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Over the past decade, the interactions between accounting (and auditing) and corporate governance have been an important topic of academic research. They use audit hours to measure audit effort and find that audit effort alleviates stock market crash risk. The traditional audit quality indicators used in past research cannot accurately separate the respective roles of companies and auditors, which makes it difficult for researchers to draw effective causal inferences when studying the association between company characteristics and audit quality. [Extracted from the article]

Background: In Queensland, each hospital and health service (local hospital network) has its own waste reduction and recycling plan to comply with the Queensland Government's Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Qld). The aim is to reduce both the hospital's carbon footprint and waste handling costs. Hospital environmental waste services staff do not audit pharmaceutical waste bins as this requires the presence of a registered pharmacist. Aim: Since previous published studies of healthcare waste disposal practices have not included pharmacy waste bin audits, this study aimed to investigate waste disposal behaviours in a hospital pharmacy department. Method: This sequential, two‐phase mixed methods study was conducted in a metropolitan, tertiary public hospital's pharmacy department in Queensland. Phase I involved semi‐structured interviews of hospital pharmacists and pharmacy technicians while Phase II comprised bin audits of the pharmacy department's waste streams. Results: The bin audits revealed 36.1%, 23.8%, and 4.9% of recyclable waste in the clinical waste stream for each of the three bin audits respectively. In the general waste stream, the two bin audits of this stream revealed 14.3% and 44.4%, respectively. The reasons were identified in the interviews: there were no recycling bins in the main dispensing areas and there was confusion surrounding correct disposal of original containers and non‐contaminated packaging waste. Non‐paper waste was found in the confidential (shredded) waste stream in the two bin audits of this stream (10.1% and 16.7%, respectively). Conclusion: Provision of commingled recycling bins and clean office paper waste bins in dispensing areas and education of staff on correct waste segregation processes will improve waste segregation in hospital pharmacy departments with both financial and environmental benefits for the hospital and the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literature on the independent oversight of auditing from 2003 to 2018 and provides several research opportunities for filling the identified gaps in that literature. Our review classifies the literature into three themes: (1) the development of independent audit oversight, (2) the effects of independent audit oversight and (3) the interface between the independent audit oversight authorities and the global audit networks. The paper finds different effects of the independent audit oversight. Positively, it enhances the capital markets by adding more credibility to the published information. Auditors become more conservative about accepting or continuing to work with high‐risk clients. At the same time, while audit fees have increased as a result of the additional requirements of independent audit regulation, non‐audit fees from audit clients have decreased significantly. Negatively, independent oversight has increased audit concentration and resulted in insufficient choice of auditors in most audit markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance auditing (PA) has undergone relevant evolutions in recent decades, attracting considerable interest from academics and practitioners alike, in terms of its emergence, evolution, transformation, and outcomes in various international contexts. Through a systematic review of the literature published over the past five decades, totaling 125 papers, this study maps the existing knowledge on PA and recommends avenues for future research. Based on the analysis of the selected articles, the paper identifies and discusses the main themes emerging from the literature, including the scope and evolution of PA; the two faces of PA (accountability and performance improvement); the tensions and contradictions of influence and independence of PA; and unintended consequences and conflicts of PA. Considering the synthesis of the literature and current issues in public administration, the paper highlights themes that warrant further research, including the PA implications of digitalization and emerging technologies, the potential for widening accountability, PA's connections with media, and the relevance of PA in a risk management perspective. The paper also offers insights into the potential of international and comparative approaches to research on PA issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To develop an Australian nursing documentation in aged care ( Quality of Australian Nursing Documentation in Aged Care ( QANDAC)) instrument to measure the quality of paper-based and electronic resident records. Methods The instrument was based on the nursing process model and on three attributes of documentation quality identified in a systematic review. The development process involved five phases following approaches to designing criterion-referenced measures. The face and content validities and the inter-rater reliability of the instrument were estimated using a focus group approach and consensus model. Results The instrument contains 34 questions in three sections: completion of nursing history and assessment, description of care process and meeting the requirements of data entry. Estimates of the validity and inter-rater reliability of the instrument gave satisfactory results. Conclusion The QANDAC instrument may be a useful audit tool for quality improvement and research in aged care documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the special issue on accounting and accountability for the digital transformation of public services. Papers in special issues offer different perspectives on how digital technologies affect performance management, considering the challenges and opportunities that arise when digital data are collected and translated into a set of measures, the complexity of relying on these digital data to enhance transparency and accountability, and the organizational implications of digital data when used to support public‐sector decision makers in a variety of activities, such as auditing or benchmarking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerabilities in software source code are one of the critical issues in the realm of software code auditing. Due to their high impact, several approaches have been studied in the past few years to mitigate the damages from such vulnerabilities. Among the approaches, deep learning has gained popularity throughout the years to address such issues. In this literature survey, the authors provide an extensive review of the many works in the field software vulnerability analysis that utilise deep learning‐based techniques. The reviewed works are systemised according to their objectives (i.e. the type of vulnerability analysis aspect), the area of focus (i.e. the focus area of the analysis), what information about source code is used (i.e. the features), and what deep learning techniques they employ (i.e. what algorithm is used to process the input and produce the output). They also study the limitations of the papers and topical trends concerning vulnerability analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL AUDIT The BEIS proposals for audit or assurance on the directors' reports are piecemeal and largely voluntary. Audit is outdated in many respects, as Sir Donald Brydon observed I 'The audit product has evolved over time ... However i , I its core outputs have remained largely unchanged in the UK since 1947' i [Brydon Report, 2019, p. 29]. Keywords: attracting talent; audit quality; audit relevance; BEIS White Paper; Brydon Report; business risks; future of audit; fraud prevention; independence; internal controls assurance; PJC Inquiry EN attracting talent audit quality audit relevance BEIS White Paper Brydon Report business risks future of audit fraud prevention independence internal controls assurance PJC Inquiry 8 11 4 03/06/22 20220101 NES 220101 INTRODUCTION Sir Donald Brydon reported that ' I Audit is not broken but it has lost its way and all the actors in the audit process bear some measure of responsibility i ' [Brydon Report, 2019, p. 5]. [Extracted from the article]

