{"title":"How Fraud Risk Decomposition Affects Auditors' Fraud Risk Assessments","authors":"Chad A. Simon, Jason L. Smith, Mark F. Zimbelman","doi":"10.2308/ciia-52723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-52723","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we provide a practitioner summary of our paper ‘‘The Influence of Judgment Decomposition on Auditors’ Fraud Risk Assessments: Some Trade-Offs’’ (Simon, Smith, and Zimbelman 2018). In that study, we investigate potential unintended consequences from current auditing guidance on risk assessments. Specifically, auditing standards recommend separate assessments of the likelihood and magnitude of risks (hereafter, LM decomposition) when auditors assess risk. Our study involved several experiments, including one with experienced auditors, where we found evidence that LM decomposition leads auditors to be less concerned about high-risk fraud schemes relative to auditors who make holistic risk assessments. Our other experiments involved nonauditing settings and replicated this finding while exploring potential explanations for it. After providing a summary of our study and its results, we offer concluding remarks on the potential implications of our findings.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":"14 1","pages":"26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46842881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nathan H. Cannon, David N. Herda, Thomas M. Puffer
{"title":"Big 4 Alumni's Attitudes and Behavior Toward their Former Firm","authors":"Nathan H. Cannon, David N. Herda, Thomas M. Puffer","doi":"10.2308/ciia-52642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-52642","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article summarizes a recently published academic study (Cannon, Herda, and Puffer 2019) that examines factors associated with Big 4 alumni's proclivity to benefit their former firm by recommending the firm to others as a potential service provider or employer (i.e., post-employment citizenship). Based on social exchange theory, our study predicts and finds that alumni who perceive their firm treated them fairly and supported them during their time with the firm are more committed to the firm, and therefore more likely to engage in post-employment citizenship. Although we find that firm commitment decreases after individuals exit the firm, our results suggest that the firm's alumni outreach efforts (both formal and informal) can help soften this decline. Practical implications for audit firms are discussed.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-52642","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43376881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bank Audit Fee Pressure During the Financial Crisis","authors":"C. Porter","doi":"10.2308/ciia-52643","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-52643","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study examines the pressure on bank audit fees during the height of the financial crisis. I employ a prior year benchmark audit fee method and compare it to the actual audit fee to determine the amount of fee pressure applied in a year. Results show a significant amount of fee pressure exerted upon bank auditors during 2008, more so than that found in studies of other industries. This study also investigates a bank specific fee model during the crisis finding differences in determinants of fees for those banks that did apply fee pressure.\u0000 JEL Classifications: M42.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-52643","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41979999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. O. Brown, Jonathan H. Grenier, Jonathan S. Pyzoha, Andrew Reffett, Natalie Zielinski
{"title":"When Does Utilizing Valuation Specialists Reduce Auditors' Litigation Risk?","authors":"J. O. Brown, Jonathan H. Grenier, Jonathan S. Pyzoha, Andrew Reffett, Natalie Zielinski","doi":"10.2308/ciia-52674","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-52674","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article summarizes “The Effects of Specialist Type and Estimate Aggressiveness on Juror Judgments of Auditor Negligence” (Brown, Grenier, Pyzoha, and Reffett 2019), which examines two critical factors auditors consider when auditing complex estimates: type of specialist to engage and relative estimate aggressiveness. In an experiment involving an alleged audit failure, jurors were less likely to find auditors negligent when the auditors consulted with a valuation specialist, but only when managements' estimate was more aggressive. The study does not find similar litigation benefits of using a specialist for a less aggressive estimate. A second experiment extended these results by demonstrating that jurors were less likely to find auditors negligent when the auditors consulted with an external rather than an internal specialist. Further, the benefits of using an external specialist extended to auditors who initially engaged an internal specialist and brought in an external specialist to review the internal specialist's work.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43295648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"PRACTITIONER SUMMARY How Fraud Risk Decomposition Affects Auditors' Fraud Risk Assessments","authors":"Chad A. Simon, Jason L. Smith, Mark F. Zimbelman","doi":"10.2308/ciia-19-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-19-015","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we provide a practitioner summary of our paper \"The Influence of Judgment Decomposition on Auditors' Fraud Risk Assessments: Some Tradeoffs\" (Simon, Smith, and Zimbelman 2018). In th...","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":"1 1","pages":"0000-0000"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-19-015","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49217637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Something Phish-y is Going On Here: A Teaching Case on Business Email Compromise","authors":"Kathleen M. Bakarich, Devon Baranek","doi":"10.2308/ciia-19-018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-19-018","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This case utilizes a real-world example of a U.S. public company that fell victim to a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme in which an employee inadvertently wired millions of dollars to fraudulent accounts based upon email instructions purportedly sent by a company executive and external legal counsel. This is a timely issue to examine given its rising prevalence and magnitude in the corporate world. The case allows students to examine a topic (phishing techniques and email scams) that they are likely to be familiar with on a conceptual level, through the lens of internal controls and external auditing. Examining the case information, SEC filings, and auditing guidance, students will gain an understanding of internal control issues related to BEC and critically think of ways to remediate or implement controls to reduce cybersecurity risk, as well as consider the external auditor's growing responsibilities related to technology and its associated risks.