Includes contributions by eleven academics writing on the past, present, and future of internal auditing. Focus is on the identification of internal audit topics that could raise interest in internal audit research.

Auditor reporting on going-concern-related uncertainties remains one of the most challenging issues faced by external auditors. Business owners, market participants and audit regulators want an early warning of impending business failure. However, companies typically do not welcome audit opinions indicating uncertainty regarding their future viability. Thus, the auditor’s decision to issue a "going concern opinion" (GCO) is a complex and multi-layered one, facing a great deal of tension. Given such a rich context, academic researchers have examined many facets related to an auditor’s decision to issue a GCO. This monograph reviews and synthesizes 182 recent GCO studies that have appeared since the last significant review published in 2013 through the end of 2019. The authors categorize studies into the three broad areas of GCO: (1) determinants, (2) accuracy and (3) consequences. As an integral part of their synthesis, they summarize the details of each study in several user-friendly tables. After discussing and synthesizing the research, they present a discussion of opportunities for future research, including issues created or exacerbated as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This monograph will be of assistance to researchers interested in exploring this area of auditor responsibility. It will also be of interest to auditing firms and individual practitioners wanting to learn what academic research has examined and found regarding this challenging aspect of audit practice. Auditing standard-setters and regulators will find it of interest as the authors review numerous studies examining issues related to audit policy and regulation, and their effects on GCO decisions. The examination of GCO research is extremely timely given the financial and business disruption caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented global event has caused companies, auditors and professional bodies to revisit and reassess their approach to going concern, and to think even more deeply about this fundamental business imperative.

This book has been prepared for those readers who want to maintain their knowledge of current developments in the field of behavioral research as applied to auditing. The articles and papers presented in this volume were selected because they will contribute to the knowledge and advancement of not only the individual researcher or educator, but also of the profession. It is our belief that if research endeavors may be viewed as having stages of life, then the field of behavioral research in auditing is in its genesis. Almost twenty years ago, in speaking of the state of the art of psychology, William Hays expressed a most·appropriate thought: Experimental evidence is accumulating at a rapid rate in psychology, and efforts at constructing psychological theories with mathematical deductive power are constantly being made. However, it seems safe to say that it will be sometime before there are psychological laws and theories on a par with those of physics. The absence of a general theory does not imply that those relations are missing or unhpportant in psychology; the discovery and specification of relations is the process by which those theories are built. (Hays, 1973, p. 40.) In the first chapter, "Experimental Research and the Distinctive Features of Accounting Settings," Robert Libby presents an encompassing and knowledgeable summary of the changes that have taken place during the last decade in human information processing research in accounting and experimental economics as it relates to those issues.

First Published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Accounting and Auditing Research, 10th Edition prepares students and early-stage practitioners to use well-established research solutions in a broad range of practical applications, from financial accounting and tax planning, to investigating fraud and auditing various business problems. Emphasizing real-world skills development, this fully-updated textbook covers the current tools, techniques, and best practices in applied professional research and analysis. The authors provide comprehensive yet accessible coverage of the entire research process, explaining how to utilize major research databases and audit software packages in a clear and systematic manner. The tenth edition features carefully revised content designed to enhance effectiveness, increase readability, and strengthen learning and retention. The book’s classroom-proven pedagogy features expert tips for performing common research tasks, sidebar boxes that summarize and expand upon key concepts, and a variety of end-of-chapter exercises that reinforce the material and develop readers’ skills.