Success in failure? Reflections on the changing Spanish audit environment

The 1990s in Spain have witnessed a significant shift in attitudes towards the role of auditing, with promises of more transparent reporting being replaced by talk of audit expectations gaps. This paper explores the changing atmosphere, both through an analysis of one of the most notorious scandals of recent times - involving the Banco Español de Credito (‘Banesto’) - and a more general review of the way the Spanish profession has responded to such downturns in public expectations of auditing. While at first sight, the profession appears to have become more defensive and the audit environment more competitive, the multinational accounting firms do appear to have strengthened their position in the Spanish audit market. Intriguingly, despite public expressions of concern with the quality and capabilities of auditing and the imposition of large fines on audit firms for inadequate audit work, proposed ‘solutions’ for improving audit quality include the establishment of a self-regulated audit regime and reductions in auditor liability. The Spanish experience allows for some timely reflections on the significance of an audit expectations gap and highlights the importance of viewing the audit function from an international perspective.     

Beyond the audit expectations gap

In seeking to encourage a broader, European dimension to research on auditing and audit expectations, this paper examines the recent history of auditing and its regulation in Spain within the context of international developments in the accounting profession. The more expansive role being assigned to the audit function in Spain following the implementation of the Fourth and Eighth European Company Law Directives is generally viewed by Spanish writers as a progressive step, with largely positive effects. Such views stand in some contrast to the history of auditing in Britain, where the prevalence of an ‘audit expectations gap’ suggests a rather more problematic state of affairs. In exploring both the Spanish context and the nature of the audit expectations gap in Britain, however, the paper reveals a common underlying belief in the potential of auditing. Through this comparative analysis, and by drawing on recent audit research challenging certain long-held assumptions about auditing, a number of questions are asked of the current form and status of auditing and auditing expectations in Britain and Spain. In so doing, the paper raises issues that go beyond the current confines of the audit expectations gap debate, stressing, in particular, the need for greater consideration to be given, through less Anglo-centric analyses, to the varying nature and capabilities of European audit practice.     

The development of the role of the audit in the Czech Republic

As the economies in Central Europe have commenced their transformation from centrally planned to market-led economies, each country has implemented a new legal framework for accounting and auditing. This provides a unique opportunity to research the implementation of aspects of accounting and auditing well known to Western market economies into different economic contexts. In particular, it provides an opportunity to revisit the role of the independent audit. This paper contributes to the research on the developing of auditing in Central Europe by analysing the role of the audit in the Czech Republic. It covers aspects of both regulation and practice and, in order to gain more understanding of how the audit role is developing in the Czech Republic, focuses on three areas: influences on the Czech audit legislation; the position of the audit report and perceptions of the objectives of the audit in the Czech Republic. After a brief review of the published literature on accounting and audit in the Czech Republic, the paper studies some of the country's recent economic and legislative developments in relation to auditing. These developments are put into the context of auditing before and after the ‘Velvet revolution’ of 1989. The paper then concentrates on the influences on the development of Czech audit legislation by comparing aspects of the Czech audit legislation with the German and UK equivalents. This comparison highlights some anomalies in the Czech legislation. The Czech audit legislation is then put into the local context based on a review of the contents of the audit report and its publication with interviews among a selection of users and preparers about how the audit is perceived.     

Does audit report information improve financial distress prediction over Altman's traditional Z‐Score model?

We analyze empirically the usefulness of combining accounting and auditing data in order to predict corporate financial distress. Concretely, we examine whether audit report information incrementally predicts distress over a traditional accounting model: the Altman's Z‐Score model. Although the audit report seems to play a critical part in financial distress prediction because auditors should warn investors about any default risks, this is the first study that uses audit report disclosures for predicting purposes. From a dataset of 1,821 Spanish distressed private firms, we analyze a sample of distressed and non‐distressed firms and develop logit prediction models. Our results show that while the only accounting model registers a classification accuracy of 77%, combined models of accounting and auditing data exhibit considerably higher accuracy (about 87%). Specifically, our findings indicate that the number of disclosures included in the audit report, as well as disclosures related to a firm's going concern status, firms’ assets, and firms’ recognition of revenues and expenses contribute the most to the prediction. Our empirical evidence has implications for financial distress practice. For managers, our study highlights the importance of audit report disclosures for anticipating a financial distress situation. For regulators and auditors, our study underscores the importance of recent changes in regulation worldwide intended to increase auditor's transparency through a more informative audit report.     

