• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.735-749
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) has an impact on auditors' audit efforts. MD&A is a means of disclosure that provides information about a company from the management's perspective in financial reporting. The MD&A is a standardized format of nonfinancial information that can be useful for the stake-holders. The auditors have incentives to utilize the nonfinancial information contained in the MD&A for their decision-making. We posit that the MD&A disclosure quality is associated with the level of audit efforts. Methods: We hand-collect the disclosure data from the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea (the Korean SEC). Results: By employing two measures of audit efforts, we document evidence that the quality of MD&A is associated with both audit hours and audit fees. Conclusion: It implies that the auditors perform intensive audit work for companies with high-quality disclosure of MD&A. The study contributes to the literature by providing the first approach to examine the association between the MD&A disclosure and audit efforts.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.525-532
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• 2021

This study examines the association between a firm's business strategy and audit report lags. This study employs 5,072 firm-year observations from 2015 to 2019. Our sample comprises all of the firms listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market and Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (KOSDAQ). We perform OLS regression analysis to test our hypothesis. The OLS regression analysis was conducted through the SAS and STATA programs. We find that business strategy is positively associated with audit report lags. Especially, we find that defender firms are negatively associated with audit report lags. The findings of this study suggest that prospector-like firms would increase their performance uncertainty as well as audit risk. Therefore, prospector-like firms interfere with the efficient audit procedures of auditors. On the other hand, our findings indicate that defender-like firms would decrease their performance uncertainty as well as an audit risk because they focus on simple product lines and cost-efficiency. For this reason, auditors will be able to carry out the audit procedures much more easily. Our results present that a prospector-like business strategy degrades audit effectiveness as it exacerbates a company's financial risk, willingness to accept uncertainty, and the complexity of organizational structure.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.321-329
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• 2022

This study analyzes how companies of prospector type with inherent risks from new products and R&D costs affect audit hours, and further analyzes how they affect rank-specific audit hours. Samples were empirically analyzed using samples from 2018 to 2019 for KOSPI-listed and KOSDAQ-listed companies. As a result of the analysis, first, it was found that auditors were aware of the inherent risks of companies of prospector type and were striving to improve audit quality. Second, it was found that the corresponding degree of risk differs depending on the position and role in the audit team, so higher efforts were made in core positions with high risk levels. The results of this study are meaningful in verifying how the type of Business Strategies affects the audit efforts and resource input of auditors who are external parties, not internal factors such as financial reporting quality or tax avoidance. It also has important implications that a company's Business Strategies can be an significant factor to consider in preparing policies and systems for improving audit quality.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2015

Purpose - Investors, creditors, governments, and others make decisions using reasonable information provided by others. In many cases, the users of this information have goals and objectives conflicting with those of the information's producers, indicating the need for external auditors. Research design, data, and methodology - Competition in auditing has noticeably intensified globally, especially in developed countries. This means that auditors are striving to increase the efficiency of their methods. In recent years, risk-based auditing has become prominent among these efforts. In risk-assessment auditing, the auditor may directly affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the audit. Results - As a central framework, the risk assessment process improves audit quality and effectiveness such that the audit will lead to necessary changes. Previous studies have shown that risk assessment affects the nature, timing, and content of audit procedures. Conclusions - In the planning stage of an audit, audit risk assessment may identify any inappropriate or inefficient distribution of resources or determine whether the results of an audit will be ineffective or incorrect. Thus, assessing audit risk is a critical task.

• Journal of East Asia Management
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-51
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• 2023

