Showing papers on "Audit published in 1991"
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TL;DR: After 24 months the trial of labor and vaginal birth rates in the audit and feedback group were no different from those in the control group, but rates were 46% and 85% higher, respectively, among physicians educated by an opinion leader.
Abstract: A randomized controlled trial with 76 physicians in 16 community hospitals evaluated audit and feedback and local opinion leader education as methods of encouraging compliance with a guideline for the management of women with a previous cesarean section. The guideline recommended clinical actions to increase trial of labor and vaginal birth rates. Charts for all 3552 cases in the study groups were audited. After 24 months the trial of labor and vaginal birth rates in the audit and feedback group were no different from those in the control group, but rates were 46% and 85% higher, respectively, among physicians educated by an opinion leader. Duration of hospital stay was lower in the opinion leader education group than in the other two groups. The overall cesarean section rate was reduced only in the opinion leader education group. There were no adverse clinical outcomes attributable to the interventions. The use of opinion leaders improved the quality of care. ( JAMA . 1991;265:2202-2207)
696 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore three questions related to the SEC's accounting enforcement program: (1) what types of accounting and auditing problems motivate enforcement actions, (2) what are the consequences of investigations on targets' financial statements, managers, and auditors, and (3) how do investors and other market agents view SEC's actions.
Abstract: This paper explores three questions related to the SEC's accounting enforcement program: (1) what types of accounting and auditing problems motivate enforcement actions, (2) what are the consequences of investigations on targets' financial statements, managers, and auditors, and (3) how do investors and other market agents view the SEC's actions? The SEC enforcement program, which consists of investigations and subsequent injunctive actions or administrative proceedings against offending registrants and auditors, is designed "to concentrate on particular problem areas and to anticipate emerging problems" (SEC [1989, p. 1]). The potential for SEC enforcement actions provides incentives for corporate officers and independent CPAs to avoid unacceptable practices whose "effective prosecution is
527 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a model in which audited reports are valuable to entrepreneurs who have private information and seek to share risks with investors, where the choice of auditor and the resulting audited report provide partial information about the entrepreneur's private information, and he resolves all remaining investor uncertainty by signalling with retained ownership.
524 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine an auditor's incentives to take actions that lead to objective financial statements, and they challenge the common perception that auditors are conservative by examining the negotiated character of the auditing process.
Abstract: This paper examines an auditor's incentives to take actions that lead to objective financial statements. Our results challenge the common perception that auditors are conservative. Under Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, the literal claim is that financial statements are the representations of management. Our view of the auditing process, however, focuses on its negotiated character. Financial statements should be read as a joint statement from the auditor and manager. The statement becomes a joint venture if the auditor is unwilling to provide an unqualified opinion on management's stated representations. At that point, the auditor and client begin negotiations in which the auditor may offer a revised statement. The client may threaten to dismiss him and find one more accepting of its views. Or they may decide to extend the audit to obtain more facts. In the end, compromises are usually found, statements are revised, and the auditor issues an unqualified opinion on the revised statements.'
466 citations
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TL;DR: It is important that the use of information in the audit process should be critically evaluated, given the cost of information processing and the current emphasis on closing the audit loop in the health services.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE--To establish what is known about the role of feedback of statistical information in changing clinical practice DESIGN--Review of 36 studies of interventions entailing the use of statistical information for audit or practice review, which used a formal research design SUBJECTS--Papers identified from computer searches of medical and health service management publications, of which 36 describing studies of interventions designed to influence clinical care and including information feedback from clinical or administrative data systems were reviewed MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Evidence for effect of information feedback on change in clinical practice RESULTS--Information feedback was most likely to influence clinical practice if it was part of strategy to target decision makers who had already agreed to review their practice A more direct effect was discernable if the information was presented close to the time of decision making The questions of the optimum layout and quantity of information were not addressed; the 36 papers were insufficient for defining good formats for information to be used for audit or quality assurance CONCLUSIONS--Given the cost of information processing and the current emphasis on closing the audit loop in the health services, it is important that the use of information in the audit process should be critically evaluated
330 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, a firm's decision to replace its auditor when the replacement affects outsiders' perceptions of its financial condition and auditors' attestations is studied, and it is shown that the auditor is more likely to be replaced the more favorable the firm's information and less favorable the auditor's information.