《审计法》涉及的若干基础性问题的再思考——基于十九大报告的视角

审计法条背后体现的是审计理论逻辑,《审计法》的不完善,很大的原因是相关的法条没有从审计理论上分析清楚,因此以公共委托代理关系、公共经管责任、审计主题为基础,对我国政府审计制度的六个基础性问题进行学理分析,并据此提出完善《审计法》的建议。这六个问题是：为什么审计,审计谁,审计什么,谁来审计,如何审计以及审计成果如何应用。     

Reinventing auditing,redefining consulting and independence

This paper deals with recent developments in auditing, taking KPMG's ‘business measurement process’ as its example. From this example it is discussed how and why auditing is currently being ‘reinvented’. The ‘reinvention’ of auditing, it is argued, represents a fundamental break with the established epistemological dualism between auditing and management advisory services,¹ that is central to most literature on auditor independence, including the European Commission's Green Paper. Consequently, it is not only auditing that is being reinvented, it is also consulting and independence, and the consequences of this rupture are finally discussed. The paper concludes that the auditor cannot be independent because auditing is no longer independent.     

审计模式演进及发展的路径分析

审计模式的变革体现了我国的现实需要和国际趋同,风险导向审计模式突破了传统范畴,适应了新形势的要求。审计模式的演进和发展对提升我国的审计质量,发展我国审计事业具有现实意义。本文从审计模式演进的背景入手,介绍了风险导向审计模式的特点与种类,分析了审计模式变革在新审计准则中的体现及现代风险导向审计存有问题及现状。     

论信息系统审计准则在我国的需求与发展

信息系统审计是计算机审计的两个发展方向之一.我国信息系统审计准则的研究与规范尚处于起步阶段.在关涉内容、详略程度、审计实质和完善程度方面,我国的信息系统审计准则与国外存在较大差距,需要大幅完善,以满足社会需求.我国信息系统审计准则的发展策略主要有:合理借鉴国外成熟的准则体系,全面设计准则完善方案,科学建立准则内容框架.     

审计实践教学平台构建与应用探讨

现有的审计实践教学在课堂讲授、案例教学、审计模拟实验、审计实习等方面存在诸多亟待解决的问题,这造成审计课程实践环节的教学效果较差,因而审计实践教学方式的改革创新势在必行.为此,应该在系统研究开设审计实践课程的可行性、认真规划审计实践课程教学计划的前提下,将案例教学、审计模拟实验、审计实习三者有机结合,构建“三位一体”立体式的审计实践教学模式.     

论政府绩效管理与绩效审计

通过对我国政府绩效管理框架的描述以及政府绩效管理体系下政府行为对审计目标、审计范围和审计质量等方面的影响分析得出:政府绩效管理与绩效审计之间存在密切联系,且这种联系是多向的、混合的,有时甚至还是负向的。为此,针对我国绩效管理方式、政府行为给绩效审计造成的不利影响,提出改进我国绩效审计的若干政策建议。     

会计与审计：理论渊源与发展路径

会计与审计总是如影相随,20世纪50年代管理会计兴起的同时,管理审计也开始萌芽。现在看来,会计与审计发展的根本动因是受托责任,两者的终极目标是价值增值,财务会计和管理会计的融合是大势所趋,最终走向以价值链会计为核心的“泛会计”;财务审计和管理审计同样走向融合,最终走向以风险和治理为导向的增值审计。     

Lessons from Ireland: arbitrating dismissal disputes

In the UK there has been increasing concern about the growing ‘legalism’ of the Industrial Tribunal System. An alternative is the system in the Republic of Ireland which uses a ‘Rights Commissioner’ under a ‘regulated arbitration’ system. This article examines the lessons to be drawn from Ireland and their relevance to reform in the UK.     

我国国家审计体制改革研究述评

国家审计体制改革一直为审计理论界所关注和探讨,各种观点纷纷提出,大致可以分为改良观、立法观、双轨制、司法观和独立观五种。独立性问题是国家审计体制改革研究的关注点,但是对独立性含义的笼统使用使得独立性问题又成为研究的分歧点。国家审计体制改革应能同时满足政府和公众的审计需要,应从政治学和公共行政学等学科引入新的研究视角。     

