Corporate Governance and the Market for Audit Services. Corporate governance is essential for the development of efficient and transparent capital markets, which in turn are critical to economic growth and development. The alleged role of auditors in recent corporate collapses brings into focus the question of how auditing contributes to effective corporate governance. More broadly, the way in which the market for audit services functions is critical, especially given the increasingly concentrat ....Corporate Governance and the Market for Audit Services. Corporate governance is essential for the development of efficient and transparent capital markets, which in turn are critical to economic growth and development. The alleged role of auditors in recent corporate collapses brings into focus the question of how auditing contributes to effective corporate governance. More broadly, the way in which the market for audit services functions is critical, especially given the increasingly concentrated nature of this market. This project will provide evidence on whether auditors have a broader contribution than merely 'checking' the financial statements, as well as the extent to which the market for audit services may have become less competitive as the number of large audit firms has declined.Read moreRead less
Improving the 21st century audit. Financial reports are a key part of an efficient capital market and a central role of auditing is to add creditability to the financial reports. The corporate failures in the recent years have shaken investor confidence. The regulators and the auditing profession have an important role to play in bringing back that trust. The auditing profession needs to continue to evolve to deliver at the high standards expected of them especially in regard to auditors' abilit ....Improving the 21st century audit. Financial reports are a key part of an efficient capital market and a central role of auditing is to add creditability to the financial reports. The corporate failures in the recent years have shaken investor confidence. The regulators and the auditing profession have an important role to play in bringing back that trust. The auditing profession needs to continue to evolve to deliver at the high standards expected of them especially in regard to auditors' ability to uncover material fraud at a reasonable cost. This research will study techniques that will help auditors in meeting the challenges faced by them in detecting fraudulent financial statements and thus improve the audit quality.Read moreRead less
Improving Auditor Negotiations. Given the uncertainty in many accounting judgments it is widely recognised that auditor/client negotiations are pervasive in the auditing environment. This project empirically tests two interventions aimed at improving the outcomes of the negotiation process. The aim is to develop an understanding of when these interventions are effective and what causes the improvements. Given the increased globalisation of business, the study further examines how cultural factor ....Improving Auditor Negotiations. Given the uncertainty in many accounting judgments it is widely recognised that auditor/client negotiations are pervasive in the auditing environment. This project empirically tests two interventions aimed at improving the outcomes of the negotiation process. The aim is to develop an understanding of when these interventions are effective and what causes the improvements. Given the increased globalisation of business, the study further examines how cultural factors impact negotiation outcomes and processes in both intercultural negotiations and intracultural negotiations.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101369
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Disclosure in Australia. This project aims to investigate the issue of voluntary corporate governance disclosure. Voluntary disclosure by way of earnings guidance is critical to protecting investors’ interests and building confidence in the Australian corporate governance regime. This project seeks to provide evidence about the effect of performance review frequency on managers’ disclosure choice, whether investors can effectively use guidance, and the po ....Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Disclosure in Australia. This project aims to investigate the issue of voluntary corporate governance disclosure. Voluntary disclosure by way of earnings guidance is critical to protecting investors’ interests and building confidence in the Australian corporate governance regime. This project seeks to provide evidence about the effect of performance review frequency on managers’ disclosure choice, whether investors can effectively use guidance, and the possible negative impact of guidance and the change in auditors’ reports on audit quality and managers' strategic decisions. By addressing these issues, this project aims to inform the development of effective corporate disclosure policies that provide benefits for investors without negatively affecting corporate effectiveness.Read moreRead less
The ties that bind: fraudulent groups, collective action and fraud risk. This project investigates fraud in contemporary Australia. Drawing on multiple data sources including interviews with convicted fraud perpetrators, the study examines the opportunities, motivations and rationalisations of groups engaged in fraud and offers insights to improve the detection and prevention of fraud in practice.
