Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in auditing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are gaining increasing attention regarding their potential applications in auditing. One major challenge of their adoption in auditing is the lack of explainability of their results. As AI/ML matures, so do techniques that can enhance the interpretability of AI, a.k.a., Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). This paper introduces XAI techniques to auditing practitioners and researchers. We discuss how different XAI techniques can be used to meet the requirements of audit documentation and audit evidence standards. Furthermore, we demonstrate popular XAI techniques, especially Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME) and Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), using an auditing task of assessing the risk of material misstatement. This paper contributes to accounting information systems research and practice by introducing XAI techniques to enhance the transparency and interpretability of AI applications applied to auditing tasks.     

Accounting and auditing with blockchain technology and artificial Intelligence: A literature review

This paper surveys the published work on how blockchain technology will impact accounting in general, but AI-enabled auditing specifically. The purpose is to investigate how blockchain technology can improve transparency and trust in accounting practice and how professionals can use blockchain data to improve decision-making, based on the qualities of immutability, append-only, shared, verified, and agreed-upon (i.e., consensus-driven) blockchain data. The multi-party validation of blockchain protocols adds real-time trusted data for the AI systems used by auditors to improve assurance and efficiency. This review summarizes four themes emerging from the literature focusing on how blockchain technology has changed record-keeping in accounting: event approach to accounting; real-time accounting; triple entry-accounting and continuous auditing. The research interprets the findings using agency theory and stakeholder theory to advance how using blockchain to mitigate information asymmetry and improve stakeholder collaborations is understood. The investigation also summarizes the challenges and clarifies organizations’ reasons to be cautious about adopting blockchain. Lastly, the study suggests that future researchers use this study in two ways that enrich blockchain literature: first, to apply the themes and answer the questions identified within this review to improve the business methods of practitioners and policymakers; and second, to encourage stakeholders such as practitioners, system designers/developers, and policymakers to collaborate in designing blockchain ecosystems that suit accounting and auditing as they transform digitally.     

审计质量保障的权利配置研究视角

现行审计质量问题是审计委托权配置失范的外部性表现.提高审计质量的有效措施是对现行会计流程控制权配置范式进行变迁,改变目前企业管理当局集会计政策选择权、会计人员聘任权及审计委托权于一身的状况,使会计信息供应脱离管理当局的直接控制而由财务报告委员会及其所属的独立会计机构全程负责,此时高质量审计服务成为信息生产者、信息使用者、企业管理当局及注册会计师的共同需求,审计质量有了保障.     

Accounting and Auditing at the Time of Blockchain Technology: A Research Agenda

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology expected to have significant impacts on the accounting and auditing profession. This study, applicable and timely for both accounting and auditing scholars and practitioners, explores blockchain technology and its main implications for the accounting and auditing profession. The research question addressed in this study is: What are the major themes emerging from academic research and professional reports and websites debating blockchain technology in the accounting and auditing context? A literature review of academic literature and professional reports and websites is performed to identify a taxonomy of emerging themes. The study finds that the most discussed themes in scholarly works and professional sources are governance, transparency and trust issues in the blockchain ecosystem, blockchain‐enabled continuous audits, smart contract applications and the paradigmatic shift in accountants' and auditors' roles. Based on these four themes, practical implications for accountants and auditors on how to approach the blockchain development are provided. Moreover, this study offers suggestions for future research on accounting and auditing in the blockchain era.     

会计稳健性与审计收费:基于审计风险控制策略的分析

随着监管趋于更加严格,会计师事务所承担的法律责任和赔偿也越来越高。如何采取有效措施防范和控制风险,最大可能地降低损失,已经成为会计师事务所的重要议题。本文对2001至2006年我国上市公司展开研究后发现:作为一种风险控制策略,强制审计客户保持一定的会计稳健性能够降低审计风险,从而降低审计收费;但稳健性发挥作用受到法律环境和诉讼风险的影响,仅对同时发行A股和其他类型股票的企业起到了显著作用。较高审计收费的风险控制策略与强制客户保持一定稳健性的风险控制策略之间存在替代关系。     

Need for achievement, need for affiliation and the academic performance and career intentions of accounting students

Booming enrollments have caused many universities to limit the size of accounting programs, with selection usually being determined by intellectual and past performance variables. It is proposed that two nonintellectual variables, need for achievement and need for affiliation also be considered as selection criteria. In this study, need for achievement correlated positively with overall GPA, the course grade in auditing, and intent to make public accounting a career. Need for affiliation correlated negatively with overall GPA and the course grade in auditing, and positively with time spent socializing with friends.     

