Auditing%20Research:%20Past,%20Present%20

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Auditing Research Past, Present Future

• Arnie Wright

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Auditing Research Past

• Topic analysis of published AJPT articles while I
  was editor 1999-2003
• Three most frequent topics
• Auditor independence 9 articles independence in
  fact, 3 articles independence in appearance
• Risk assessment and program planning
• Going concern reports

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Auditing Research Past

• Wide variety of topics
• Auditor changes/auditor selection
• Audit fees
• Litigation
• Audit performance individual factors (task
  experience, memory errors, accountability)
• Audit performance firm factors (Big N,
  specialization)

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Auditing Research Past

• Whats missing in this picture?
• Topics that didnt appear often
• Internal controls and IT
• Non-North American data/settings
• Continuous auditing
• Analytical procedures
• Fraud detection
• Practice notes

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Auditing Research Present

• Continued focus on auditor independence issues
  (e.g., non-audit services) and risk
  assessment/program planning (slight
  shiftholistic audit approaches)
• Whats changed?
• Expanded attention to corporate governance
• Greater focus on fraud detection
• Increased attention to earnings management and
  auditor-client negotiations

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Auditing Research Future

• Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley
• Assurance on internal controls IT environment
• Corporate governance mechanisms audit
  committees internal audit board
• Regulation of the profession
• Auditing from a worldwide perspective
• International auditing standards
• Coordinating a global audit
• Audit environments outside Anglo-Saxon areas

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Auditing Research Future

• Continuous auditing
• Requires a fundamental shift of monitoring the
  accounting system and controls vs. auditing the
  balances
• Analytical procedures
• Holistic audit approaches
• Fraud detection
• Independence
• In appearance (limited research)
• Instilling professionalism and skepticism

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Auditing Research Future

• Fraud detection
• Improvements in risk assessment and designing an
  effective response
• Audit sampling
• Testing of controls post Sarbanes-Oxley
• Practice notes
• Two way communications with practice
• Innovative practices and i.d. of pressing issues

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Auditing Research Future

• Assurance services
• Demand/supply for various types of services
  worldwide
• Rise in disclosures of non-financial information