Opinion shopping is an essential indication of audit collusion. Hence, it is crucial to explore the driving factors of audit uopinion shopping to better control and address this issue. Drawing upon signaling theory, this paper explores the relationship between international expansion and audit opinion shopping and the moderating roles of internal control quality and auditors' quality. We find that the higher the level of international expansion of an enterprise, the greater the likelihood of audit opinion shopping. Furthermore, we also find that high internal control quality and high auditor quality can weaken the positive relationship between international expansion and audit opinion shopping. Besides, heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of international expansion on audit opinion shopping is more pronounced in non‐SOEs and firms which stay in the growth and maturity stage. This paper contributes to the antecedent research of audit opinion shopping and exposes the possible "dark side" of international expansion. Finally, this study may provide practical implications to help the authorities better regulate internationalized enterprises as well as contribute to the healthy development of the auditing market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polypharmacy in haemodialysis patients can not only manifest as the continued prescribing of unnecessary medications but also has the potential to increase medication‐related hospital admissions, morbidity, and mortality. A validated deprescribing algorithm has recently been developed, specifically targeted at dialysis patients. This paper audits the experience of implementing this algorithm in Australian dialysis settings. Aim: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the usefulness and applicability of the pharmacist‐led Toronto deprescribing tool in Australian haemodialysis settings. Method: The pharmacist‐led deprescribing algorithm was implemented across two metropolitan sites and one rural site. The audit focused on five medications that could potentially be deprescribed in the target patient group (diuretics, alpha blockers, statins, proton pump inhibitors [PPIs], and quinine). Between 1 and 12 months later, a reaudit was conducted, with patients followed up to confirm if medications remained deprescribed. Results: Two hundred and eleven patients across three sites were reviewed. Application of the algorithm resulted in 168 medications deemed appropriate to deprescribe. Of these 168 medications, 56 (33%) were initially deprescribed, with 50 medications (30%) remaining deprescribed on reaudit. The deprescribing rates varied between the three different services, with initial deprescribing rates ranging from 18% to 61%. After follow‐up, deprescribing changes across target medications were fairly static, with only a small number of patients restarting either their diuretic or PPI. Conclusion: The pharmacist‐led deprescribing algorithm resulted in substantial deprescribing across the three sites. Deprescribing rates varied between the sites due to differences in the team model that the pharmacist worked within and the method of the rollout. Further studies should draw on aspects such as finding enablers to overcome prescriber and patient concerns about deprescribing and the aspects of which team models lead to higher rates of successful deprescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the changes and the magnitude of international collaboration in auditing research. We explore published auditing research in six auditing journals and six accounting journals with broader readership, from 1997 to 2014. Our findings indicate that auditing research is mostly collaborative and is increasingly internationalized but international collaborations are not extensive, accounting for just over 25 percent of collaborative work. The field is largely dominated by US-affiliated scholars, albeit at a declining rate. Moreover, we find that the participation of practitioners in research production has gradually declined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of long‐acting injectable buprenorphine preparations for opioid use disorder has been widely heralded as a breakthrough treatment, with several studies indicating positive results when using these medications. In many locations, nurse practitioners prescribe, administer, and monitor long‐acting injectable preparations. The objective of this paper is to explore whether a reduction in dispensed needles and syringes is attributable to increased nurse practitioner prescribing of LAIB. We used a retrospective audit of needles dispensed through the health service needle and syringe program vending machine, and individuals treated with long‐acting injectable buprenorphine by the nurse practitioner led model. In addition, we examined potential factors that may influence changes in the number of needles dispensed. Linear regression found that each individual with opioid dependence treated with long‐acting injectable buprenorphine was associated with 90 fewer needles dispensed each month (p < 0.001). The nurse practitioner led model of care for individuals with opioid dependence appears to have influenced the number of needles dispensed at the needle and syringe program. Although all confounding factors could not be discounted entirely, such as substance availability, affordability, and individuals obtaining injecting equipment elsewhere, our research indicates that a nurse practitioner led model of treating individuals with opioid use disorder influenced needle and syringe dispensing in the study setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the disclosure of key audit matters (KAMs) has been an important change in audit reports in recent years. After the implementation of this policy, what changes have taken place in the behaviour of auditors after the implementation of this policy? What impact has it had on the audit report? A series of problems deserve systematic analysis and empirical testing. This paper examines the relationship between the communication of KAMs and earnings management. We examined quasi‐natural experimental data shaped by new auditing standards issued by the Ministry of Finance of China on 23 December 2016. The new auditing standards have been implemented in phases for the listed companies. We find that (1) communicating KAMs in audit reports restrains the auditor's motivational reasoning behaviour by triggering rationality constraints and improves the auditor's professional scepticism, thus improving audit quality and significantly reducing the company's accrued earnings management level. (2) The influence of communicating KAMs on earnings management is more significant for sampled firms with high external financing dependence and low marketization, revealing its supplementary role in the existing corporate governance mechanism. The findings of this paper enrich existing research on KAMs and supplement important empirical evidence from the Chinese market for assessing the effects of audit reporting reforms worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether separating tax service of auditors from audit service improves audit quality. To some critics, the separation is the only solution to the independence problem created by the joint provision of both