316 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, an interpretative framework and data collected through interviews was used to explore the social ambivalence in public accounting firms and suggest that the undiscussability of the cost/quality dilemma is translated into ethical ambiguity, resulting in individualized reconciliations of the dilemma.
Abstract: Public accounting firms face an inherent dilemma, wherein conflicting cost and quality goals are create a setting where social ambivalence thrives. This paper explores this dilemma, using an interpretative framework and data collected through interviews. The results suggest that, rather than directly addressing this dilemma, audit firms promote an attitude of compromise within individual audit staff members. This compromise, though, is never openly discussed, hence in Argyris' words ( Accounting, Organizations and Society (1977) pp. 113–123), a double bind exists within the control system: the undiscussable remains undiscussable. Blending auditor comments with related research, it is suggested that the social ambivalence, through undiscussability, is translated into ethical ambivalence (Jansen & von Glinow, Academy of Management Review (1985) pp. 814–822), resulting in individualized reconciliations of the cost/quality dilemma. The discussion ends with implications for research and practice.
282 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the multivariate relationship between a set of explanatory variables and audit delay for a large sample of New Zealand public companies and found that both company size and sign of income significantly affect audit delay across the two years examined.
Abstract: An important qualitative attribute of financial statements is timeliness. The recognition that the length of the audit may be the single most important determinant affecting the timing of earnings' announcements has motivated recent research on audit delay. The present study extends prior research by examining the multivariate relationship between a set of explanatory variables and audit delay for a large sample of New Zealand public companies. Further, the study includes two explanatory variables, company control (i.e. owner control versus manager control) and debt proportion, which have not previously been considered. The results indicate that both company size and sign of income significantly affect audit delay across the two years examined. Five other explanatory variables significantly affected audit delay for one of the two years examined. The adjusted R2s of the regression models, however, were relatively low. Additional analysis was also performed on each company control subsample. These ...
270 citations
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11 Oct 1991
TL;DR: An audit system for recording the activation of coin-operated electronic equipment and the amounts of money collected employing a real-time clock to time stamp information recorded in non-volatile or battery powered memory, such as total collections, number of games played, etc..
Abstract: An audit system for recording the activation of coin-operated electronic equipment and the amounts of money collected employing a real-time clock to time stamp information recorded in non-volatile or battery powered memory, such as total collections, number of games played, etc. The system also allows selective pricing based on a time of day schedule.
237 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, it is suggested, on the basis of a deconstructed principal-agent framework, that accounting-based environmental audits have the potential to constrain social perceptions of corporate accountability and environmentally relevant action.
Abstract: Recent initiatives in environmental audit prompt questions about the nature of the technical expertise upon which such practices may depend. At the heart of these practices lie expert constructions of environmental risk. It is suggested, on the basis of a deconstructed principal‐agent framework, that accounting‐based environmental audits have the potential to constrain social perceptions of corporate accountability and environmentally‐relevant action.
202 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have attempted to derive clinical definitions suitable for bedside diagnosis of infection and believe that these should be supported by, but not be dependent upon, the results of laboratory or imaging techniques.
Abstract: Infection is an important arbiter of success or failure of surgical practice and the incidence of infection is incorporated into all surgical audit systems. If audit is to be of value the outcome end points of clinical practice must be defined. We have attempted to derive clinical definitions suitable for bedside diagnosis of infection and believe that these should bs supported by, but not be dependent upon, the results of laboratory or imaging techniques. The proposed definitions are intended to form the basis for clinical audit and to allow meaningful comparisons to be made on clear clinical criteria.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effects of audit fee size, management advisory services, audit firm size and competition on perceptions of the auditors'ability to resist management pressure in an audit conflict situation.
