
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Latest publications:
- Paper on "Audit Firm Culture: Recent Developments and Trends in the Literature"
- FAR Practice Note on "The measurement of audit quality in the Netherlands"
- FAR Literature Review on "The measurement of audit quality in the Netherlands"
Also in this newsletter
- Online FAR Masterclass by Prof. dr. Christian Hofmann on "Internal control quality and audit quality" on 18 May 2021
- Online FAR International Conference "Auditing - The Human Factor" on Monday 21 June 2021
- BAFA Audit & Assurance Conference with FAR paper
- FAR Young Auditing Academic Brown Bag Seminar
- EY publishes article based on FAR research project "How can accounting firms give substance to the concept of the learning organization?" (Dutch)
- Upcoming events – save the dates!
Latest publications
We have three publications available on our website.
The first publication is a Paper entitled "Audit Firm Culture: Recent Developments and Trends in the Literature".
This paper was written by the team of Prof. Jean C. Bedard, Prof. dr. Olof Bik RA, Prof. dr. Ann Vanstraelen en Cristina Thomas Alberti.
This paper synthesizes research on audit firm culture (AFC) over the past decade, reviewing recent developments in research on factors instilling culture in audit firms, and how culture influences audit quality and auditors’ work attitudes. The research
teams developed and applied a three-phase model based on prior research and professional guidance (IAASB, 2014), which maps cultural embedding mechanisms (EMs, visible manifestations and organizational conditions to establish culture), perceptions
of existing culture, and con-sequences of culture.
The second publication is a FAR Practice Note and is entitled "The measurement of audit quality in the Netherlands"
This practice note was written by WP Tjibbe Bosman RA MSc for his FAR PhD study 2020B07.
Several committees, institutions, and practitioners are currently working on defining appropriate, and reliable Audit Quality Indicators (AQIs). This project deliberates on a wide range of audit quality measures applied in international academic auditing research. The project discusses the availability of these measures, their (potential) information value, limitations, and makes practical recommendations for the related data sources. The key findings are presented in Appendix A.
This research project informs audit practitioners who manage and design the quality control (monitoring) systems of audit firms, those involved in preparing the transparency reports, and policymakers and regulators in their considerations of AQI’s.
The third and final publication is a Literature Review and is entitled "The measurement of audit quality in the Netherlands", also written by WP Tjibbe Bosman RA MSc.
Several committees, institutions, and practitioners are currently working on defining appropriate, and reliable Audit Quality Indicators (AQIs). The experiences the Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) made with collecting audit quality data may inform the search for appropriate and reliable AQIs. This paper discusses different types of audit (quality) measures and their availability in the Netherlands. Furthermore, it discusses the (potential) information value, limitations, and recommendations for a wide range of audit quality measures and sources.
Read the Literature Review here
Online FAR Masterclass by Prof. dr. Christian Hofmann on "Internal control quality and audit quality", on 18 May 2021
On Tuesday, 18 May 2021, from 3:30 - 5:00 pm CET, FAR will organize an online Masterclass on "Internal control quality and audit quality".
Registration is still open via Eventbrite, via this link and closes on 17 May 2021, 11:00 pm CET.
What is this Masterclass about?
The study of Christian Hofmann and his team is aimed at investigating two interrelated themes: (1) Understanding the relevance of internal control quality for audit quality, and (2) identifying an information channel that (may) allow auditors to more accurately and efficiently assess internal control quality.
Please note that this Masterclass will be in English.
Online FAR International Conference "Auditing - The Human Factor" on Monday 21 June 2021
On Monday 21 June 2021 from 12.30 till 5.30 pm CET, we will be hosting another interesting online version of our International Conference. The program for the day is:
- Professor Ann Vanstraelen (Maastricht University) & Dr. Ulrike Thürheimer (UNSW, Sidney) on "The auditor’s evaluation of misstatements – exploration, drivers, and consequences"
- Professor Reggy Hooghiemstra (University of Groningen) on "Why some auditors thrive while others struggle – The effects of multiple team membership on audit quality"
- Professor Eddy Cardinaels (KU Leuven) & Dr. Evelien Reusen (RSM, Erasmus University Rotterdam) on "Imitation behavior of junior auditors: Does it enhance or hamper audit quality?"
- Professor Shane Dikolli (Darden School of Business, University of Virginia) over "CEO behavioral integrity, auditor responses, and firm outcomes"
During the break you can listen to a podcast with Tjibbe Bosman on "Robotic Process Automation for the Extraction of Audit Information".
Check this page on our website for the full program.
You can register now for the online Conference.
BAFA Audit & Assurance Conference with FAR Paper
On May 6 and 7 2021, the online conference of the BAFA will take place.
A wide variety of research topics will be presented, such as auditor knowledge and experience, audit regulation, audit quality, ethics and fraud, joint audits, expanded auditor's report, among other very interesting topics.
One of the presentations on Friday, May 7 will be given by Prof. Dr. Anna Gold. Along with Prof. Joseph Brazel, Dr. Justin Leiby and Dr. Tammie Schaeffer, she has written a paper on "Can audit committee support improve auditors' application of professional skepticism?" This paper is part of the FAR research project 2018B04.
Read more about the FAR research project here.
Information on the BAFA conference.
FAR Young Auditing Academic Brown Bag Seminar of 16 April
After a successful start in November, FAR organized a second Brown Bag Seminar for young academics and practitioners. In these seminars, PhD students get the opportunity to meet, pitch their research ideas, exchange ideas and receive valuable feedback and suggestions from their fellow colleagues in academia and practice. This time, PhD student James Zhang presented his research outlines on the effect of auditors' network strength on audit quality. Following existing literature, he suggests that a bipartite network with a strong bond will enhance the transfer of tacit knowledge, and thereby increasing auditors' performance. His research is part of the 2016B02 project of Reggy Hooghiemstra, who will also present at the 2021 conference.
FAR co-finances 11 talented PhD students on various FAR research projects. As of 2020, FAR is funding five PhD research projects as well, all addressing current and relevant topics for the audit profession. Please visit our PhD-page for more information.
If you are a young academic or young prof and would like to participate in one of the upcoming seminars, please send an email to info@foundationforauditingresearch.org
EY publishes article based on FAR research project "How can accounting firms give substance to the concept of the learning organization?" (Dutch)
EY recently published an article based on a FAR research project, in which they posed seven questions to Therese Grohnert, Wim Gijselaers and Roger Meuwissen of Maastricht University, who are jointly researching learning within accounting firms.
In brief:
- A learning organization tries to summarize and share implicit knowledge of accountants.
- A learning organization seeks opportunities to continuously learn and develop and improve itself.
- Learning has become even more important due to the pandemic.
To read more about their Research project, please visit our website.
Upcoming events – save the dates!
Online FAR Masterclass – Prof. Dr. Christian Hofmann
On Tuesday 18 May 2021 FAR will host an online Masterclass on "Internal control quality and audit quality"
by Prof. dr. Christian Hofmann.
This Masterclass is open for registration. You can read more earlier in this newsletter.
FAR International Conference 2021
On Monday 21 June from 12.30 to 17.30 CET, FAR will organize another online International Conference. The theme this year is "Auditing - the Human Factor". Register now for an interesting afternoon! Registration is now open, see also earlier in this newsletter.
Do you have suggestions on how to improve our newsletter or news you would like to share with us? Please let us know by sending an email to info@foundationforauditingresearch.org
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