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The purpose of this paper is to shed light on factors leading to unethical acts committed by auditors from a cultural and gender perspectives. It investigates differences in junior auditors’ attitudes towards audit behavior when a performance evaluation (PE) is anticipated. The objective of this study is to aid academicians and audit executives in developing new models of PE and internship programs that should mitigate dysfunctional behavior.

A survey adapted from Big Four companies’ performance appraisal templates was administered to junior accountants who have completed their internship programs and their external audit course at accredited universities in Lebanon and the USA. Several statistical tests were conducted to analyze the relationship between the different variables.

This paper shows how PE affects junior auditors’ attitudes to dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB). From a cultural standpoint, American auditors express more negative views towards DAB than their Lebanese counterparts. This paper also demonstrates that female auditors are less inclined towards DAB than male auditors.

Previous studies on the topic have been mostly conducted in developed countries with a scarcity of studies examining multiple countries. This study focuses on two different cultural contexts, a developed country, the USA and an emerging country, poorly represented in the literature, Lebanon. This paper also observes variances between male and female auditors in DAB when expecting a PE. The originality of this paper stems from its concurrent examination of the impact of gender and culture on DAB by using a sample of less-experienced auditors at the end of their educational path.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors leading to dysfunctional behavior. The role of auditors has been under scrutiny during recent accounting scandals. Auditors, among other parties, are sometimes to be blamed as a result of economic crisis periods. The paper highlights certain auditors’ behavior leading to dysfunctional acts.

The survey of this paper is made up of statements extracted from the performance appraisal templates used at the Big Four firms in the UK. Big Four auditors are expected to be under pressure more than non-Big Four auditors. The sample is stratified into non-experienced/experienced auditors to highlight any changes in the perception of dysfunctional behavior when the experience factor exists.

The paper finds that certain performance appraisal procedures are leading to dysfunctional acts. Accordingly, audit firms should develop other evaluation techniques that should serve their goals without pushing auditors for dysfunctional behavior.

This study links procedures embedded in the performance appraisals at the Big Four audit firms to dysfunctional behavior. Also, the study covers all lines of auditors to understand how the perception toward dysfunctional behavior differs when auditors gain experience.

This research paper investigates variances in auditors’ attitudes toward dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB) in two different time periods. The purpose of this paper is to explore changes in DAB among experienced/inexperienced auditors as well as differences between male/female auditors while facing time budget and time deadline pressures.

This study uses surveys administered to a group of junior auditors joining a Big 4 firm in the UK and compares the results to surveys completed by the same group of auditors after three years of experience. The survey assesses participant’s perception of DAB in the presence of time budget and time deadline.

The results of this paper show that experienced auditors have more tolerant views of DAB then inexperienced auditors. In terms of gender, inexperienced male auditors are more accepting of DAB when compared to their inexperienced female counterparts. Female auditors surveyed in both time periods seem to be unfavorable of DAB.

The uniqueness of this study derives from the fact that it explores the same group of auditors and assesses variances in their perception of DAB in two different periods over a passage of three years during which inexperienced auditors become experienced.

The purpose of this paper is to identify differences in auditors’ dysfunctional behaviour when expecting performance appraisal. Its main aim is to examine variances across countries; UK vs Kuwait. Also, it identifies differences between experienced and inexperienced auditors.

The paper focuses on dysfunctional audit behaviour (DAB) where premature sign-off and under-reporting of chargeable time are chosen as the two main signalling proxies. A survey made up of statements included in performance appraisal templates is distributed among auditors working for the Big Four firms in both, the UK and Kuwait.

The paper shows how performance evaluation of external auditors affects their behaviour in the workplace. From a cultural standpoint, assessing the performance of auditors whilst working in a competitive market in a developed country is regarded as a potential driver for DAB variations. Evaluating auditors’ performance in a developing country is seen as a stabiliser of DAB. This research paper demonstrates that experienced auditors have a greater tendency to behave dysfunctionally as compared to inexperienced auditors.

Prior studies have been conducted to assess auditors’ performance through using internal and external attributes (Kaplan, 1985), offshoring basic steps of audit work (Downey, 2018), and the perception of audit clients about auditors’ performance (Reheul et al., 2013). Such studies were conducted mostly on developed countries on a standalone basis. In this study, the focus has been shifted from focusing on one country to comparing two different countries. The paper examines DAB between experienced and inexperienced auditors in the UK and in Kuwait when expecting performance evaluation.

The research paper investigates auditors' dysfunctional behaviors in relation to performance appraisals. It explores the dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB) differences among experienced/inexperienced and male/female auditors when expecting performance appraisals, how their perception of DAB changes and how their reactive-outcomes vary.

The survey comprises statements pulled from performance appraisal templates used by the Big Four audit firms in the UK. The sample has been tested during two different periods to highlight variations in the perception of DAB.

Experienced auditors become more tolerant of DAB compared to their perception when they were inexperienced. Inexperienced male auditors are generally more accepting of DAB compared to their inexperienced female counterparts. Experienced female respondents continue to be less accepting of DAB.

The study associates performance appraisal procedures with DAB. The analysis examines the perception of dysfunctional behavior according to the level of experience auditors (males and females) accumulate over time.

This paper aims to identify differences in auditors’ behaviour who have undergone work-integrated learning (WIL) versus the classical accounting education.

In addition to the education factor, auditors’ perception is assessed in scenarios when facing time budget pressure and time deadline pressure. The gender factor is included to highlight any behavioural differences between male and female auditors. Senior auditors working at the Big Four firms in the UK have participated in this survey.

The results show, from an educational perspective, that traditional accounting program is perceived as a catalyst of dysfunctional audit behaviour in comparison to WIL program that demonstrated a higher degree of ethicality. Furthermore, the results identify male auditors as having more tendency to behaving dysfunctionally when compared to their female counterparts.