Abstract: Using a multi-factor ANOVA design and forty-nine bankers as subjects, this study examined the effects of audit fee size, management advisory services, audit firm size and competition on perceptions of the auditors'ability to resist management pressure in an audit conflict situation. It postulates that size of the audit fee is a major explanatory factor regardless of the provision of management advisory services, audit firm size or level of competition. Results supported the hypothesized effects of these variables and, in particular, that size of audit fee affects perceptions of the auditors'ability to resist management pressure regardless of the other variables.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the cognitive representations used by expert and novice auditors in performing a simulated audit task to evaluate financial data from two actual audit cases in which framing effects were present and were not detected by auditors.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the usefulness of financial statement and other data for modeling the auditor's decision process leading to the modification of audit reports for uncertainties and proposed a model for predicting uncertainty qualifications, which could be applied early in the audit when the auditor forms an expectation of engagement risk and again at the final stage when making the reporting decision.
Abstract: This study examines the usefulness of financial statement and other data for modeling the auditor's decision process leading to the modification of audit reports for uncertainties. The auditor faces increased responsibility to evaluate and report on uncertainty about a client's continued existence under SAS No. 58 and SAS No. 59 (AICPA [1988]). A model for predicting uncertainty qualifications would be useful as an aid to this reporting decision; it could be applied early in the audit when the auditor forms an expectation of engagement risk and again at the final stage when making the reporting decision. The model could also be used as an expectations model in studies of the information content of qualified audit opinions and for investigating changes in auditors' loss functions.' In addition, a model might provide
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an alternative discourse that emphasizes the circular and self-sustaining nature of professional practices in the public accounting profession, and provide a case study of Canadian public accounting.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a case for a servives marketing audit, present a framework for conducting such an audit, and discuss the lessons learned from a field test of the framework.
Abstract: The marketing audit literature does not adequately reflect the development of the services marketing field in recent years. This article makes a case for a servives marketing audit, presents a framework for conducting such an audit, and discusses the lessons learned from a field test of the framework.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of two proxies for audit quality on a model of public sector disclosure for a sample of municipal governments and found that more complete disclosures enhance the reputation of an independent auditing firm and that independent auditors, seeking to maintain a reputation of higher quality, positively influence the level of financial disclosures appearing in their clients' financial statements.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present evidence on three key questions raised by these developments: What are the benefits and costs to listing on a foreign stock exchange? And what extent do accounting disclosure requirements influence foreign listing decisions?
Abstract: As firms enter foreign markets for customers and capital, accounting practitioners must wrestle with cross-border differences in languages, customs, accounting conventions, and auditing standards. Stock exchanges in the U.S. claim that they are at a competitive disadvantage because stringent U.S. reporting requirements discourage foreign firms from listing here.This study presents evidence on three key questions raised by these developments:(1) What are the benefits and costs to listing on a foreign stock exchange?(2) Tb what extent do accounting disclosure requirements influence foreign listing decisions?(3) What are the accounting policy issues posed by foreign stock exchange Ustings and how have regulatory authorities responded?
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TL;DR: In this article, a UK derivative of the US expanded report has the power, compared to the current short form report used in the UK, to help the reasonably intelligent reader to understand better the audit and the auditor's role.
Abstract: There is a widespread concern about the ‘expectations’ gap in auditing. To help close this gap the profession in the United States has recently expanded its standard audit report to give a fuller understanding of the scope, nature and significance of the audit. The primary research question addressed in this paper is whether a UK derivative of the US expanded report has the power, compared to the current short form report used in the UK, to help the reasonably intelligent reader to understand better the audit and the auditor's role. The research was conducted by experiment with 140 part-time MBA students from the University of Edinburgh. The results provide clear evidence of the ability of the UK derivative to change reader perceptions. Moreover significant changes are not limited to matters directly addressed in the expansion of the audit report. A ‘halo’ effect is observed whereby the expanded wording seems to generate a feeling of well-being which spills over to matters not directly addressed ...
