دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی چهره قابل تغییر گزارش حسابرس: پیامد های کارپردازان و کاربران اظهارنامه های مالی - وایلی 2017

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) recently finalised several significant and controversial reforms of the audit reporting model. The reforms are in response to long-standing criticisms about the form and content of the existing audit report. This study critically examines the current audit report reforms and their implications. In particular, we investigate the perceptions of prominent stakeholders in respect of these reforms and then evaluate the implications of the reforms on the informational value of the audit report, audit quality and audit costs. The findings suggest that the changes to the audit report are of significant informational value to users, while the implications for audit quality are unclear. Indeed, the changes would increase audit costs and potentially the legal liability of auditors. This appraisal is timely given the efforts made by the IAASB in commissioning these reforms to enhance the relevance and informational value of the audit report.

Conclusions and Implications

This study investigates the perceptions of prominent stakeholders on the current audit report reforms and evaluates the implications of the reforms on the informational value of the audit report, audit quality and audit costs. The findings indicate a high level of overall support for audit report reforms. However, individual key reforms receive varied levels of support.

The analyses show that there are significant differences between stakeholder groups in their support for audit report reforms. The majority of preparers are opposed to all of the key reforms, while accounting firms and member bodies, along with users, offer majority support for the reform initiatives. We conclude that the differences across stakeholder groups can be explained by their economic self-interest. Preparers will incur significant costs as a result of the reforms, and this motivates their resistance to the changes. On the other hand, accounting firms stand to gain from the reforms through higher fee revenue as requirements increase. Users also tend to gain from additional disclosures in the audit report. Consistent with prior research, member bodies generally support the position of their constituents – in this case, the accountants and accounting firms