services by auditors. However, opponents argue that auditors are likely to have less client‐specific knowledge when they only provide audit service, resulting in lower audit quality. The results of this paper show that clients without the purchase of auditor‐provided tax service are more likely to have a going‐concern modified audit opinion and lower discretionary accruals than clients with such purchase. Additional tests indicate that clients with (without) auditor‐provided tax service would have had lower (higher) discretionary accruals or been more (less) likely to receive a going‐concern opinion had they had not (had) purchased the tax service. The results are robust to the control for possible self‐selection problem of clients' purchase of tax service of auditors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence should guide decisions in aphasia practice across the continuum of stroke care; however, evidence–practice gaps persist. This is particularly pertinent in the acute setting where 30% of people with stroke will have aphasia, and speech pathologists experience many challenges implementing evidence‐based practice. This has important consequences for people with aphasia and their close others, as well as speech pathologists working in acute settings. Aims: This study protocol details how we will target practice change using a behavioural approach, with the aim of promoting the uptake of synthesized evidence in aphasia management post‐stroke in the acute hospital setting. Methods & Procedures: We will conduct a mixed‐methods before‐and‐after study following the Knowledge‐to‐Action (KTA) framework. Researchers, speech pathologists and people with lived experience of aphasia will collaborate to identify and prioritize practice gaps, and develop and implement changes to clinical practice based on the Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Wheel. Discussion: This study may provide a template for acute stroke services in how to use an implementation science approach to promote the application of synthesized evidence into routine clinical practice to ensure people with aphasia receive high‐quality services. Collaboration among researchers, healthcare providers, people with aphasia and their close others ensures that the identification and targeting of practice gaps are driven by theory, lived experience and the local context. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Synthesized evidence, such as clinical guidelines and consensus statements, provides the highest level of evidence to inform clinical practice, yet discrepancies between delivered care and evidence remain. This discrepancy is of note in the acute setting where clinicians report many challenges implementing the best available evidence, combined with a high proportion of people with stroke who will have aphasia (30%). There are many reasons why evidence is not put into practice, and efforts to change clinical practice need to consider these barriers when developing interventions. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study protocol details an implementation science approach to affect clinical practice change, informed by a collaboration of key stakeholders (researchers, speech pathologists, and people with aphasia and their close others). Protocol papers that focus on bridging the gap between evidence and practice are uncommon in communication disorders; moreover, explicit prioritization of practice gaps is a critical but often overlooked aspect of promoting evidence‐based practice. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This protocol provides insights into how one study site identified and prioritized evidence–practice gaps using a participatory approach. We provide insights into how clinical practice change may occur by describing how we plan to identify priority evidence–practice gaps and develop an intervention to improve the use of aphasia evidence in routine practice. This protocol aims to share an implementation science approach to service improvement that may be replicated across other services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether seasonal affective disorder (SAD) influences audit quality. On the one hand, a SAD‐induced negative mood can render auditors risk‐averse in auditing. On the other hand, SAD can lower their cognitive ability and efficiency at work. Our results show that absolute discretionary accruals and the likelihood of restatements are lower when the level of SAD is higher during the audit period, thus suggesting that SAD lowers auditors' willingness to accept aggressive reporting. Other tests show that the relationship between SAD and audit quality is not significantly different between the fall and winter or between industry expert and non‐industry expert auditors. We also find that the association between SAD and audit quality is more pronounced for auditors located in northern states than southern states. Lastly, our results hold after controlling for management reporting choices, auditor busy season, auditor locality and other robustness tests. Overall, this paper contributes to the auditing literature by highlighting the effect of environmental factors on auditors' professional judgement from a psychological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Meta‐analyses have shown that feedback can be a powerful intervention to increase learning and performance but there is significant variability in impact. New trials are adding little to the question of whether feedback interventions are effective, so the focus now is how to optimise the effect. Early career professionals (ECPs) in busy work environments are a particularly important target group. This literature review aimed to synthesise information to support the optimal design of feedback interventions for ECPs. Methods: We undertook a scoping literature review, using search terms such as 'feedback' and 'effectiveness' in MEDLINE, MEDLINE‐In‐Process, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Education Research Complete, Education Resources Information Center, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Social Sciences Citation Index and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, to identify empirical studies describing feedback interventions in busy workplaces published in English since 1990. We applied inclusion criteria to identify studies for the mapping stage and extracted key data to inform the next stage. We then selected a subset of papers for the framework development stage, which were subjected to a thematic synthesis by three authors, leading to a new feedback framework and a modified version of feedback intervention theory specifically for ECPs. Results: A total of 80 studies were included in the mapping stage, with roughly equal studies from hospital settings and school classrooms, and 17 papers were included in the framework development stage. The feedback framework comprised three main categories (audit, feedback and goal setting) and 22 subcategories. The review highlighted the limited empirical research focusing solely on feedback for ECPs, which was surprising given the particular nuances in feedback for ECPs identified through this study. Conclusions: We offer the feedback framework to optimise the design of future feedback interventions for early career professionals and encourage future feedback research to move away from generic models and tailor work to specific target audiences. Mattick et al. review the literature on feedback for early career professionals and encourage future feedback research to move away from generic models towards tailoring to specific target audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a brief commentary upon the recent auditing reforms proposed by the government and a number of state‐sponsored reports. It argues that the government proposals fail to tackle the recurring faultlines in external audits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating natural resource management