Sakshi Girdhar and Kim K. Jeppesen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the transparency reports published by the Big-4 public accounting firms in the UK, Germany and Denmark to understand the determinants of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the transparency reports published by the Big-4 public accounting firms in the UK, Germany and Denmark to understand the determinants of their content within the networks of big accounting firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on a qualitative research approach, in which the content of transparency reports is analyzed and semi-structured interviews are conducted with key people from the Big-4 firms who are responsible for developing the transparency reports.
Findings
The findings show that the content of transparency reports is inconsistent and the transparency reporting practice is not uniform within the Big-4 networks. Differences were found in the way in which the transparency reporting practices are coordinated globally by the respective central governing bodies of the Big-4. The content of the transparency reports is particularly influenced by the national institutional environment in which the Big-4 member firms operate, thus leading them to introduce practice variation and resulting in cross-national differences.
Practical implications
The study results have important implications for standard setters, regulators and practitioners, as the research provides insights into the variation taking place within the common regulatory frame.
Originality/value
This is the first study to analyze how transparency reporting practices are developed within the networks of Big-4 firms, thereby influencing the content of transparency reports.
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The main purpose of the paper is to analyze and discuss organizational risk in large‐audit firms. A secondary purpose is to contribute to auditing theory on how organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of the paper is to analyze and discuss organizational risk in large‐audit firms. A secondary purpose is to contribute to auditing theory on how organizational risk may be analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is conducted as a review of literature on audit‐firm organization, risk management, professions and organization theory.
Findings
Large‐audit firms are commonly organized as partnerships relying on hierarchy and standardization of work processes to control work. The paper argues that this may be an effective way of organizing audit work in a stable environment. In a volatile environment, however, the strategy becomes highly risky.
Research limitations/implications
The focus of the paper is on the organization of large‐audit firms and its findings do, therefore, not necessarily apply to small audit firms. The paper presents a general view of the way large‐audit firms are organized and controlled. Local variations may occur but these are not analyzed in the paper.
Practical implications
The paper analyzes the inherent organizational risk of the common way of organizing audit work and is therefore of direct interest to partners and other professionals in large‐audit firms. It may also be seen as an example of how organizational‐risk analysis can be applied in the audit process and it discusses the competences needed to perform such analysis. In this respect, the paper is also of interest to practicing auditors as well as teachers and students of auditing.
Originality/value
Most of the literature on the organization of large‐audit firms is relatively old and this paper seeks to update and critically reinterpret knowledge in the area. It also contributes to an understanding on how to apply organizational‐risk analysis in the audit process.
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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of how auditing standard setting is adapted to changing patterns of resistance at various stages of its development.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of how auditing standard setting is adapted to changing patterns of resistance at various stages of its development.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is conducted as a longitudinal single case study of the auditing standard‐setting activities of the Danish professional body 1970‐1978. The case is based on extensive interviews with members of the standard‐setting board at that time, supplemented with documentary studies.
Findings
The paper identifies and discusses five general measures to deal with the immanent resistance to auditing standard setting: alignment of interests, representation, due process, soft texts, and reference to ideology. It concludes by analyzing how these strategies are adapted to changing patterns of standard‐setting resistance at various stages.
Research limitations/implications
The paper discusses auditing standard setting only. Although resistance to accounting standard setting may be dealt with in the same way, the patterns of resistance are most likely different and the adaptation strategies may therefore also be different.
Practical implications
Presenting insight into the processes of auditing standard setting, the paper is of interest to anyone involved in the process, either as developers or as users.
Originality/value
The paper supplements previous studies of standard setting by applying the Actor‐Network Theory approach to auditing standard setting, thereby outlining a new general framework for the study of standard setting.
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Kristin Reichborn-Kjennerud, Thomas Carrington, Kim Klarskov Jeppesen and Külli Taro
Since the 1970s the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) have gradually expanded their role as external controllers of the public administration. Instead of merely controlling whether…
Abstract
Since the 1970s the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) have gradually expanded their role as external controllers of the public administration. Instead of merely controlling whether accounts are according to standards they have taken on a role as evaluators with a mandate to assess whether the public administration works economically, efficiently and effectively. With this new regime of external control, the question arises whether the SAIs’ control, in practice, contributes to a more efficient and effective public sector. Whether this external control will be effective depends, in the end, on the extent to which the organisations learn from the control they are subjected to and make actual changes. The chapter uses theories of cultural differences and theories on control within public administration to understand civil servant perceptions of SAI results. Data on civil servants’ reactions to the SAIs’ performance audit in four countries are analysed to see whether performance audits have any impact on the audited entities. The research is based on 696 responses to questionnaires sent out to civil servants in three different Nordic countries plus one new democracy in northern Europe, Estonia.
