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Investors and financial statement users may have differing beliefs about the responsibility of an independent accounting firm performing an audit of a client's financial statements. This study aims to investigate the existence of an audit expectation gap between auditors and financial statement users in Egypt.

The research method adopted in this study is identical to that used by Schelluch, Best et al. and Fadzly and Ahmed.

The results found evidence of a wide audit expectation gap in Egypt in the areas of auditor responsibilities for fraud prevention, maintenance of accounting records, and auditor judgment in the selection of audit procedures. To a lesser extent, an expectation gap was found concerning the reliability of audit and audited financial statements, and the usefulness of audit.

The different economic and cultural conditions in Egypt may restrict the generalisability of this study.

In order to reduce the expectation gap and improve decision‐making by financial statement users, the results of this study support the adoption of the long‐form audit report, augmentation of the auditing framework, strengthening of the auditor's integrity, and finally educating users on the nature and functions of audit.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the diverse nature of the expectations gap by examining the different economic and cultural setting of Egypt.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequences of the auditor’s choice in group companies and the expectation gap of listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

In this study, 128 companies (768 observations) listed on the TSE during the period 2012 to 2017 have been investigated. To test the hypotheses, logistic regression has been used.

The results showed that companies that are members of business groups are more likely to choose their auditors from large audit firms. The research findings also showed no significant relationship between the business group firms that have used the large auditor and the financial reporting quality. The results showed a positive and meaningful relationship between the member firms that use the large auditor and the audit fees. The results showed a negative and significant relationship between membership in business groups and the audit expectations gap.

Despite the importance of the audit performance, defining auditors’ roles most acceptably has always been challenging to create a gap through the diverse understanding of auditors’ role, which is the distance of perception between users’ auditors. For this reason, over the past years, the audit expectation gap and how to reduce it have focused on academics, professional accounting firms and users of financial statements. As any unmet expectations from the community will reduce the audit firm’s credibility and ability to gain and be widely detrimental to stakeholders, the audit study’s expectation gap in performing audit study is critical. Although there are extensive studies on the gap in auditing expectations in developed economies, most conclusions cannot be attributed to developing countries such as Iran due to cultural and legal differences. Besides, the audit environment in Iran and existing laws can have different results. This research also helps to bridge this gap by providing additional guidance to regulators. Besides, as all recent studies on the expectation gap were qualitative, the present study measures the expectation gap through quantitative statistical methods.

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the audit expectations gap among stakeholders in listed firms in Palestine. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not there is a gap in audit expectations between auditors and investors, auditors and board directors, as well as among auditors and financial managers and also among auditors and shareholders.

To attain its ultimate objective, this study was created using an exploratory descriptive methodology grounded in the use of quantitative methods. A structured questionnaire was used to gather study data from 81 respondents, and a statistical package for the social sciences-26 was then used for analysis.

The results of this research showed that there is a sizable difference in audit expectations among shareholders, financial managers and board directors, as well as among auditors and investors. The findings also demonstrate that, in comparison to the difference between auditors and financial managers, the gap between auditors and board directors and auditors and shareholders is very narrow.

This investigation, which examines the audit expectations gap in great detail, has some significant limitations. This study was limited to the Palestinian market alone. Future research might compare or examine the variations in audit expectations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran, among different countries. In addition, the demand for accurate and reliable financial reports has sparked a recent increase in interest in auditing, a long-standing sector that has expanded in recent years.

The study has several practical implications, for example, it underlines how crucial it is to make stakeholders aware of the limitations and difficulties related to the auditing process. By doing this, the situation that audit committees and listed firms find themselves in will be easier for investors, board directors, financial managers and shareholders to understand. The way that auditors and stakeholders communicate can help reduce this gap since it affects how much each party underestimates or understates the other’s obligations.

This paper contributes to the literature by analysing and identifying the causes of the audit expectations gap in companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange and providing useful insights and potential solutions to close or mitigate it. It also adds a new contribution to the literature related to the audit expectation gap. This investigation offers unambiguous evidence of a sizable discrepancy between audit expectations and actual performance in terms of formal auditor obligations as outlined by current law, as well as auditor reliability standards and practices, between auditors, board directors, investors, shareholders and financial managers in listed Palestinian firms.