This paper goes beyond assessing auditors’ ethical actions under work-related stresses, to identifying the differences in their behaviour based on their academic background. It can be used as a tool for audit practitioners and accounting faculty by highlighting the factors leading to dysfunctional behaviour and trying to mitigate them.

The added value of the research paper is that it sheds light on one of the most issues faced by auditors and employees in general. Time pressures embedded in most businesses can harm organizations badly in relation to the behaviour of their employees.

There is a growing attention toward the importance of women’s participation on corporate boards in enhancing board governance and decision-making quality. The literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the relationship between women’s involvement on boards and firms’ risk. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of board gender diversity on firms’ risk.

This paper explores the influence of women’s participation on corporate boards on firms’ stock return volatility. The examined firms are all non-financial firms listed on the FTSE 350 index between 2008 and 2013. The Bloomberg database is used to collect the needed variables. Panel data are employed through a regression model to estimate relationships. One-step Arellano and Bond and the generalized method of moments are used to control for reverse causality and the existence of endogenous variables.

The results suggest that women’s participation on corporate boards favorably impacts firms’ risk by reducing firms’ stock return volatility. The authors also find that the influence of women on reducing stock return volatility is higher in four particular industries recognized by their close proximity to consumers (consumer goods, consumer services, health care, and utilities).

The study contributes to the growing literature on women on boards and offers solid empirical evidence of the correlation between board gender diversity and firms’ risk. The empirical results provide economical and statistical validity to the “voluntary business-led” approach of Davies reports and to the recommendation by the UK Corporate Governance Code 2014 on the favorable influence of board gender diversity for effective functioning.

This paper aims to extend previous results demonstrating a statistically significant causal relationship between the implementation of 360-degree feedback in an organization and employees’ perceptions of organizational justice. It explores the sustainability of this justice, ultimately making it an integral part of the organizational culture. The paper examines whether the previous model (based on relationships among 360-degree feedback, organizational justice and sustainability of organizational justice) is invariant across different levels of management (i.e. operational and top/middle managers) and across a group of female versus male employees.

Structural equation modeling multigroup analysis and invariance tests were conducted with a cross-sectional sample of 400 employees in various positions in home appliances and electronics organizations.

The results further sustain/contest previous findings on the relationships among appraisal, organizational justice and sustainability among respondents of different genders and at different managerial levels. The results also provide significant practical implications. Top managers and supervisors can incorporate gender and managerial level differences identified in this study to modify their management styles and appraisal techniques to install high levels of organizational justice and achieve a competitive edge through the sustained levels of this organizational justice.

This study is the first to explore the impact of implementing a 360-degree appraisal system on employees’ perceptions of justice, while taking into consideration gender differences, i.e. whether males or females tend to perceive different types of justice within the organization and whether they differ in the way that they react to the appraisal system being implemented within the workplace. Given all the positive traits associated with a 360-feedback appraisal system, the way that this feedback is viewed and interpreted by employees can differ according to the employee’s rank within the organization, i.e. whether he/she belongs to top/middle management team or the operational/front-line management team.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries form a unique socioeconomic environment that makes the conclusions of the prior literature not likely to be applicable. GCC countries have huge oil reserves, yet they are aiming at reducing oil dependency through enhancing transparency, increasing foreign direct investments and reforming their governance structure. Their firms are mainly family owned and have low female representation in leadership positions. The study seeks to fill a literature gap by providing a business case supporting the call for gender diverse boards for better governance.

The study examines a sample of GCC-listed firms for the years 2009–2018. Three measures are used to proxy for firm social engagement, namely, CSR strategy score, environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure score and social pillar score. To ensure whether the presence of women on board or the number of women on board is influential on social engagements, the authors use the existence of women on board and the percentage of women on board variables. Data are collected using Thomson Reuters, and generalized least squares (GLS) panel data regression is used to estimate relationships.

The authors find that female representation on GCC corporate boards is increasing, yet in a slow path. The reported results support the role of women on boards in prompting firms' social agenda and enhancing the level of sustainability reporting. The results also show that female board representation supports the implementation of climate change policy, business ethics policy and health and safety policy.

The paper evidence the add value of women participation on GCC corporate boards in enhancing boards' functionality and governance. The empirical findings encourage firms and policymakers in the GCC countries to increase the share of females on corporate boards to improve firms' citizenship and facilitate attracting foreign investors.

The quality of financial reporting for the financial institutions is vital for the public, as the negative consequences of manipulated financial statements will not only affect shareholders but also the regulators’ reputation and the society at large. The purpose of this paper is to assess the association between different corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on audit and reporting quality. The gender factor is introduced from a diverse boards’ perspective to highlight any impact of female presence on the quality of financial statements.

The authors examine a sample of financial institutions listed on the FTSE-350 index for the years 2011 to 2015. The financial sector has its own and different regulations, and financial reporting framework and auditors are expected to behave into more scrutiny. Bloomberg database is used to obtain governance and financial data, while firms’ annual reports are used to collect audit fees and audit committee information. A panel data regression is used to test hypotheses. The authors also control for unobservable heterogeneity, reverse causality and endogeneity.

The results suggest that boards with larger size and higher independence pay higher audit fees to enhance the monitoring capacity and protect the wider group of stakeholders. The results also show that women on boards are likely to reduce the risk of manipulated financial statements, as women are more inclined toward truthfulness, cautiousness and conservatism. In addition, the reported results show that audit committees with more independent members are more inclined toward obtaining higher quality audit to enhance firm’s reporting quality.

Given the recent governments’ intervention to avoid financial institutions’ negative impact on the economy, this study is relevant and provide policymakers insights into the existing relationships between audit fees and financial institutions’ governance structure.