The Interaction between Internal Control Assessment and Substantive Testing in Audits for Fraud*

We examine the interaction between internal control assessments and substantive testing in a model of fraud detection. The purpose of our study is to examine a two‐stage model of the auditor‐manager interaction in which the auditor assesses the “likelihood” or possibility of fraud in the first stage and conducts substantive tests in the second stage. We examine the allocation of audit resources across these two distinct facets of the audit. We find that, regardless of the auditor's allocation, the probability of undetected fraud remains the same, but the allocation of some audit resources to internal control assessment may provide cost savings for the auditor.     

Culture,consumption and choice: towards a conceptual relationship

Abstract Manufacturers and retailers are continually extending the geographical scope of their activities, and the degree of acceptance by local consumer cultures is integral to the success or failure of their operations. It is, therefore, important that cultural influences on consumption behaviour are fully conceptualized and understood. Central to this understanding is a need to address how consumers prioritize their own principles and set them against other criteria, bringing these to bear in the process of choosing particular products. This paper attempts to address the paucity of research in this respect by attempting to integrate areas of literature on culture, consumption and product choice. These relationships are explored through a simple conceptual framework, which is then used to discuss the influence of culture on one particular type of behaviour —‘ethical consumption’— the degree to which consumers prioritize their own ethical concerns when making product choices. The paper concludes by highlighting the general implications of the framework for research.     

Will the Internet Bring Electronic Services to the Home?

Few topics have attracted more hype than the Internet. This article provides a rare long-term perspective. It starts with an account of a century of failed visions and applications: the Internet itself operated in obscurity for two decades. However, in the rest of the article, the author documents why he thinks interactive home services may now at last take off, draws some general lessons from past experience and indicates the next areas for growth.     

U.S. insurance trade

The U.S. has had significant trade deficits in insurance for several years. This paper examines the reasons for such big annual deficits. A large home market, a low reinsurance capacity, and the conservative attitude of U.S. insurers toward foreign markets are identified as the primary contributors to such deficits. The paper also addresses the issue of how U.S. insurers can improve their international competitive position. By expanding their operations abroad, particularly in Mexico and Latin America, and by actively participating in the fast-growing Asian markets, American insurers have their greatest chance to accomplish that objective.     

Internationalizing doctoral education in business: A call for action

The changing parameters of business call into question the relevance of the business education our current bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students are receiving. Of particular concern is the content and process of education provided to future professors who will be educating generations to lead the global business community in directions that will mean better lives for ourselves and our world neighbors. Recently, a forum of leading business educators (doctoral program directors, deans, graduate faculty, and representatives of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business and the Academy of International Business) met for two days in order to exchange experiences and generate ideas regarding the internationalization of doctoral programs in business. Their findings and views are contained in a book just published and a summary report. This article sums up some of the conclusions drawn from these publications and revisits the imperatives for internationalizing-which parallel the imperatives driving business to accept the global challenge. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Macro Determinants of FDI Inflows to Japan: An Analysis of Source Country Characteristics

This paper examines the source country determinants of FDI into Japan. The paper highlights certain methodological and theoretical weaknesses in the previous literature and offers some explanations for hitherto ambiguous results. Specifically, the paper highlights the importance of panel data analysis, and the identification of fixed effects in the analysis rather than simply pooling the data. Indeed, we argue that many of the results reported elsewhere are a feature of this mis‐specification. To this end, pooled, fixed effects and random effects estimates are compared. The results suggest that FDI into Japan is inversely related to trade flows, such that trade and FDI are substitutes. Moreover, the results also suggest that FDI increases with home country political and economic stability. The paper also shows that previously reported results, regarding the importance of exchange rates, relative borrowing costs and labour costs in explaining FDI flows, are sensitive to the econometric specification and estimation approach. The paper also discusses the importance of these results within a policy context. In recent years Japan has sought to attract FDI, though many firms still complain of barriers to inward investment penetration in Japan. The results show that cultural and geographic distance are only of marginal importance in explaining FDI, and that the results are consistent with the market‐seeking explanation of FDI. As such, the attitude to risk in the source country is strongly related to the size of FDI flows to Japan.     

Auditor Fees, Market Microstructure, and Firm Transparency

Abstract:  Auditors, as corporate insiders, have access to private information regarding the firm's financial and business opacity that is unavailable to outside investors. We test whether auditors price their knowledge of firm opacity in their audit fees by examining two competing hypotheses. The first states that higher audit fees may reflect the greater risk that the auditor faces in auditing an opaque firm. Under this hypothesis, market based measures of opacity will be positively correlated with higher fees. The second hypothesis states that firms buy reputational capital from their auditor by paying high fees in an attempt to improve the market's perception of the firm's transparency. In this case, higher audit fees are negatively correlated with market based measures of opacity. Our results are consistent with the first hypothesis, that auditors price opacity risk into their fees.     

Restrictive Practices in South Africa's Labour Market

Dr Stanley Siebert, of the University of Birmingham, complements Professor Williams' analysis with a detailed history of the measures South African whites have adopted to safeguard their privileged position in the South African economy.