Purpose – This study aims to critically analyse the independence of the internal audit function through its relationship with management and the audit committee. Design/methodology/approach – Results are based on a critical comparison of responses from questionnaires sent out to Australian...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce and review the papers contained in the special issue on accounting and organizational change in the public sector and reflects on their key themes and findings - design, methodology and approach. The paper draws on general desk research and the...

Since 1992, New Zealand has engaged in a sector-neutral approach to accounting standard setting ? where a transaction is accounted for based on its underlying economic nature rather than on the type of entity undertaking it. Underpinned by the premise that GAAP can be generalised across the...

Accounting is conventionally constituted and practised as a quantitative discipline which emphasises the use of money values. Where such values are unavailable or inappropriate, non-money quantifications or qualitative forms of information take precedence. However, the boundaries of conventional...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal audit’s reporting relationship with the audit committee and the client’s business risk environment impact external auditors’ reliance on the work of internal audit. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment is...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal audit's reporting relationship with the audit committee and the client's business risk environment impact external auditors' reliance on the work of internal audit. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment is conducted...

This study examines the association between external audit fees, and board and audit committee characteristics of 736 Malaysian listed firms. It is hypothesised that good corporate governance practices reduce auditors' risk assessments, resulting in lower audit fees. Drawing on the existence of...

The corporate form that developed in the early 20th century created enormous pressure for corporate governance mechanisms to curb the power of corporate managers. Berle and Means, legal pluralists, warned about concentrating economic power in the hands of a small but powerful class of...

In response to recent criticisms of audit committee performance, new SEC and stock exchange rules require companies to prepare an audit committee charter and to publish the charter in their proxy statement at least once every three years. Audit committees also must disclose how they discharged...

This study investigates whether incentive-based compensation for audit committee members is associated with accounting restatements. We use an agency framework to predict that short-term (long-term) incentive compensation for audit committee members will increase (decrease) the likelihood of...