Creating a profession ‘out of nothing’? The case of the Belgian auditing profession

This paper presents the results of a study on the emergence and development of an auditing profession in Belgium in the late 1940s and 1950s. Recent research on Anglo-Saxon professions stresses the role of the state in their development. In continental European contexts, the state played an even more significant role, and civil servants in public administration often served as a model for professional organization and behaviour. The main parties that were involved in the creation of the Belgian auditing profession were the state, the employers and the unions. The state maintained a separation between the Belgian profession of independent auditors, the reviseurs d'entreprises, and the associations of accounting professionals, the experts comptables, who tried first to prevent the creation of an auditing profession and then to obtain control over it. This paper demonstrates that the parties in the debate supported different professional models, depending on what they considered the main role of the auditors to be. The debates preceding and following the introduction of the profession focused on the autonomy and structure of the profession, the services to be provided by the auditors, and access to the profession.     

Mythical representations of trust in auditors and the preservation of social order in the financial community

The present paper investigates financial practitioners’ use and perception of audited financial statements. In-depth interviews, which we conducted with Canadian institutional investors, financial analysts and bankers, indicate: (1) a firm tendency to favour the quality of management over the content of financial statements in investment decisions and recommendation processes; and (2) a fundamental scepticism regarding the work of auditors. However, representations of auditor trustworthiness abound in formal texts surrounding the financial analysis domain—as if audited financial statements and the trust they convey towards numbers are indispensable to the work of financial analysts. Based on the work of Roland Barthes, we argue that financial practitioners’ trust in auditors constitutes a mythical representation whose main function is to maintain order and reproduce status quo within the financial system.     

The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the quality of financial reporting and auditing: Perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore

This study uses two hypothetical cases to examine the perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore about corporate governance practices relating to the quality of financial reporting and auditing. In the first case, the strength of the audit committee, the existence of an internal audit function and the strength of a corporate code of conduct were manipulated. All three variables were perceived to have some influence on financial reporting and audit quality. However, some interesting differences were found between the perceptions of auditors and directors. Auditors place more weight on the internal audit function, possibly due to their familiarity with the role that internal audit can play in reducing audit risk and enhancing controls. Directors have more confidence in board enforcement of a strong code of conduct, possibly reflecting the view that this encourages staff to adhere to higher ethical standards. In the second case, audit partner rotation, outsourcing of internal audit services and whether the audit firm audited all companies within a group were manipulated. Auditors believed that their ability to resist management pressure was enhanced when they audited all companies within the group. No significant differences were found for the other variables, suggesting that neither group believes that these practices impair audit independence.     

The dark side of financial innovation: A case study of the pricing of a retail financial product

The offering prices of 64 issues of a popular retail structured equity product were, on average, almost 8% greater than estimates of the products' fair market values obtained using option pricing methods. Under reasonable assumptions about the underlying stocks' expected returns, the mean expected return estimate on the structured products is slightly below zero. The products do not provide tax, liquidity, or other benefits, and it is difficult to rationalize their purchase by informed rational investors. Our findings are, however, consistent with the recent hypothesis that issuing firms might shroud some aspects of innovative securities or introduce complexity to exploit uninformed investors.     

The real effects of financial constraints: Evidence from a financial crisis

We survey 1,050 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to directly assess whether their firms are credit constrained during the global financial crisis of 2008. We study whether corporate spending plans differ conditional on this survey-based measure of financial constraint. Our evidence indicates that constrained firms planned deeper cuts in tech spending, employment, and capital spending. Constrained firms also burned through more cash, drew more heavily on lines of credit for fear banks would restrict access in the future, and sold more assets to fund their operations. We also find that the inability to borrow externally caused many firms to bypass attractive investment opportunities, with 86% of constrained U.S. CFOs saying their investment in attractive projects was restricted during the credit crisis of 2008. More than half of the respondents said they canceled or postponed their planned investments. Our results also hold in Europe and Asia, and in many cases are stronger in those economies. Our analysis adds to the portfolio of approaches and knowledge about the impact of credit constraints on real firm behavior.     

Referral as a determining factor for changing auditors in the Belgian auditing market: An empirical study

Traditional research on auditor choice and auditor switching focuses on company and audit (or) characteristics such as size and reputation, level of fees, or audit opinion. These studies seek causal relationship between changes in these characteristics and changes in auditor. This article claims that the conclusions of existing research have limited application to smaller companies in a small open economy like Belgium. We see a need to supplement the research model to reflect the fact that the decision to choose or switch auditors in subsidiary companies often occurs at the parent level and is determined by group characteristics rather than local characteristics of the subsidiary. In this article, we show that “referral,” the situation whereby the subsidiary—encouraged by the parent company—appoints the same auditor as the parent company, must be considered as an explanatory variable to understand audit-switching behavior in Belgium.     