and eco‐environmental responsibility into the local government assessment system would change the local governments' intensity of environmental regulation. However, it is unclear whether and how this change is reflected in the firms' environmental strategies. This paper empirically examines the effects and mechanisms of local government regulation on firms' environmental strategies using the quasi‐natural experimental context of the Leading Officials' Natural Resources Accountability Audit (NRAA) in China. The results show that after the implementation of the NRAA, heavily polluting firms are more likely to adopt a source prevention strategy than an end‐of‐pipe governance strategy to cope with the local government's environmental management pressure. Resource support from local governments and increasingly stringent environmental constraints are potential channels for the NRAA to induce firms to adopt a preventive environmental strategy. The environmental governance pressure transmitted to firms differs due to different promotion expectations of local governments. Thus, corporate environmental strategies are related to government promotion expectations. In addition, we apply the Porter hypothesis to the NRAA. Finally, we explore the governance boundaries of the NRAA for different regions, audit intensities, and firms. This paper clarifies the interaction logic between the local governments' environmental constraints and the enterprises' environmental governance behaviors after the implementation of China's pilot policy, enriching research on natural resource asset audits and environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises survey study results identifying knowledge, skills, and attitudes (competencies) for entry‐level internal audit professionals that could be used to develop a curriculum for chartered professional accountant (CPA)‐bound students to pursue fulfilling careers in internal audit and related management positions under changing competency requirements. We built a survey based on the Institute of Internal Auditor's (IIA's) current Competency Framework, modified by insights from internal audit experts, including a suggestion to include a new information technology category. We then summarise responses from 641 internal audit professionals into a two‐dimensional visualisation highlighting the changes from currently identified competencies to expected changes in skill importance one decade in the future. The results highlight that future internal auditors will need to have a broader set of competencies than simply accounting and finance knowledge. Our future focus provides foundational insights related to the necessary and emerging competencies for academic programme planning, future research and practitioners' training and hiring strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation requires US public companies to disclose the pre‐approval status of their year‐end auditors in their annual proxy statements. Although auditor–client relationships remain at will, the disclosure mandate requires companies to publicly announce their intentions to retain their current auditors. In this paper, we provide initial evidence of the potential implications that these disclosures may have on financial reporting quality. We find that when the disclosures occur later relative to the release of interim reports, interim filings exhibit lower reporting quality. After performing robustness tests, we explore two possible mechanisms that could explain our findings. First, we consider the possibility that audit committee members compromise their independence. Second, we investigate whether auditors delay the performance of certain interim procedures while the disclosures are pending. With the use of audit committee equity compensation to measure audit committee independence impairment and audit fees to measure auditor effort, we find evidence consistent with both explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews literature examining digital transformation in the external audit setting. Our review will inform the standard‐setting initiatives of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) related to the use of technology in auditing. We identified 36 articles on digital transformation in the external audit published between 2000 and 2021 across 20 journals ranked A*, A, B, and C on the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) 2021 Journal Quality List. We also identified 18 advanced working papers. These articles cover conceptual frameworks and archival, experimental, interviews, case studies, and survey research methods. Fifty percent of the published articles appear in A* or A journals, of which nine were published in one of the premier six accounting research journals (i.e., A*) since 2020. This trend is a promising sign that there appears to be increasing interest in publishing digital transformation‐related research in these general interest journals. We use the Bonner judgment and decision‐making framework, coupled with the four primary data analytic tools, to organize and evaluate the literature. This study examines descriptive and diagnostic analytics; more complex techniques, such as predictive and prescriptive, are not as prevalent. Further, existing research insufficiently addresses how data analytic tools impact auditor judgment and decision‐making, providing multiple future inquiry lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how reputational risk to government is generated through framing and overflows evident in environmental performance auditing. It analyses two high‐profile performance audits conducted by the Australian National Audit Office. It is motivated by a gap in the literature on performance auditing and environmental auditing, which both acknowledge that audits may give rise to reputational risk but have not analysed the process through which this occurs. Using ideas of framing (Goffman, 1974) and overflow (Callon, 1983), this paper extends the work of Power (2007) by explaining how different accounts can be constructed from the same underlying events through the application of different frames. Alternative framings generate reputational risk by highlighting contentious issues that may otherwise have been ignored or received minimal consideration. In particular, representatives of the opposition and media can use political and public interest frames to construct performance accounts which differ from and challenge the improvement frame emphasised by performance auditors and favoured by government. This paper shows that auditors' roles are more complex than often assumed and that auditors relate to different audiences through different frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication errors are a leading cause of harm to patients in hospital that can be decreased by electronic medication management systems. Aims: This study determined the effects of electronic prescribing using the Enterprise Patient Administration System (EPAS) on prescribing errors and adverse drug reaction (ADR) documentation in South Australian public hospitals. Methods: A prospective structured medication chart audit was conducted before (in 2012) and after the implementation (in Dec 2014) of EPAS, comparing the paper‐based National Inpatient Medication Chart (NIMC) with prescribing. All inpatients were eligible for inclusion in the study. Prescribing order errors were determined by the percentage of medication orders that had unclear, illegal or unsafe prescriptions. The quality of ADR documentation was assessed by the percentage of patients with correct documentation. Results: The total number of prescribing errors before and after the implementation of EPAS was 67.7 and 2.8 per 100 orders, respectively. The frequency of prescribing order errors due to unclear, illegal and unsafe prescriptions decreased to almost zero with EPAS. Prescriptions classified as unsafe due to incorrect dose, route of administration or dosing frequency