An outlier is defined as an observation that is significantly different from the other data in its set. An auditor will employ many techniques, processes and tools to identify these entries, and data mining is one such medium through which the auditor can analyze information. The enormous amount of information contained within transactional processing systems' logs means that auditors must empl...

This study investigates the nature and extent to which managerial attitudes influence fraud risk perceptions, observations and experiences of audit partners. Using a sample of 5,603 client acceptance and audit continuance assessments at a Big Four audit firm in the Netherlands, this study finds that: (1) manager integrity, honesty, and ethics are considered by audit partners to be of highest im...

In this study, we explore the influence of board characteristics and ownership structure on auditor choice decisions in less strictly legal environments, like Egypt. Using a large sample 899 firm-year observations for period 2011 to 2019, employed logistic probit regressions. We find that larger boards, institutional ownership, foreign have significant positive association with appointing Big 4...

Auditors may encounter misstatements during the course of an audit, each of which requires a binary materiality assessment. We propose a fuzzy expert system approach that assesses materiality as a continuous characteristic by allowing a misstatement to possess a degree of materiality between 0 and 1. This potentially allows the auditor more flexibility and precision in materiality assessment, a...

We examine whether the provision of non-audit services by auditors is negatively correlated with firm value and the quality of earnings. Because of concerns regarding the effect of non-audit services on auditor independence, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued revised auditor independence rules requiring firms to disclose in their annual proxy statement the amount of fees pai...

Practical problems of income tax enforcement are characterized by the fact that auditing of tax payers has to be done by employees of the enforcement authority who may not be motivated to act in it's best interest. We study a form of auditor moral hazard, where the auditor can shirk on his auditing e®ort and claim to have found no evidence of irregular behavior of tax payers. This would make hi...