Greater competition has increased pressure to reduce product costs and design times. To introduce products more quickly, some companies begin designing products before all relevant design information is available and continue modifying product specifications during the design process. We...

This study provides a descriptive analysis of audit time budgets and considers the effect of client factors on the achievement of audit time budgets. Using archival data obtained from four of the Big 6 firms, we find that differences between audit time budgets and reported audit hours are...

Regulators have recently cited concerns about the extent and quality of accounting consultation within accounting firms on difficult client accounting policy issues. In this paper we report the results of research that examines the role of accounting consultation units in public accounting...

Listed firms increasingly strive for a sustainable appearance, which has made sustainability reporting very popular in recent years. This would be completely rational if sustainability reporting could enhance shareholder value. This paper investigates from a theoretical perspective which...

This study examines whether the sustainability of a firm’s tax strategy provides information about the persistence of a firm’s pre-tax earnings and earnings components. We also investigate whether investors are able to determine the sustainability of a firm’s tax strategy and use it as a...

We provide evidence on the long standing concern on auditor conflicts of interest from providing non-audit services (NAS) to audit clients by using rarely explored NAS fee data from 1978-80. Using this earlier setting, we find cross-sectional evidence of improved earnings quality when auditors...

Fraud constitutes a significant problem for many organizations. Its effects range from monetary costs to reputational loss. With the added impetus of recent regulations, the implementation of an effective anti-fraud program is a priority for most companies. To establish the basis for the...

This paper presents an in-depth longitudinal case study examining the processes through which practitioners in two Big 4 professional services firms have attempted to construct sustainability assurance (independent assurance on sustainability reports). Power’s (2003, 1999, 1997, 1996)...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a research method successfully used to study intellectual capital (IC) and IC flows through a highly networked marketplace. Design/methodology/approach – The method integrates computer-assisted content analysis (CA) and multivariate...

Purpose – The paper aims to study and compare the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) annual (AR) and intellectual capital reports (ICR) with an earlier study. The paper seeks to analyse the reporting practices of intellectual capital (IC) within this organisation....