持续经营审计意见与上市公司价值评估——基于公司财务报表估值的角度

从财务报表估值的角度,利用我国2000—2015年沪深A股上市公司数据,采用PSM倾向得分匹配法,研究持续经营审计意见作为权益市场的风险传递机制,其对上市公司价值评估产生的影响。研究发现,持续经营审计意见能够导致公众对财务困境公司的市场价值认可方式的转变,即随着首次持续经营非标意见的出具,公众对上市公司估值采取的双报表关注转变为重视资产负债表、轻视利润表的偏向关注,且这种关注是伴随着持续经营审计意见骤然出现的,而非随着财务困境的加深逐渐出现。进一步研究发现,持续经营审计意见的出具导致我国资本市场看低存货和无形资产,重视固定资产和长期负债的影响,因此持续经营非标意见为公司的清算或者调整风险提供了增量信息。     

国家审计“免疫系统”建设:目标定位与路径选择

国家审计作为国家宏观经济监督系统的重要组成部分,应按照法定职责将维护国家安全和促进经济协调及可持续发展作为审计工作的主要目标,将推进民主法治、维护人民群众利益作为根本目标.在路径选择上,应进一步树立科学审计理念,提高审计免疫能力,坚持"全面审计,突出重点"的审计工作方针,推进问责机制的建立,加强审计体系间的业务协作.     

县(市、区)党政主要领导干部经济责任同步审计初探

经济责任审计是我国特有的审计模式和干部监督机制,党政主要领导干部经济责任同步审计是新时期经济责任审计的新方式和新要求。作为一种新的审计形式,必然存在许多新的问题。笔者结合审计实践,分析了党政主要领导干部经济责任同步审计需解决的主要问题,提出了党政主要领导干部经济责任同步审计的主要方法,为进一步推动党政主要领导干部经济责任同步审计进行了有益的探索。     

Performance of the internal audit department under ERP systems: empirical evidence from Taiwanese firms

In this study, the performance of the internal audit department (IAD) and its contribution to a company under enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was examined. It is anticipated that this will provide insight into the factors perceived to be crucial to a company’s effectiveness. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using the sample of Taiwanese companies. Using mail survey procedures, we elicited perceptions from key internal auditors about the ERP system and auditing software, as well as their opinions concerning the IAD’s effectiveness and its contribution within a company. Data were analysed using the partial least square (PLS) regression to test the hypotheses. Drawing upon a sample of Taiwanese firms, the study suggests that a firm can improve the performance of the IAD through an enterprise-wide integrated, effective ERP system and appropriate auditing software. At the same time, the performance of the IAD can also contribute significantly to the company. The results also show that investments in computer-assisted auditing techniques (CAATs) are crucial due to their tremendous effectiveness in regard to the performance of the IAD and for the contributions CAATs can make to a company.     

International competition and pay,working time and employment: exploring the processes of adjustment

The internationalisation of markets, competition and regulation is increasingly recognised. So far, however, debate about the effects has been largely speculative. This article examines the UK engineering industry. Survey evidence suggests that international comparisons are relatively unimportant, little benchmarking is going on and that stability characterises pay and working time arrangements. Further interview evidence explains that this is because pay and working time are set with employee expectations in mind, whereas it is the treatment of unit costs that reflects international pressures. As a consequence there has been substantial reductions in employment as well as some important changes in work organisation, even if there has been little change in pay or working time systems. In effect, it suggests that there is a form of ‘implicit contract’ taking place. A wider implication is that the main impetus for the ‘Europeanisation’ of industrial relations is likely to come from the growing convergence of costs rather than pressures for wage parity.     

External transparency or internal capture? The role of third‐party statements in adding value to corporate environmental reports11

The paper seeks to evaluate the extent to which verification statements appearing in published corporate environmental reports promote organizational transparency and the empowerment of external parties. To this end, a detailed content analysis was performed on such statements appearing in reports short‐listed for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Environmental Reporting Awards for the first seven years of the scheme since its inception in 1991/92. Key issues focused upon included those of verifier independence, degree of rigour applied to verification work, whether the performance dimension is meaningfully addressed in verification statements and the extent to which such statements may be considered to ‘add value’ for external constituencies. Our analysis of the basic characteristics of these ‘leading edge’ statements raises fundamental questions concerning the independence of verification. There is much evidence of auditee control over the process, with an overriding emphasis on the environmental management systems at the expense of commentary on performance‐based ‘first order’ audit. The disturbing conclusion revealed is that current verification practice exhibits a ‘managerial turn’ rather than representing corporate commitment to external transparency and accountability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

浅谈建设项目全过程跟踪审计应关注的重点

目前,跟踪审计已经渐渐受到人们的广泛关注,它对于提高财政资金的使用效益,规避审计风险,更好地发挥审计免疫系统功能起到积极的作用,本文结合工作实际情况,对项目跟踪审计进行了简要阐述。