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TL;DR: The auditing profession has come under increasing pressure in the past 30 years to respond to allegations that it has failed in its prime mission of notifying investors and others when financial statements of client companies are not be relied upon as discussed by the authors.
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TL;DR: In this paper, restaurants that hope to benefit from this trend must realize that the restaurant's environment, services, and service delivery should conform to customers' expectations according to their expectations.
Abstract: Today, people are dining out more often than at any time in the past. Restaurants that hope to benefit from this trend must realize that the restaurant's environment, services, and service delivery should conform to customers' expectations
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01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: In this article, Elkington's experience in advising such companies as ICI, Glaxo and Procter & Gamble, and conducting environmental audits for, among others, British Telecom, Novo Nordisk, Shell and TSB, is discussed.
Abstract: Businesses of all sizes are finding it increasingly necessary, in the face of demands from customers and shareholders, to develop environmentally-friendly policies for every aspect of their activities. Based on John Elkington's experience in advising such companies as ICI, Glaxo and Procter & Gamble, and conducting environmental audits for, among others, British Telecom, Novo Nordisk, Shell and TSB, this book quotes case studies in approaching the issues at all levels from the boardroom down. The topics examined include operating finance, legal and personnel departments, research, transport and office supplies.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors report results from an experimental markets study of how the provision of a management advisory service (MAS) and an audit service might affect the demand for and the supply of these interrelated services.
Abstract: In this paper we report results from an experimental markets study of how the provision of a management advisory service (MAS) and an audit service might affect the demand for and the supply of these interrelated services. This study was originally motivated by the long-standing debate on whether the provision of MAS adversely affects auditor's independence. As the study progressed, however, the complex interactions between MAS and auditing services led us to broaden our focus to include other potential effects of allowing auditors jointly to provide both services. These other effects can confound the study of the independence issue, as we note below. In its early stages, the debate on the independence issue focused on whether the provision of MAS that was an integral part of the audit (e.g., design of clients' information and internal control systems) would prevent auditors from objectively reviewing the quality of these services (Metcalf Committee Staff Study [1977]). The Cohen Commission [1978], organized by the AICPA to investigate allegations of audit inadequacies, concluded that it could not find evidence indicating that the provision of MAS was associated with substand-
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present evidence on three key questions raised by these developments: (1) What are the benefits and costs to listing on a foreign stock exchange? (2) Tb what extent do accounting disclosure requirements influence foreign listing decisions? (3) what are the accounting policy issues posed by foreign stock exchanges Ustings and how have regulatory authorities responded?
Abstract: As firms enter foreign markets for customers and capital, accounting practitioners must wrestle with cross-border differences in languages, customs, accounting conventions, and auditing standards. Stock exchanges in the U.S. claim that they are at a competitive disadvantage because stringent U.S. reporting requirements discourage foreign firms from listing here.
This study presents evidence on three key questions raised by these developments:
(1) What are the benefits and costs to listing on a foreign stock exchange? (2) Tb what extent do accounting disclosure requirements influence foreign listing decisions? (3) What are the accounting policy issues posed by foreign stock exchange Ustings and how have regulatory authorities responded?
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TL;DR: An audit questionnaire developed from hospital guidelines on management of acute asthma improved few standards of care and emphasises the need for further reinforcement and feedback.
Abstract: OBJECTIVES--To design an audit questionnaire and pilot its use by an audit assistant to monitor inpatient management of acute asthma and to compare the care given by chest physicians and general physicians. DESIGN--Retrospective review by a chest physician and audit assistant of a random sample of 76 case records of patients by a criterion based questionnaire developed from hospital guidelines on management of acute asthma. SETTING--One district general hospital. PATIENTS--76 adult patients with acute asthma: 38 admitted with a relevant primary diagnosis between April 1988 and March 1989 and a further 38 admitted through the accident and emergency department between April 1989 and March 1990. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Conformity with recognised standards for assessment and management of acute asthma before and after the audit and by chest physicians and general physicians. RESULTS--Age and sex did not differ significantly between the different groups of patients. Overall, deviations from the guidelines occurred in recording measures of severity of asthma, emergency treatment with beta 2 agonists (60/76, 79%) and steroids (43/76, 57%), and prescription of antibiotics in accordance with at least one criterion of the guidelines (29/45, 64%). Chest physicians were more rigorous than general physicians in recording severity measures, especially serum potassium concentration (chi 2 = 3.6, df = 1, p = 0.06), emergency steroid treatment within the correct period (chi 2 = 3.9, df = 1, p = 0.05), and referral for follow up at an outpatient chest clinic. Recording of arterial blood gas tensions improved significantly between the 1988-9 and 1989-90 samples (chi 2 = 7.0, df = 1, p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS--The questionnaire proved easy to use for both doctor and audit assistant. The audit improved few standards of care and emphasises the need for further reinforcement and feedback.