The effects of tone at the top and coordination with external auditors on internal auditors’ fraud risk assessments

Prior research suggests that internal auditors’ judgements are subject to management influence resulting in compromised risk assessments. This study investigates the effects of the tone at the top and coordination with external auditors on internal auditors’ fraud risk assessments. Results of an experiment involving 64 internal auditors indicate that when the tone at the top is poor, rather than favouring management, internal auditors report a higher risk of intentional misstatements and that coordination with external auditors can further reduce expectations of the incidence of intentional misstatements.     

Assessing financial instability: The case of Brazil

In this paper we use the arbitrage pricing theory to infer the probability of financial institution failure for banks in Brazil. We build an index of financial stability for Brazilian banks. Empirical results seem to provide evidence that after the Russian crisis in 1998, systemic risk has increased in the country but this risk has decreased over time through 2002. Furthermore, for individual major banks the probability of failure has decreased monotonically after the Russian crisis with the adoption of a floating exchange rate regime, an inflation-targeting framework and the introduction of the new payment system.     

The financial performance of the East African Development Bank: a retrospective analysis

This paper analyses retrospectively the financial performance of the East African Development Bank. Three methods of analysis, derived from a selective review of the literature, are applied, namely the standard financial ratios; statistical moments such as the mean, range and standard deviation of balance sheet and related accounts; and the Subsidy Dependence Index. The results show that the bank's historical performance has been disappointing. It is suggested that the bank should engage proactively in the identification, promotion and post-evaluation of projects. Further research is proposed in order to encompass analytically the financial, developmental and technological functions of the bank.     

Imperialism of influence and the state–profession relationship: The formation of the Greek auditing profession in the post-WWII era

A significant body of academic research on accounting professionalization has shown that ‘Western’ policies and influences (re)structure the social, political and economic context of emerging economies in a way that creates conditions favourable to the emergence of auditing bodies similar to the dominant Anglo-American associationist, free market model. In contrast, this paper argues that, under certain conditions, the formation of the audit profession in an emerging economy may exhibit significant organisational differences from the dominant Anglo-American model. The paper focuses on the formation of the Greek institution of auditing in the aftermath of WWII and shows that, despite “Western” influences, a corporatist auditing body was instituted as a means of better serving state policy priorities (public over market purposes). Hence, developments in auditing may not follow in a linear fashion as the predetermined outcome of pressures exerted by “Western” organisations and as a (perfect) emulation of the dominant Anglo-American paradigm.     

我国现阶段跨市场金融风险的传递载体刍议

我国正经历从分业经营向综合经营转变的重要时期,伴随产生的跨市场金融风险因其复杂性与危害性而亟待研究。本文对跨市场金融风险界定后,将现阶段我国跨市场金融风险的传递载体分为三类:交叉性金融产品、全国公开性金融市场、金融控股公司。剖析了跨市场金融风险在不同载体中的传递方式与风险特点,并基于前文分析建议构建我国的"伞式综合监管 功能监管"模式,以有效防范跨市场金融风险。     

The global audit profession and the international financial architecture: Understanding regulatory relationships at a time of financial crisis

This paper explores how regulatory relationships in the global audit arena are being affected by the current financial crisis. Key policy initiatives and debates are analyzed, along with institutional interactions, in particular between the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), international regulators and the large audit firms. The events are placed in the context of the new international financial architecture which has developed over the last decade. Using the illustrative lens of bank auditing, questions are asked of the nature and status of audit practice and the regulatory arrangements governing such practice. The paper shows the active nature of the regulatory responses to the crisis and the shifting and competing influences among key regulatory and professional participants in the global audit arena. Emphasis is placed on the need for audit researchers to be sensitive to the developing global financial architecture, and its potential implications for the study of audit practice in different national and international contexts.     

Integration of financial and management accounting systems: The mediating influence of a consistent financial language on controllership effectiveness

Two fundamental options exist for management accounting system (MAS) design: Either financial records can be used as a database for management accounting (integrated accounting system design), or the MAS can be based upon a separate system, i.e., a third set of books beside financial and tax accounting records. Since the 1990s, many German-speaking firms have changed from the second to the first option, which has instigated a highly controversial debate.Our paper contributes to this debate by empirically analyzing (1) whether the integration of financial and management accounting has a positive impact on controllership effectiveness, and (2) what causal inferences relate both variables. We use structural equation modelling for a sample of 149 dyads surveyed from German top 1500 firms. We identify no significant effect of the technical aspects of MAS integration, but a fully mediating influence of a consistent financial language on controllership effectiveness. Our results thus imply that consistency with financial reporting is an important property of MAS design from management's point of view.     