Natural Language Processing in Accounting,Auditing and Finance: A Synthesis of the Literature with a Roadmap for Future Research

Natural language processing (NLP) is a part of the artificial intelligence domain focused on communication between humans and computers. NLP attempts to address the inherent problem that while human communications are often ambiguous and imprecise, computers require unambiguous and precise messages to enable understanding. The accounting, auditing and finance domains frequently put forth textual documents intended to communicate a wide variety of messages, including, but not limited to, corporate financial performance, management's assessment of current and future firm performance, analysts’ assessments of firm performance, domain standards and regulations as well as evidence of compliance with relevant standards and regulations. NLP applications have been used to mine these documents to obtain insights, make inferences and to create additional methodologies and artefacts to advance knowledge in accounting, auditing and finance. This paper synthesizes the extant literature in NLP in accounting, auditing and finance to establish the state of current knowledge and to identify paths for future research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors Influencing the Presence of Ethics and CSR Stand-alone Courses in the Accounting Masters Curricula: An International Study

Abstract

This paper provides a web-content analysis of the curriculum and subjects of the top accounting and auditing masters identified in the Eduniversal 2012–2013 ratings of the best business schools in the world. The main aim of this study is to analyze the influence exerted by different factors on the extent to which accounting programs are incorporating ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) stand-alone courses. The findings of this study do not offer a very optimistic outlook on the extent to which the accounting and auditing top masters ranked by the Eduniversal ratings are offering stand-alone courses related to ethics and CSR. Also, the findings suggest that the presence of ethics and CSR stand-alone subjects in the accounting and auditing masters analyzed is partially explained by the size and the cultural influence exerted by the geographical location.     

后安然时代的会计与审计——评美国《2002年萨班斯—奥克斯利法案》及其对会计、审计发展的影响

针对安然等公司会计造假案件所暴露的会计、审计、公司治理、证券监管等问题 ,美国国会作出了迅速反应 ,制定了《2 0 0 2年萨班斯—奥克斯利法案》。法案对会计行业的监管、审计独立性、财务信息披露、公司责任、证券分析师行为、证券交易委员会的权利和职责、违法违规行为的法律责任等方面进行了重大改革和重新规范。本文重点阐述了该法案所规定的会计、审计框架及其对后安然时代会计、审计发展的影响。     

The impacts of electronic commerce on auditing practices: an auditing process model for evidence collection and validation

The main purposes of this paper are twofold. First, the paper identifies and discusses the potential impacts of electronic commerce on auditing practices in the emerging paperless on-line transaction environment. Second, it provides two auditing process models that incorporate modern network security techniques and show how an audit can be conducted in an EC environment. A periodical auditing process model (PAPM) is proposed to demonstrate how secure electronic technologies can be used to facilitate the auditor's evidence collection and validation process for annual and semi-annual audits. We also present a continuous auditing process model (CAPM) which extends the functions of PAPM for continuous auditing. In CAPM, a real-time transaction monitoring system is used to link to firms' accounting information systems for assisting the auditor to detect abnormal activities and generate exception reports on a continuous basis. The CAPM approach intends not only to ensure integrity and effectiveness of the entire accounting system, but also to guarantee the correctness and usefulness of the constantly generated financial statements for public dissemination. The main contribution of this paper is that it illustrates a conceptual framework which shows the feasibility of continuously auditing electronic transactions in the EC environment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bank Runs and the Accounting for Illiquid Assets in Financial Institutions

Abstract

Financial services are an increasingly important sector in modern economies, yet many accounting and auditing texts focus on manufacturing and retailing. This teaching note describes the role of financial institutions in transforming long-term, difficult-to-sell assets into short-term bank accounts. This is referred to as liquidity transformation. The social benefits and risks of liquidity transformation are described. The social benefit occurs due to the increased liquidity provided by the bank to depositors. The risk comes in the form of a bank run, wherein difficult-to-sell assets cannot be redeemed in time to cover the rapid and unexpected withdrawals of depositors. The financial statements of a financial institution are presented and the issue of valuation is discussed. Finally, practical relevance for accounting students is enhanced by including discussions of historical precedents and of implications for financial reporting and auditing.     

The changing technological environment and the future of behavioural research in accounting

In an era where the pace of change continues to escalate, behavioural research provides an ongoing avenue for explaining the likely effects of emergent changes on decision‐making by providers, users and assurers of accounting information, and for providing ex ante enlightenment for policy‐makers. The purpose of this discussion is to identify contemporary changes affecting the accounting environment, discuss the potential impact to individual and organisational decision‐making, and explore how behavioural research can be utilised to examine these changes. Specifically, this discussion focuses on the impact that technological changes have had on financial reporting, external auditing and managerial accounting, with an eye towards the potential for these changes to radically alter the future of accounting and auditing research.     