This paper reviews a substantial body of scholarly work on the audit expectation gap (AEG) for many years and aims to construct a new synthesis of the existing knowledge of the AEG discovered by numerous scholars in the world.

A broad search of the literature was conducted using a few AEG related keywords in the Google Scholar search engine and two databases of Scopus and Emerald from 1974 to 2021. Only the articles published in reputable journals concerning the AEG were selected after applying some selection criteria.

The concept of AEG is a multidimensional concept. Different causes for the AEG were identified, and several strategies were summarized into major promising strategies for narrowing it. It was found that the AEG cannot be eradicated entirely from society.

This review of the literature will be of interest to auditors, financial statement users, regulatory agencies, and policymakers, among other parties. Further, this AEG synthesis may be useful in understanding misperceptions and determining how they differ across diverse stakeholders.

There is a dearth of literature review studies incorporating all the facets of AEG. Hence, this study incorporates all those facets, namely research methods and instruments and dimensions used along with causes and mechanisms to narrow down the AEG while addressing the gaps and highlighting the themes for future research. Finally, a fresh, yet more straightforward definition was generated as a result of the comprehensive review of the literature, adding novelty to the extant literature.

This study aims to investigate the effects of individual knowledge/experience on the audit expectation gap of loan officers in Malaysia and the subsequent effect of the audit expectation gap on their loan decision quality. In addition, the mediation role of the audit expectation gap is examined.

Copies of a structured questionnaire were randomly distributed to three hundred and twenty loan officers of the top four commercial banks in Malaysia. A total of 212 completed questionnaires were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings indicate that the knowledge/experience factors could significantly mitigate the audit expectation gap. More importantly, the audit expectation gap is found to adversely affect the loan decision quality. The mediating role of the audit expectation gap is also supported.

The findings of this study may not be generalizable to other economic, cultural and political settings.

Banks may narrow their loan officers' audit expectation gap and hence, their non‐performing loans through selective recruitment or appropriate knowledge/skill enhancement in‐house training programmes.

This study provides the needed empirical evidence of the adverse effect of audit expectation gap on the loan decision quality of bank officers in Malaysia. Unlike the 2009 findings of Noghondari and Foong, which was based on an Islamic banking context in Iran, this study, which was based on the conventional banking context, found that accounting‐related and job‐related work experience of bank officers had significantly mitigated the audit expectation gap. The findings have important implications on the recruitment and training of loan officers by banks.

This study aims to identify the determinants of the expectation gap between financial statement users (investors and bankers) and auditors from a developing country perspective with Cameroon as the case study.

This study makes use of the survey instrument to identify the determinants of the expectation gap in Cameroon. The research method and research design used for this study are similar to that adopted in Schelluch, Best et al., Fadzly and Ahmed, Desira and Baldacchino and Dixon et al.

The results indicate that audits and audited financial statements and auditors’ skills are good predictors of the audit expectation gap (AEG), whereas gender, years of experience and occupation (investors and accountants) do not have any significant influence on the AEG. It follows that the expectation gap is further widened by an increase in the regulation and duties of auditors concerning the reliability and usefulness of audits and audited financial statements and auditors’ skills.

A limitation of this study is the sample size, which is limited in scope, with only 400 potential respondents. In addition, this study adopted a survey method used in countries with different economic views and cultural values from Cameroon.

This study contributes to current knowledge by identifying the determinants of the expectation gap in Cameroon, thus facilitating the adoption of measures aimed at mitigating this gap such as educating the Cameroonian public on the auditors’ duties, especially each time a new audit regulation is adopted. The paper is a critical reference point for future research on the subject in Cameroon.

This study contributes to the expectation gap discourse by uncovering the determinants of the expectation gap from a developing country perspective of Cameroon with a different economic and cultural outlook.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of audit education in reducing the audit expectations gap (AEG) in an emerging economy, namely Bangladesh.

Mann‐Whitney test results of questionnaire survey responses indicate the presence of a significant AEG between auditors, bankers, and students, especially in the area of audit responsibility.

The paper finds evidence that audit education significantly reduces the AEG, especially in the area of audit reliability. However, results also indicate that although the introduction of accounting scandal cases in the auditing curricula creates interest amongst the students, it also creates some unreasonable expectation regarding audit responsibility.