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TL;DR: In this paper, over 200 audit practitioners participated in a series of structured group processes designed to elicit group consensus, first on the factors affecting audit process quality and subsequently on objective measures of deviations in each of the identified factors.
Abstract: Audit quality has been researched from several perspectives. Most recent research has been oriented toward end user surrogates for audit quality. This study, on the other hand, focuses on the development of a more objective and comprehensive measure of audit quality based on an evaluation of the actual audit processes completed for a unique engagement. To achieve this objective, over 200 audit practitioners participated in a series of structured group processes designed to elicit group consensus, first on the factors affecting audit process quality and subsequently on objective measures of deviations in each of the identified factors. A separate group of approximately 100 practitioners provided relative weights for each identified factor's effect on overall audit quality. The combination of measures and corresponding weighting factors is used as the foundation for a comprehensive framework for evaluating audit process quality.
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TL;DR: This is the first national scale audit for any country and the first attempt to select, from the many vague statements in EISs, only those predictions that are scientifically testable, and to determine and analyse their quantitative accuracies.
Abstract: Our understanding of natural ecosystems can be measured by our ability to predict their responses to external disturbances Predictions made during environmental impact assessment (EIA) for major development projects are hypotheses about such responses, which can be tested with data collected in environmental monitoring programmes The systematic comparison of predicted and actual impacts has been termed environmental impact audit Ecosystem disturbances associated with major resource developments, though of lesser magnitude than those associated with natural cataclysms, are generally of far greater magnitude than those which can be applied experimentally Environmental audit can hence provide critical tests of theory in a number of natural sciences It is also needed to improve the scientific content of EIA Audits of 4 and 29 EISs respectively have been carried out previously in the UK and USA, but this is the first national scale audit for any country It is also the first attempt to select, from the many vague statements in EISs, only those predictions that are scientifically testable, and to determine and analyse their quantitative accuracies Its principal results are as follows The average accuracy of quantified, critical, testable predictions in environmental impact statements in Australia to date is 44%±5% se Predictions where actual impacts proved more than expected were on average significantly (p<005) less accurate (33%±9%) than those where they proved as or less severe (53%±6%)
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TL;DR: A computer program called hypercritic is written that audits general practitioners' management of patients with essential hypertension by taking patient-specific data from the ELIAS system, and automated review of computer-based medical records compares favourably with review by physicians.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effect of expertise on the quality of audit decision making in an audit planning context and found that experts are more consistent with professional standards, consistency with the firm's standards, and consensus among auditors.
Abstract: . This research study examines the effect of expertise on the quality of audit decision making in an audit planning context. Unlike previous studies, expertise is measured in terms of domain-specific knowledge. The quality of audit decision making is evaluated with three measures: consistency with professional standards, consistency with the firm's standards, and consensus among auditors. In general, findings indicate that the quality of audit decision making, as defined in this study, is better among experts than among novices. More specifically, it appears that both experts and novices possess some minimum level of knowledge to be consistent with professional standards. Second, experts are more consistent with firms' standards for both reliance and substantive decisions, indicating that expert auditors may have finer knowledge than novices. Finally, the experts' consensus level is higher than the novices' consensus level for standard auditing situations although for less standard situations, the consensus level is lower for experts.