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Rather than organize as traditional firms, many of today’s companies organize as platforms that sit at the nexus of multiple exchange and production relationships. This chapter…
Abstract
Rather than organize as traditional firms, many of today’s companies organize as platforms that sit at the nexus of multiple exchange and production relationships. This chapter considers a most basic question of organization in platform contexts: the choice of boundaries. Herein, I investigate how classical economic theories of firm boundaries apply to platform-based organization and empirically study how executives made boundary choices in response to changing market and technical challenges in the early mobile computing industry (the predecessor to today’s smartphones). Rather than a strict or unavoidable tradeoff between “openness-versus-control,” most successful platform owners chose their boundaries in a way to simultaneously open-up to outside developers while maintaining coordination across the entire system.
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This paper presents a systematic method for classifying research on international channels of distribution. It is used to examine 79 articles published during an 18‐year period…
Abstract
This paper presents a systematic method for classifying research on international channels of distribution. It is used to examine 79 articles published during an 18‐year period (1988‐2005). Based on content analysis, each article is classified by its primary research framework. Two frameworks are identified: (1) structural ‐ based on the economic and organizational aspects of international channels of distribution; and (2) behavioral ‐ based on the exchange relationship between channel members from different national environments. This simple organizing system offers a comprehensive way to analyze scholarship that has emerged in the field. For managers, it can bring the theoretical and practical developments together in an understandable fashion as they seek to interpret and apply research findings. For scholars, it may bring focus to an increasingly complex area of international business and guide future research efforts.
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Peter Groenewegen and Christine Moser
Online communities form a challenging and still-evolving field for social network research. We highlight two themes that are at the core of social network literature: formative…
Abstract
Online communities form a challenging and still-evolving field for social network research. We highlight two themes that are at the core of social network literature: formative processes and structures, and discuss how these might be relevant in the context of online communities. Processes of tie formation might evolve differently in online communities. Second, we discuss how network structures emerge in different ways than previously studied, and should therefore be interpreted differently.
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Jakob Müllner and Igor Filatotchev
In this chapter, the authors review emerging literature on multidimensional, information age-related phenomena across different disciplines to derive common themes and topics. The…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors review emerging literature on multidimensional, information age-related phenomena across different disciplines to derive common themes and topics. The authors then proceed to analyse recent developments in these fields to provide an interdisciplinary overview of the most disruptive challenges for multinational companies (MNCs) competing in the modern information age. These challenges include more efficient peer-to-peer communication between stakeholders, crowd-organisation, globalisation of value chains and the need to organise knowledge resources. The aim of the chapter is not to review all age research, but to identify fundamental uncertainties for MNCs and discuss strategies of tackling such information age phenomena from an international business perspective.
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Nguyen Minh, Majid Khan and Jo Bensemann
Whilst research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reaching new territories, the extent to which such literature manifests itself in developing countries is yet to be…
Abstract
Purpose
Whilst research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reaching new territories, the extent to which such literature manifests itself in developing countries is yet to be fully understood. To that end, this study aims to investigate the understanding, evolution and practice of CSR in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review of the current literature in the recent past (2000–2020) has been embraced in this research. By analysing a total of 143 articles, the authors demonstrate that there has been visible growth in published articles related to CSR in Vietnam over the past 21 years.
Findings
The authors demonstrate that CSR research in Vietnam has significantly grown in the recent past. The results highlight the in-depth distribution of publications by year, journal, industry, nature and focus of CSR research in the country.
Originality/value
This study is not only the first to provide an enhanced overview of the current state of CSR knowledge in the country but also sets out directions within the CSR research agenda related to Vietnam and potentially other emerging and developing countries.
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Kim Klarskov Jeppesen and Christina Leder
The purpose of this paper is to analyse auditors’ experience with corporate psychopaths in their client management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse auditors’ experience with corporate psychopaths in their client management.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted as a survey among Danish state-authorized auditors, to which 179 auditors responded, representing 9 per cent of the total population.
Findings
Of the participating auditors, 69 per cent had experienced corporate psychopaths in their client management and 70 per cent of these had experienced more than one case. In addition, 43 per cent of the auditors who had experienced psychopathic managers reported that they had committed fraud. The vast majority of cases were detected in the execution and completion phases of the audit and resulted in increased professional scepticism, the use of more experienced auditors and the requirement for more and better audit evidence.
Research limitations/implications
The findings confirm that corporate psychopaths actually exist and are a phenomenon worthy of research attention in areas such as accounting, auditing, internal control, fraud investigation, performance management and human resource management.
Practical implications
As auditors are likely to come across corporate psychopaths from time to time in their careers, awareness of this type of risk needs to be increased and better integrated into the risk assessment in audit planning. Auditing standards relating to fraud also need to be updated according to the latest developments in fraud theory.
Originality/value
This is the first research to address auditors’ experience with corporate psychopaths. It adds value by confirming the relevance of the topic for practice and research.