decreased from 5.8% to 0.03% of medication orders before versus after EPAS implementation (p < 0.0001). Completed ADR documentation was similar between the paper‐based NIMC and EPAS, but the percentage of patients with ADR alerts who required them was 100% in EPAS compared with 27% on the NIMC (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: E‐prescribing using EPAS significantly decreased prescribing errors and increased ADR alerts. Continued implementation of electronic medication management systems is an important approach to improve medication safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the readability (and hence informative value) of key audit matters (KAM) varies according to the audit firm and the KAM type disclosed, a question of vital importance for stakeholders, whose effective decision‐making depends on the quality of information received. Our analysis shows that the informative value of KAM matter and KAM audit procedures varies according to the audit firm responsible. This informative value also depends on whether the KAM is related to entity‐ or accounting‐level risks. This study contributes to the KAM and audit quality literature by showing how these factors impact on the informative value of the expanded audit report. Furthermore, in the context of the agency, institutional and self‐presentation theories and the real effects hypothesis, we discuss auditors' incentives to increase or decrease the informative value of the expanded audit report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of auditing firms on the implementation of the new Chinese Accounting Standards for Enterprises 22 (new CAS 22), which converges with IFRS 9. We find that the Big4 firms focus on fair value measurement and application of the expected credit loss (ECL) impairment model, whereas the LocalTop6 firms primarily focus on the classification of financial assets. The results indicate that effective implementation of the new standards mainly depends on standardized procedures and professional techniques of auditing firms, as the Big4 firms exhibit better implementation of the new standards in terms of items that generate greater risk and uncertainty than do local large auditing firms in China. In addition, we further test how cross‐listing affects the role of auditing firms in implementing the new standards and find that the Big4 firms play a more significant role for A‐share only companies than A + H companies. The findings reveal the challenges associated with implementation of IFRS 9‐based new CAS 22 in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INCENTIVES Debate around audit reform often focuses on the incentives that influence auditor behaviour, and two are of particular relevance here: independence and the nature of regulation. This article considers the essential ingredients for effective audit regulation and suggests where the UK Government should best focus efforts for reform. [Extracted from the article]

The ongoing transformation of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) external environment is changing the demands and expectations of its stakeholders. The changing environment triggered by technological advancements, increased demand for accountability, and transparency means a change in the way auditing is done. The literature provides evidence of an ongoing technological innovation within the private sector audit. Private sector auditing research has focused mainly on technology adoption and use failing to address the umbrella concept of digital transformation (DT), some even consider processes of DT such as technology adoption and use to be DT. The public sector auditing literature is still yet to commence DT‐related research. This study seeks to fill in this gap and after presenting what DT entails, we applied an exploratory approach through semistructured interview responses, together with other documents from SAIs, to understand how SAIs currently perceive DT and what are their current reactions or actions to transform. The paper analyzes and discusses how SAIs perceive and define the DT phenomenon. The results show that most SAIs still do not master the concept of DT, as they often refer to technology adoption or automation of auditing processes to be DT, notwithstanding a great majority acknowledges the need for DT but lacks the right strategy and resources in place. We saw a few proactive SAIs who are futuristic on the contrary a majority are reacting to change when the need arises, especially during the audit process. The paper provides one of the first empirical investigations into the current DT of public audits. It also proposes a general framework suitable for analyzing the factors involved in the DT in SAIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates alternative configurations of different blockchain architectures that can be used for gathering and processing transactions in a range of different settings, including accounting, auditing, supply chain and other types of transaction information. Although there has been substantial focus on the peer-to-peer and public versions of blockchain, this paper focuses primarily on cloud-based and private configuration versions of blockchains and investigates use configurations, advantages and limitations as firms bring blockchain-based market mechanisms into their organizations. In addition, this paper investigates some emerging issues associated with blockchain use in consortium settings. Finally, this paper relates some proposed uses of blockchain for transaction processing to other technologies, such as data warehouses and databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While implementation studies in aphasia management have shown promising improvements to clinical practice, it is currently unknown if aphasia implementation outcomes are sustained and what factors may influence clinical sustainability. Aims: To evaluate the sustainment (i.e., sustained improvement of aphasia management practices and domains influencing clinicians' practice) and sustainability (i.e., factors influencing sustainability) outcomes of the Acute Aphasia IMplementation Study (AAIMS). Methods & Procedures: A convergent interactive mixed‐methods sustainability evaluation was conducted on two previously delivered implementation interventions (AAIMS). The AAIMS interventions were targeted at improving either written aphasia‐friendly information provision (Intervention A) or collaborative goal‐setting (Intervention B). Outcomes were collected 2 and 3 years post‐implementation, addressing the research questions of sustainment (e.g., medical record audits and behavioural constructs questionnaires) and sustainability (e.g., post‐study focus groups and organizational readiness surveys). Quantitative sustainability data were compared with post‐implementation data, allowing for sustainment to be determined. Clinicians' perspectives on sustainability outcomes and challenges were analysed using framework analysis and integrated with the quantitative findings. Outcomes & Results: A total of 35 speech–language therapists (SLTs) from four hospitals participated. The medical records of 79 patients were audited in the sustainability period compared with the 107 medical records audited during AAIMS. Overall, there was variable sustainment of the target behaviours; implementation for Intervention A was not sustained at either sustainability time point (2018 = 47.8% decrease; 2019 = 22.78% decrease), but implementation for Intervention B was sustained at both time points (2018 = 7.78% increase; 2019 = 18.1% increase). There was a pattern of sustained change in the behaviour change domains targeted by the implementation interventions, where scores of the targeted domains increased over time (0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.05 to 0.30) and scores of the non‐targeted domains declined (−0.03, 95% CI = −0.11 to 0.04). Factors influencing sustainability were mainly related to 'processes', 'the inner context' and 'SLT characteristics', and these interacted dynamically to account for variation between teams. Conclusions & Implications: Implementation outcomes (i.e., practice changes) were not sustained to the same level for three of the four participating SLT teams, with variable or partial sustainment most common. While the factors influencing sustainability differed depending on the context and individuals involved, the most important factor influencing outcomes seemed to be the level to which behaviour‐change processes and strategies were embedded within the SLT department. Future implementation studies should incorporate sustainability measures from the onset and include follow‐ups and monitoring systems to help support sustained change in the long term. