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Reflections
on Corporate Governance and the Role of the Internal Auditor
-- Jan Cattrysse
With
whistleblowers on march, it's high time for the internal
auditors to comply with corporate governance concepts. This
paper guides us to know all about corporate governance,
its relationship with internal control as well as the internal
auditors. It discusses the impact of corporate governance
on the profession of audit and further highlights special
aspects of corporate governance deserving special attention
for the benefit of internal auditors. It also familiarizes
the auditors with the various tools at his disposal to fulfill
his role with due professional care, thus meeting the expectations
of his stakeholders. For the internal auditor, corporate
governance is just a process aimed at contributing to the
realization of the objectives of an organization, taking
into account the expectations of all stakeholders involved
and taking place within the boundaries of a number of hard
and soft standards.
©
2005 Jan Cattrysse. Reprinted with permission. The article
has been condensed with the permission of the author. For
full article contact the author at `jan.cattrysse@roularta.be'
Management
Control in Audit Firms: A Qualitative Examination
--
Breda Sweeney and Bernard Pierce
Audit
firms face a constant conflict between the business of auditing
and the profession of auditing, which is manifested at the
audit senior level in the pressure to perform quality work
within specified time limits. Prior quantitative studies
have reported high levels of quality-threatening behavior
(QTB) at the senior level and the importance of examining
contributory factors has been highlighted. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with audit seniors in four of
the (then) Big Five firms and findings suggest that key
variables liketime pressure, participative target setting,
and style of performance evaluation have been inadequately
operationalized in previous studies and that two distinct
forms of QTBs exist: deliberate and inadvertent. Propositions
are developed for variables associated with both forms of
QTB, which provide direction and focus for future research.
©
2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited (www.emeraldinsight.com/aaaj.htm).
"Management Control in Audit Firms: A Qualitative Examination",
Breda Sweeney; Bernard PierceAccounting, Auditing and
Accountability Journal (2004, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 779-812).
Reprinted with permission.
Is
Rotating Audit Partner or Audit Firm a Remedy for Over Familiarization
of Audit Environment? A Review from the Australian Perspective
-- Mohamed Nazim Abdul Rahman
Recent
collapses of gigantic companies like Enron, Worldcom, HIH,
etc., have led to serious and meticulous studies of auditors'
independence and objectivity of auditing their clients.
The public, or more specifically the investors' confidence
in auditors has impaired materially. The role of corporate
watchdogs must be redefined since there is a serious sabotage
towards their profession and credibility. In spite of comprehensive
accounting and auditing practices and standards, more and
more corporate collapses are incurring, highlighting the
fact that these practices and standards have become more
fragile and vulnerable to manipulations and misuse. At this
point of time, audit partner rotation or audit firm rotation
has been regarded as another way of assuring auditors' independence
and objectivity. This paper focuses on the pros and cons
of rotating audit firms or audit partners for an audit client
after a specific period of time.
©
2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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