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2019-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-19-018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43057674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Challenges when Auditing Cryptocurrencies","authors":"N. Vincent, Anne M. Wilkins","doi":"10.2308/ciia-19-025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-19-025","url":null,"abstract":"The novelty, ambiguity, and the lack of official guidance surrounding cryptocurrency transactions impose additional audit risks that should be considered during client-acceptance and retention and planning audit procedures. We develop a four-quadrant model to assist auditors in client-acceptance and continuance decisions and identify cryptocurrency risks that should be considered during audit planning and audit evidence gathering.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2019-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-19-025","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44360471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. O. Brown, Jonathan H. Grenier, Jonathan S. Pyzoha, Andrew Reffett, Natalie Zielinski
{"title":"PRACTITIONER SUMMARY When does utilizing valuation specialists reduce auditors' litigation risk?","authors":"J. O. Brown, Jonathan H. Grenier, Jonathan S. Pyzoha, Andrew Reffett, Natalie Zielinski","doi":"10.2308/ciia-19-008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/ciia-19-008","url":null,"abstract":"This article summarizes \"The effects of specialist type and estimate aggressiveness on juror judgments of auditor negligence\" (Brown, Grenier, Pyzoha, and Reffett 2019), which examines two critical factors auditors consider when auditing complex estimates: the type of specialist to engage and the relative aggressiveness of the estimate. In an experiment involving an alleged audit failure, jurors were less likely to find auditors negligent when the auditors consulted with a valuation specialist, but only when managements' estimate was deemed to be more aggressive. The study does not find similar litigation benefits of using a specialist for a less aggressive estimate. A second experiment extended these results by demonstrating jurors were less likely to find auditors negligent when the auditors consulted with an external rather than an internal specialist, because jurors perceived external specialists as having greater independence from the client. Further, the litigation benefits of using an external specialist extended to circumstances when auditors who initially engaged an internal specialist also brought in an external specialist to review the internal specialist's work. The study concludes that utilizing external specialists, to either test management estimates or to review internal specialists' work, can limit auditors' litigation exposure, especially when auditing aggressive management estimates.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2019-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/ciia-19-008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44760178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Veena L. Brown, Sean A. Dennis, Denise Dickins, J. Higgs, Tammie J. Schaefer
{"title":"Comments of the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association on International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board Exposure Draft, Proposed International Standard on Auditing 220 (Revised): Quality Management for an Audit of Financial Statements","authors":"Veena L. Brown, Sean A. Dennis, Denise Dickins, J. Higgs, Tammie J. Schaefer","doi":"10.2308/CIIA-52493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/CIIA-52493","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In February 2019, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (the Board or IAASB) issued a request for comment on its Exposure Draft, Proposed International Standard on Auditing 220 (Revised): Quality Management for an Audit of Financial Statements (ED-220). ED-220 explicitly requires the engagement partner to demonstrate sufficient and appropriate involvement in all phases of the audit, it describes certain activities that must be performed by the audit engagement partner, and it explicitly acknowledges the role of audit firm-level policies and procedures and the changing complexity of audit engagement teams. The comment period ended on July 1, 2019. This commentary summarizes the participating committee members' views on selected questions posed by the IAASB.\u0000 Data Availability: ED-220, including questions for respondents, is available at: https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/exposure-draft-international-standard-auditing-220-revised-quality-management.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2019-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/CIIA-52493","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42694538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sean A. Dennis, Denise Dickins, Christine E. Earley, J. Higgs
{"title":"Comments of the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association on Proposed Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements, Amendments to the Description of the Concept of Materiality","authors":"Sean A. Dennis, Denise Dickins, Christine E. Earley, J. Higgs","doi":"10.2308/CIIA-52495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/CIIA-52495","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In June 2019, the Auditing Standards Board (the Board) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued a request for comment on its Proposed Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements, Amendments to the Description of the Concept of Materiality (the Proposal), which seeks to change the criteria for determining whether omissions or misstatements rise to the level of materially misstating financial statements from those that could reasonably be expected to influence economic decisions of a user, to those where there is a substantial likelihood that they would influence the judgment of a reasonable user. The comment period ends August 5, 2019. This commentary summarizes the participating committee members' views on feedback requested by the Board.\u0000 Data Availability: The Proposal, including questions for respondents, is available at: https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/research/exposuredrafts/accountingandauditing/downloadabledocuments/20190605a/20190605a-ed-sas-ssae-materiality.pdf.","PeriodicalId":44019,"journal":{"name":"Current Issues in Auditing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2308/CIIA-52495","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48358648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}