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: In post‐stroke aphasia management, there are few examples of long‐term sustainability of implementation outcomes. It is therefore unknown what factors are potentially important to sustain implementation of best‐practice recommendations in aphasia services. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: There is potential for implementation outcomes to be sustained long term, but sustainment is impacted by a range of factors. Ongoing facilitation or follow‐up after initial implementation may to useful to promote sustainment, but is not essential if processes are sufficiently embedded. Gradual implementation into practice may lead to better sustainment than rapid change that is quickly forgotten. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Future implementation efforts should incorporate sustainability measures from the onset. Applying a sustainability framework was useful to guide evaluations and explore factors influencing the sustainment outcomes and is recommended for those interested in sustainability. Results from our evaluation can be used to guide refinement and support future development of sustainable implementation interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COMPETITION, CHOICE AND RESILIENCE IN THE AUDIT MARKET Section 8 of the UK report includes competition in the audit market, covering areas such as operational separation between the audit and nonaudit practitioner. Keywords: audit reforms; competition; public interest; research opportunities; trust EN audit reforms competition public interest research opportunities trust 32 36 5 03/06/22 20220101 NES 220101 INTRODUCTION In this paper, I explore the topic, 'Rebuilding Trust and the role of Audit: The Impact of the UK Audit Reform Proposals on Other Standard-setters'. Rebuilding trust and the role of audit: The impact of the UK audit reform proposals on other standard-setters Additionally, it is difficult to examine any specific recommendation to enhance audit quality in isolation, as audit quality is impacted by overlapping engagement, audit firm and national regulatory initiatives and processes (IAASB, 2014). [Extracted from the article]

This paper investigates a firm's stock return asynchronicity through the auditor's perspective to distinguish whether this asynchronicity can proxy for the company's firm‐specific information or the quality of its information environment. We find a significant and positive association between asynchronicity and audit fees after controlling for auditor quality and other factors that affect audit fees, suggesting that stock return asynchronicity is more likely to capture a company's firm‐specific information than its information environment. We also find that asynchronous firms are more likely to receive adverse opinions on their internal controls over financial reporting, but are associated with lower costs of capital and auditor litigation, providing further evidence in support of the firm‐specific information argument. Asynchronicity's positive association with audit fees is driven by firms with higher accounting reporting complexity, suggesting stock return asynchronicity captures a firm's complexity, resulting in more significant efforts by the auditor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a content analysis of the comment letters submitted in response to the SEC concept release on the enhancements of audit committee disclosures. The comment letters were drafted by investors and a cross‐section of various governance actors or practitioners, such as audit committees, management, legal advisers, and auditors. Hence, the letters provide insights as to how these different groups interpret the proposed revisions and try to adapt them according to their needs and context. The comment letters are analyzed through the framework of the behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance, which arguably better explains the analysis results over the traditional agency theory framework. The theory examines governance actors' interactions and behavioral processes and asserts that the corporation is a nexus of stakeholders' coalitions, who render decisions primarily through engaging in political bargaining rather than through evaluating investor needs. Results show that, while investors are urging enhanced disclosures, audit committee respondents are against the suggested improvements. These results are consistent with the behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance but inconsistent with an agency theory perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of a firm's accounting reporting complexity (ARC) on financial statement audit quality. We predict and find that there is a non‐linear relationship between a firm's ARC and audit quality. Specifically, a more complex accounting environment—measured by ARC—leads to higher quality audits, but this effect diminishes when ARC continues to increase. Further analyses reveal that the effect is more salient among client firms that do not purchase non‐audit services (NAS). We also examine whether ARC affects audit quality in the circumstance of mandatory audit partner rotation. Empirical results show a moderating effect of ARC on the negative influence of audit partner rotation on audit quality. Our study extends the literature by illustrating how a firm's ARC influences audit quality in a special manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the association between the size of accounting firm offices and corporate tax aggressiveness. We find that clients audited by large offices have lower levels of corporate tax aggressiveness. We also find that such a negative relation is less pronounced when an accounting firm office provides tax services or when the office possesses tax‐specific industry expertise, and it is more pronounced when a client is financially important. The study contributes to the literature by documenting the role of accounting firm offices in influencing tax aggressiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical audit ensures healthcare is delivered in a standardised and evidence based manner. Detection of fetal anomalies is important to ensure expectant parents have opportunity to make informed decisions about their pregnancy. Audit of detection rates of fetal anomalies can highlight practice, which does not meet national standards, pinpointing gaps in staff education and training to improve this. This paper describes the implementation of a first time obstetric audit of fetal anomaly detection rates within an imaging department positioned in the National Health Service (NHS) of the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditors' skills and ways of working must adapt to constantly changing conditions in the workplace, and the COVID‐19 pandemic has brought further complexity. This paper uses a complexity theory lens to investigate changes in audit practice in recent years. A qualitative research method, using semi‐structured interviews, was applied: first to investigate how audit practice (skillsets and ways of working) needs to be reformed and second to suggest implications for audit practice stemming from a disruptive