Judgment and Decision‐Making Research in Auditing and Accounting: Future Research Implications of Person,Task, and Environment Perspective

The discipline of accounting and auditing has increasingly recognized judgment and decision making (JDM) as highly important attributes in the profession because individuals such as managers, auditors, financial analysts, accountants, and standard setters make pivotal judgments and decisions. Many studies undertaken in this domain of research also substantiate the significance of JDM in accounting and auditing. This study evaluates all the papers published in 10 accounting journals among the leading ones from 1980 to 2010 that fall within the domain of JDM research. The categorization of the studies reviewed in this paper is based on Bonner's ( 1999 ) three major determinants of JDM: Person, Task, and Environment variables. The review highlights the progress in the literature over the past three decades and also identifies the methodological limitations of previous research. The identified limitations will be useful for improving the research method of future JDM studies in accounting and auditing. The review also draws inferences on how JDM research in auditing, which is well established, could usefully guide future JDM research in financial accounting.     

How accounting and auditing systems can counteract risk-shifting of safety-nets in banking: Some international evidence

This paper suggests that accounting and auditing systems can be effective devices to counteract tendencies for firm risk-taking associated with bank safety nets. Results are obtained from an international sample of publicly traded banks after controlling for other regulatory control devices for bank risk such as restrictions on banking activities, minimum regulatory capital requirements and official discipline. The efficacy of accounting and auditing systems in controlling bank risk diminishes with bank charter value and increases with moral hazard stemming from a country's deposit insurance. The results also indicate that accounting and auditing systems are complements for minimum capital requirements, but substitutes for restrictions on bank activities and official discipline.     

Problem-centred research and knowledge-based theory in the professional accounting setting

The paper discussess the emerging need for theory development and much more extensive task and context analysis with respect to cognition in the professional accounting setting (“accounting” being taken to include the various accounting, auditing, tax and related subjects about which accounting professionals exercise judgment). The paper examines how such theory development and task and context analysis can improve the research and its contribution to understanding the professional settings that are the province of accounting research. Our analysis reflects our proposal that accounting judgment research contribute more strongly to the general body of accounting research, and deal better with practitioners' problems. From our analysis, we conclude that the lack of theory development is associated with several problems in the research, including an over-emphasis on transference of simplified models from psychology, inappropriate use of normative criteria for evaluating performance, and an over-emphasis on accountants and auditors rather than accounting and auditing. We offer a large number of constructive comments about task analysis, theory development and other steps to guide future accounting judgment research.     

An Analysis of Submissions on Proposed Regulations for Audit and Assurance in New Zealand

After numerous collapses of finance companies in New Zealand, and widespread losses by investors, self‐regulation of the auditing profession was no longer considered adequate or acceptable internationally. The New Zealand Government sought to restore public perceptions of audit quality and investor confidence in the financial markets with proposals to change existing accounting standards and audit and assurance requirements. The proposals included a review engagement for some entities, and imposing the force of law on auditing standards. We analyse the public submissions on the auditing and assurance aspects of these proposals. Many respondents object to the proposal, requiring small public sector and not‐for‐profit entities to obtain review engagements, and to give auditing standards the force of law.     

Increasing the role of auditing in corporate governance

While critical accounting research has long been vitally interested in relationships between accounting, auditing and control of business organizations, mainstream research in accounting, finance and management has only recently displayed an increased interest in questions of corporate governance. The notion of corporate governance typically employed in mainstream research focus on enhancing benefits to shareholders. The structure and the functioning of boards of directors, and audit committees of such boards, are primary concerns within this line of research. This paper presents an alternative view of corporate governance and the role of auditing within corporate governance. We argue that the role of auditing should be increased in order to enhance the control of corporations for the benefit of all stakeholders and society generally.     

Internationalizing audit education

Audit education is typically offered only to accounting majors. We argue that auditing provides a way of thinking that could serve as a framework for an accounting curriculam. We describe two parts of a course content that could be incorporated into an existing auditing course or a begining accounting course. The first section emphasizes accountability; the second emphasizes the role of the auditor in the accountability process. The concepts are best taught within an international paradigm that permits examination of various institutional environments.     

内部控制理论研究新视野

全球性会计丑闻、中国新会计法的实施及内部会计控制一系列规范的出台,引起了人们对内部控制问题的广泛关注,但是,内部控制发展至今的理论基础仍然薄弱。本文从经济学、管理学、审计学等相关理论研究入手,提出内部控制研究只有运用丰富的公司治理理论并以管理控制口径来定位,才能取得突破性的进展,并形成有效指导内部控制实务的理论成果。