The paper contributes to the existing literature by presenting evidence of the effects of both traditional and case‐based auditing education on reducing the AEG in an emerging economy context.

The audit expectation gap has been examined in many regions of the world, but the extent of such a gap has not been investigated in many Middle‐Eastern countries. This study attempts to assess the possible existence of an expectation gap between accountants and non‐accountants in Lebanon.

Survey research was conducted on a sample of accountants and non‐accountants and comparisons made.

A significant “reasonableness gap” was uncovered. There is a gap between the auditors' understanding of their profession compared with the perceptions of others. There is a significant difference in perceptions of the role of the auditor in respect of fraud detection. Neither group had a strong image of the Lebanon profession compared with worldwide audit practices or with the technical qualifications of the auditors.

This research can be extended through assessing whether there are differences between different non‐accountants (judges, lawyers, bankers, brokers, etc.) in terms of their understanding of the role of external auditors.

Much more concerted effort needs to be exercised from professional syndicates and other relevant stakeholders in developing the image of the profession and addressing the varying perceptions and attitudes towards it.

This paper adds evidence to the important debate about expectation gap from a region that has had little coverage.

This paper investigates whether an audit expectation gap exists among independent auditors and users of financial statements in Iran.

The study uses a survey instrument to identify the audit expectation gap in Iran. The research method is similar to that adopted by Schelluch, Best et al., Fadzly and Ahmad and Dixon et al.

Audit expectation gaps are found to exist in the areas of auditor responsibility for fraud detection, soundness of the internal controls, and preparation of financial statements. Results indicate no significant difference between users and independent auditors regarding the reliability and utility of audited financial statements. The insignificant results in terms of audit function could be attributed to the culture of trust between auditors and stakeholders in Iran.

Despite normal precautionary steps to increase the response rate, non‐response bias may affect the findings. Another limitation of the study is the different economic and cultural conditions of Iran compared to other countries. Therefore, caution should be used in generalizing the findings to other countries.

The findings will help to reduce the expectation gaps through improvement in auditor‐user communication in the audit reports as well as educating users on the nature and functions of audits.

The paper extends previous studies on audit expectation gap in a different economic and cultural context, i.e. Iran.

This study aims to examine the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) number 520 relating to analytical procedures (APs) and adapt relevant aspects of prior studies on APs to the Egyptian audit context. The study investigates the extent of use of APs in Egypt during the three main stages of an audit by size of firms and level of staff. It examines auditors' perceptions of the frequency and effectiveness of different types of APs in achieving a selected set of audit objectives. The study also identifies the types of assurance provided by APs and their influence on detailed testing as well as analyzing the role of auditing standards in the context of the use of APs.

The design and research method are empirical using a questionnaire survey to collect information on actual uses of APs from 14 audit firms in Egypt which audit the 100 actively traded companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) as measured by the EGX 100 index. The survey was carried out between 2008 and 2009.

The results of the study showed relatively low use of APs by Egyptian auditors with wide variations in its use by Big 4 and other auditing firms. Auditors from Big 4 firms are found to use APs to a greater extent than auditors from non‐Big 4 firms. Also, the reliance on APs tends to differ by auditors rank and position. The majority of auditors consider APs useful in achieving audit objectives. Audit firms of all size continue to emphasize judgment‐based compared to quantitatively based procedures. The results also indicated a lack of confidence in the use of APs as substantive procedures. Finally, the study confirmed prior research findings in that auditing standards are regarded as most effective in codifying existing large firms practice. It was found that ISA 520 has been least effective in stimulating change in the Egyptian audit practice.

The different economic, political, educational, and culture environment in Egypt may restrict the generalisability of this study results.

In order to increase the use of APs by Egyptian auditors in the various stages of the audit engagement, auditors need to understand the requirements of the Egyptian Auditing Standards regarding their use. Auditors also need to be aware of the application of various APs techniques, especially those associated with statistics and mathematical models. Educational institutions and the Egyptian Association of Accountants and Auditors must play significant role in educating auditors about APs techniques and their use in planning, testing and final review of the financial statements.

This paper contributes to an understanding of the nature and uses of APs within the Egyptian culture and economic context. The study will stimulate further research in understanding the importance of the use of APs in audit engagements in different perspectives.