macro‐level event such as the current COVID‐19 pandemic. It was found that audit firms are framed as complex adaptive systems and new skillsets and ways of working in audit practice are well known for their adaptation, co‐evolution and emerging behaviours, which include virtual audits and remote working that have been brought about by the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current methods of antimicrobial usage surveillance have limited efficacy in changing practice due to delayed reporting to clinicians and the inability to stratify by medical specialty. This study was undertaken in a tertiary teaching hospital with a well established antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme and electronic medicines management (eMM) system in Sydney, Australia. Aims: To describe and analyse the implementation of a novel AMS audit and feedback method, in the context of an eMM system. Methods: The AMS team conducted the audit weekly, and the study design was a prospective, observational study. All acute, adult inpatients were included in this intervention. All active systemic antimicrobial prescriptions on the day of the rounds were included. Results: The prevalence of patients on antimicrobial therapy was 37%. The median time taken per round was 44 min for eMM compared to 58 min for paper. All key performance indicators improved over the study period. Appropriateness compared to guidelines increased from 55% to 71%, and documentation of an indication increased from 75% to 98%. There were 1413 recommendations made, with the most common being to cease an antimicrobial agent. The recommendation uptake rate was 47% at 24 h post-round. Conclusions: AMS rounds are an effective tool for auditing and providing feedback on antimicrobial use and should include all antimicrobials rather than solely 'restricted' agents. These rounds had a high uptake rate, improvements in the appropriateness of antimicrobial use, and a planned duration or review date. A benefit of eMM was improvement in the documentation of indication for antimicrobial agents, and reduced time taken to audit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines management's image repair strategies present in disclosures noting a firm's involvement in an SEC investigation. This empirical analysis employs a systematic content analysis of managements' 10‐K disclosures released from 2010 through 2019. The sample is drawn from firms identified in SEC accounting and auditing enforcement releases. This research suggests that management's disclosure concerning an SEC investigation commonly focuses on adding positive information to the disclosure (bolstering) and discussing plans to solve the problem. Managers commonly employ multiple image repair tactics within the same 10‐K. These findings have key implications for financial reporting regulators and accounting standards setters concerned with understanding how managers may manipulate disclosures. Investors may also be interested in understanding how company managers attempt to restore the firm's reputation when the firm is undergoing regulatory scrutiny. Further, the findings of this study enhance the knowledge of corporate image restoration strategy. This paper is the first to focus on managements' use of image repair disclosure strategies when a securities regulator is investigating the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale, Aims and Objectives: Emergency hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge from hospital are considered a marker for the quality of hospital care, patient experience, the discharge process and integration with community services. This paper describes the frequency and variations in cause of emergency readmissions at 30 and 90 days following discharge after acute stroke from two stroke units. Methods: Retrospective data collection of Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) and Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) of consecutive acute stroke hospital discharges over 24 months from 2017 to 2019 from two specialist stroke units in England. HES data were used to calculate the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Covariates were analysed for their association with readmission rate, including: age; gender; CCI; length of stay for first stroke admission; living alone; discharge to a care home; discharge receiving stroke specialist early supported discharge (ESD) rehabilitation and stroke severity as determined by National Institute for Health Stroke Scale on stroke admission. Results: From 2017 to 2019 there were 1999 live discharges with a primary diagnosis of stroke. Both hospitals had a trend of increasing readmission rates with increasing stroke severity and comorbidity. Longer length of stroke admission, especially for patients with increasing stroke severity, and patients receiving ESD rehabilitation after discharge reduced 90‐day readmissions. This association was stronger at 90 days than at 30 days. Different readmission event rates were found at 30 and 90 days and when events were compared between the two hospitals. Conclusion: Understanding differences in readmission event rates between hospitals at 30 and 90 days can support local planning of patient needs in the first weeks after stroke discharge and to investigate ways for hospital to reduce the impact of readmission. It is recommended that stroke services use both 30 and 90‐day readmissions to inform service evaluation and improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aortic dissection (AD) is rare. Missed AD is a common reason for coronial investigations and civil claims for medical negligence. Recommendations include improved education, supervision and information transfer, reminders in chest pain pathways and higher rates of investigation for AD. Higher investigation rates pose risks to patients and the health system which may not be in balance with the likelihood of AD. The appropriate diagnostic yield of investigation to balance risk and benefit has not been defined. The AD detection risk score pathway has been proposed as a useful diagnostic tool but concerns about its derivation, validation and utility remain. In this paper, we try to draw together published literature and local audit data to develop recommendations about what might be done to reduce the number of missed AD cases in EDs and what the impact of higher investigation rates might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present and extend previous theoretical results that show that tax authorities can at the same time reduce tax evasion and boost output with clever audit behavior. We argue that randomized controlled trials or field experiments are impractical for empirical testing in this context. Instead, we turn to laboratory experiments and test if humans follow the theoretical mechanisms underlying the theory. We find that both dividends, less evasion, and higher output, materialize in the laboratory. We show in additional experiments that the behavioral mechanism generating the higher output differs from the theoretical driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of auditing and transparency frequently appear in discussions about contemporary public‐sector challenges, but the relationship between them rarely has been examined. This paper argues that transparency might be viewed as both an effect of auditing and a prerequisite for auditing. Broadly speaking, the former tends to be articulated more in the auditing literature—where transparency often justifies auditing—while the latter often appears in the transparency literature. By proposing a distinction between "raw transparency" and "refined transparency," this paper strives to increase conceptual clarity and establish a theoretical basis for various auditing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this study is to investigate factors associated with the increase in demand for carbon auditing in China. Based on an analysis of publicly available