Extended reporting and assurance for not-for-profit organisations. This project aims to improve the relevance and reliability of extended reporting now being required of not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs). Society is increasingly demanding that NFPOs disclose additional information beyond financial information, as evidenced by the service performance reporting and integrated reporting initiatives. These reporting initiatives better align the reporting with the mission of NFPOs: to achieve outc ....Extended reporting and assurance for not-for-profit organisations. This project aims to improve the relevance and reliability of extended reporting now being required of not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs). Society is increasingly demanding that NFPOs disclose additional information beyond financial information, as evidenced by the service performance reporting and integrated reporting initiatives. These reporting initiatives better align the reporting with the mission of NFPOs: to achieve outcomes that are beyond financial returns. This project aims to evaluate and to aid the development and implementation of these extended reporting responsibilities and mechanisms that increase the quality and credibility of the information. This would improve the relevance of the information produced by NFPOs and increase confidence in extended reporting.Read moreRead less
Strategic Archetypes, Knowledge Management Practices and Knowledge Processes in the Provision of Assurance and Consulting Services. The Big 5 accounting firms have restructured fundamentally in the last two decades. They are now multi-product, knowledge-intensive firms that need to match their competitive strategy with their knowledge management practices in order to achieve high levels of firm performance. We know little about these contingent fits. By comparing a sample of the Big 5 account ....Strategic Archetypes, Knowledge Management Practices and Knowledge Processes in the Provision of Assurance and Consulting Services. The Big 5 accounting firms have restructured fundamentally in the last two decades. They are now multi-product, knowledge-intensive firms that need to match their competitive strategy with their knowledge management practices in order to achieve high levels of firm performance. We know little about these contingent fits. By comparing a sample of the Big 5 accounting firms with comparable consulting firms, this project seeks to understand what types of knowledge management practices provide the best fit for particular strategic archetypes. The study therefore shows how ?good? or ?poor? fits between strategy and knowledge management practices impact on project performance.Read moreRead less
Enhancing integrated reporting: implications for internal and external reporting and assurance. There is an increasing global demand for companies to prepare integrated reports that includes both financial and nonfinancial information. This project uses a multidisciplinary approach to provide evidence on the claimed benefits of integrated reporting to inform the development of an international integrated reporting and assurance framework.
Keeping Capital Markets Efficient: A National Strategy on the Future of Auditing. The lack of confidence in the reliability of financial statement information is costly to the Australian capital market. The auditing profession is also struggling to attract and retain skilled professionals, which can erode audit quality. Using a rigorous research design to understand business community expectations and concerns, this project will provide a national forum that informs and directs responsible natio ....Keeping Capital Markets Efficient: A National Strategy on the Future of Auditing. The lack of confidence in the reliability of financial statement information is costly to the Australian capital market. The auditing profession is also struggling to attract and retain skilled professionals, which can erode audit quality. Using a rigorous research design to understand business community expectations and concerns, this project will provide a national forum that informs and directs responsible national strategy to ensure that high quality audit services are procured by corporate Australia. Improved audit quality will have the effect of improving the efficiency and attractiveness of the Australian capital market and address the skill shortage in auditing. Read moreRead less
Integrated Financial Fraud Detection in Enterprise Applications. Fraud costs the Australian economy at least $3 billion per year. The incidence of fraud within the Australian economy is increasing. Australian entities are ill-prepared to detect and prevent fraud against their businesses with very few developing or implementing any form of fraud control strategy (AS 8001-2003). The growing use of the Internet by organisations for electronic commerce increases their exposure to fraudulent activiti ....Integrated Financial Fraud Detection in Enterprise Applications. Fraud costs the Australian economy at least $3 billion per year. The incidence of fraud within the Australian economy is increasing. Australian entities are ill-prepared to detect and prevent fraud against their businesses with very few developing or implementing any form of fraud control strategy (AS 8001-2003). The growing use of the Internet by organisations for electronic commerce increases their exposure to fraudulent activities. Inevitably much of the cost of fraud is passed on to the customers and the community at large. By providing large organisations with an approach to assist in detecting fraudulent behaviour in accounting systems, it is envisaged that this research will assist in reducing the impact of fraud on society.Read moreRead less