The influence of managerial incentives on the resolution of financial distress

This study investigates the influence of managerial incentives on the resolution of financial distress. Our model predicts that when creditors and equityholders prefer different resolution methods, the likelihood of choosing Chapter 11 over private renegotiation is related to the ownership structure of the distressed firm. Empirical test results using a sample of 81 voluntary Chapter 11 firms and 65 private workout firms support the model’s prediction. We show that managerial ownership is positively related to the incidence of Chapter 11 filing when there is conflict between equityholders and creditors over the choice between Chapter 11 and a private renegotiation. Consistent with prior literature, we also find that the choice of resolution methods depends on the extent of creditor holdout problems and the level of economic distress. We also performed the analysis of a subsequent 5 years of post-distress performance for all sample firms. The majorities of firms that file for Chapter 11 lose their independence and are either acquired or liquidated. However, more than half of firms in private workouts survived as independent firms.

Trust in,trust out: a real cost of sudden and significant financial loss

This study examines the loss of trust that occurs when individuals suffer from sudden and significant financial loss. We use a qualitative case study to show that individuals lose trust in a range of parties, including financial advisors, banks, credit providers, government and perhaps most damagingly of all, oneself. Such outcomes are concerning as all financial services are based on trust between various parties, and trust is important in making financial decisions. A lack of trust can lead to poorer individual and societal outcomes. It also suggests that trends to financial self‐sufficiency have risks, which impact well beyond monetary losses.     

Adoption of IFRS in Spain: Effect on the comparability and relevance of financial reporting

EU Regulation 1606/2002 requires application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by groups listed on European stock markets. In Spain, listed groups are now obliged to prepare consolidated financial information under IFRS, and legislative changes to bring local rules into line with international standards have been tabled.In this context, the potential impact of IFRS is fraught with uncertainty. Our study of IBEX-35 companies focuses on the effects of the new standards on comparability and the relevance of financial reporting in Spain. We address these objectives by seeking significant differences between accounting figures and financial ratios under the two sets of standards (i.e. Spanish accounting standards and IFRS).The results obtained show that local comparability has worsened. The study reveals that local comparability is adversely affected if both IFRS and local accounting standards are applied in the same country at the same time. Reforms to bring local rules into line with international standards are therefore urgent. We also find that there has been no improvement in the relevance of financial reporting to local stock market operators because the gap between book and market values is wider when IFRS are applied. While there has been no gain in terms of the usefulness of financial reporting in the short-term, improved usefulness may be achieved in the medium to long-term.     

Has the financial system become safer after the crisis? The changing nature of financial institution risk

Six years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the question of whether the U.S. financial system has become less risky remains unanswered. On the one side, new regulations including Dodd-Frank and Basel III have made improvements by requiring higher bank capital, and financial institutions themselves have reduced risk-taking activities. On the other side, it has been argued that “the fundamental risks remained and the efforts of regulators and politicians were simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.” (Baily and Elliott, 2013) This paper highlights the changing nature of financial institution risk from 2005 to 2011. It finds that while these institutions have become less risky individually after the crisis, the financial market has become more vulnerable to systemic contagion. The causal inference that the crisis and the post-crisis legislation have gradually changed the nature of financial institution risk is drawn from a quasi-experimental design. This finding suggests that the ever more integrated financial system might experience more synchronized contractions in future crises, providing empirical support for the proposals of the inter-bank collective regulation of banks by Acharya (2009) in addition to the intra-bank collective regulations as in Froot and Stein (1998) and BIS (1996, 1999).     

Perceptions and characteristics of financial statement users in developing countries: Evidence from Iran

We examine the perceptions and characteristics of users of corporate financial statements in Iran. We provide evidence based on a survey of seven different user-groups. Our results suggest that annual reports are regularly used as a basis for making investment and other economic decisions. As in many developing countries, users depend more heavily on information obtained from the published annual reports than on advice from stockbrokers and acquaintances or on tips and rumors. While respondents differed in their rating of the importance of different sections of the annual report, the overall results showed that they ranked the income statement, the auditors’ report, and the balance sheet as the three most important parts of the annual report (in that order). There is a weak level of consensus among bank loan officers, tax officers, and auditor groups about the importance of several information items. Most users believe that a delay in publishing annual reports, lack of reliability of the information, and lack of adequate disclosure are the main concerns with corporate financial reports in Iran. The evidence on Iran is relevant to other developing countries in the Middle East and beyond.