carbon‐related information and data, the paper documents the large amount of carbon auditing that occurred in the public sector during the period 2009–2013. We find that the creation of carbon institutions and the significant increase in governmental green funding were the main reasons for the emergence of carbon auditing in this period. The change in models of economic development attempting to balance GDP growth and ecosystem protection, in addition to institutional reform, has led carbon auditing from rhetoric to practice. In addition, we show that carbon auditing serves as a tool for the management of transitions and the governance of sustainable socio‐technical and organisational innovation and transformation. Through an analysis of publicly available carbon‐related information and data, this study investigates factors associated with the increase in demand for carbon auditing in China. The paper finds that the creation of carbon institutions and the significant increase in governmental green funding are the main reasons for the emergence of carbon auditing during the period 2009–2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance audit is a practice with a potentially high degree of democratic and political relevance. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have the authority to determine whether the undertakings in central government 'are working'; therefore, SAIs tend to be regarded as important guardians of transparency and 'good' public sector performance. For this purpose, audits of 'substance' are regarded as crucial by both the research community and the INTOSAI. Still, the literature on performance audit concludes that substance audits are rare, although they do exist. One explanation for this is that substance auditing can be a risky endeavour for the auditors, since the lack of generic accounting standards for 'good' public sector performance makes the performance audit reports vulnerable to criticism. The aim of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of substance auditing by detailing the ways in which such audits are presented in performance audit reports. Thus, the paper focuses its analysis on the 'front stage' of substance auditing and finds that the auditors rarely choose to stand on the front stage alone. Instead, they regularly support their authority by relying on other authorities, and when such authorities are lacking, the auditors are reluctant to present judgements in terms of 'good' (or poor) performance. In such cases, this paper suggests that the democratic relevance of the audits can be questioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a case study‐based investigation of aspects of the current paradigmatic approach to 'good' corporate governance, with its focus on the interlinked roles of internal control and risk management procedures, internal audit and external audit, overseen and coordinated by a formal structure of board committees, in particular the audit committee. The evidence that we adduce from the study of four high‐profile cases of perceived accounting and governance failure provides limited assurance that this approach will in fact be cost‐effective or efficient in preventing further such cases of accounting and governance failure. Specifically, issues as to remuneration and fee dependence, lack of relevant knowledge and expertise, social and psychological dependence upon executive management appear to have significantly and negatively affected the quality of decision‐making of governance gatekeepers. This suggests that further consideration of relevant economic, institutional and cognitive/behavioural factors beyond the rational choice model of traditional economics should underpin future developments in required modes and structures of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of small U.S. domestic audit firms and the quality of their audits. We use hand collected data from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) website and provide an analysis based on 171 settled disciplinary orders issued to 150 small audit firms over the sample period from 2005 to 2018. We identify some key compliance issues associated with audits performed by small audit firms such as lack of due professional care, impaired auditor independence and inadequate engagement quality reviews. Our findings also indicate that risky clients (i.e., clients associated with disciplinary orders) pay higher audit fees and are less likely to receive a going concern opinion than peer clients not associated with a disciplinary order. Further, we discuss the implications of our research for practitioners, regulators and researchers in an attempt to enhance the overall health of the audit market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the 'style' of individual auditors influences financial reporting quality in Germany. Audit quality in Germany should be uniformly high, because of strong reputational needs, strict controls on operating procedures, and quality enforcement mechanisms. An audit partner's style should not affect this quality level. However, our results do not support this expectation. Exploiting a unique dataset comprising the names of the audit engagement and review partners of listed German companies, we find that audit engagement partners in Germany have a significant influence on audit quality, beyond firm‐ and office‐level factors. In contrast, audit review partners do not have a consistent significant influence on audit quality. We measure audit quality by the level of a firm's abnormal accruals and its propensity to meet or beat an earnings target. We also find that the 2005 adoption of a new audit quality enforcement system that includes 'naming and shaming' does not reduce the influence of audit partner style on financial reporting quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper was to outline the possibility of utilising information from online job postings and text‐mining analyses to identify mismatches and gaps between learning outcomes prepared by universities, and the knowledge and skills that employers need. The study uses job advertisement contents and learning outcomes documents from universities. We analysed both data sets using word importance classification, cluster analysis and hierarchical clustering. Word importance classification presented the mismatches in a quantitative and diagram format. Cluster analysis and hierarchical clustering provided information on how to correct the detected gaps and mismatches. The study empirically corroborates that the method we put forward for analysing both sources (LOs and job ads) helps identify and assess the significance of gaps and mismatches in the approaches to knowledge and skills adopted by universities and employers. Consequently, the method can be helpful during the auditing process and while implementing market‐oriented curriculum changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates how tax administrations can evaluate future compliance gains from risk‐based tax enforcement that audits all taxpayers above a risk threshold. Expanding tax enforcement in this setting means reducing the audit threshold. The compliance gains from such an expansion consist of a mechanical audit correction effect and a behavioural effect that reflects changes in self‐reporting in the subsequent years. We estimate this behavioural effect in a regression discontinuity analysis with the risk score as the forcing variable. We find that taxpayers at the margin had a significant reduction in self‐reported deductions in the next years' tax filing. The behavioural effect over a three‐year post‐audit period is estimated to be of a magnitude similar to that of the direct adjustment of the audit. This compliance effect does not change when we include the reporting of the spouse. We find that the risk score threshold that maximizes net public revenue from the audits is considerably below current practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]