We investigate whether the association between management overconfident tone and the level of audit effort measured by audit fees and hours differs depending on the level of earnings management. Prior studies suggest that firms led by overconfident managers are likely to initiate risky investments, report low quality financial statements, and have material weaknesses in internal control system. These characteristics, combined together, result in higher audit risk. At the same time, auditors assess audit risk based on the quality of financial reporting, measured by level of earnings management. As a result, the assess audit risk is likely to reflect the combined effect of management overconfidence and the level of earnings management. In this paper, we investigate whether auditors differentiate the effects of real earnings management (REM) and accrual-based earnings management (AEM) when they assess the audit risk related management overconfident. Using the CEO's letter published in 2018, we measure the CEO's tone representing the degree of overconfidence (i.e., activity). Based on this measure, we find that the positive association between managerial overconfident tone and audit effort is more pronounced as the level of REM is higher. However, we find that the baseline association does not vary depending on the level of AEM. These results suggest that auditors consider the managerial overconfident severer when such characteristic accompany the higher level of REM, which can be outcome of aggressive business decisions possibly leading to the higher audit risks. We further find that these results are stronger for Big 4 auditors and continuing auditors. This paper contributes to the literature and practice as follows. First, we provide contextual evidence on how auditors reflect managerial characteristics in the audit process by documenting that auditors actively increase their audit efforts only when overconfident managerial characteristics are highly likely to lead to audit risk. This result suggests that auditors conduct external auditing considering both the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process. Second, we suggest that auditors use information obtained from a wide range of sources to identify audit risks. Our results provide evidence of how the auditing standards, which do not provide detailed guidelines for audit risk assessment, are being applied in practice. Finally, our results also enhance the understanding of how audit fees are determined. Combined with the studies related to audit pricing, we provide the important reference for discussion between the auditor and the auditee about the audit fee that has created acute tension after the enforcement of the new External Audit Act.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.627-637
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• 2021

This research extends the literature on the effect of board characteristics and ownership structure on audit fees; these factors affect the firm's agency costs and how the auditor assesses various risks, hence the audit efforts and fees. The paper introduces political connections as a determinant of audit fees for the first time in Jordan, where the political connection is prevalent and affects decision making on the Jordanian boards. The sample consists of 109 manufacturing and service firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) over the years 2012-2019. Data is obtained from the ASE and the company's annual reports. Board characteristics are measured by board size, independence, leadership duality, meetings frequency, political connections, and audit committee. Ownership structure was measured by concentration, foreign ownership, and Institutional ownership. The study hypotheses were tested by using Generalized Least Squares regression. The Findings showed that larger boards, politically connected firms, and firms with leadership duality are more likely to pay higher fees. Besides, Firms with greater foreign ownership pay less fees, whereas the rest of the variables are insignificant. Results suggest that political connections play a major role in determining audit fees; this provides a recommendation to policymakers in Jordan to reconsider regulations regarding political connections.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.129-146
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• 1995

As society's relience on computerized information systems to support a wide range of activities proliferates, the long recognized importance for adequate data quality becomes imperative. Furthermore, current trends in information systems such as dispersal of the data resource together with its management have increased the difficulty of maintaining suitable levels of data integrity. Especially, the importance of adequate accounting (transaction) data quality has been long recognized and many procedures (extensive and often elaborate checks and controls) to prevent errors in accounting systems have been introduced and developed. Nevertheless, over time, even in the best maintained systems, deficiencies in stored data will develop. In order to maintain the accuracy and reliability of accounting data at certain level, periodic internal checks and error corrections (internal audits) are required as a part of internal control system. In this paper we develop a general data quality degradation (error accumulation ) and cost model for an account in which we have both error occurrences and error amounts and provide a closed form of optimal audit timing in terms of the number of transactions that should occur before an internal audit should be initiated. This paper also considers the cost- effectiveness of various audit types and different error prevention efforts and suggests how to select the most economical audit type and error prevention method.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1080-1091
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• 2012

Information system for audit target that was done in the past business unit system presided over the development process for an integrated information system in three steps further from the audit step 2 step-by-doing, for in the presiding quality party check for the information systems audit requirements of social responsibility is growing. Therefore, efforts are needed for research on factors affecting the quality of the audit and audit improve the quality in order to improve the quality of the Methodist This study, the general auditor competence and supervision, empowerment and the causal relationship between the quality of service, presided over by a model that can be analyzed in the field to develop and take advantage of the auditor's general theory of leadership was developed from existing research capabilities identification and analysis on a supervisor's empowerment survey conducted for the auditor to perform Methodist, its contents and using the LISREL structural equation methods were empirically tested.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.65-74
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• 2016

The critical aspects of biosafety and bio-containment have been increasingly important in recent years. Biological agents involved in biological research projects at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore are usually those with low risks. Biosafety level 2 or BSL 2 laboratories are widely used. However, biosafety measures which refer to the implementation of laboratory practices and procedures, specific construction features of laboratory facilities and safety equipment must be in place to reduce the exposure of laboratory personnel, the public or the environment to potentially infectious agents or other biological hazards. It is also required to pay more attention to laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs) which may occur in research laboratories, clinical laboratories or animal facilities. BSL 2 audit and certification program is implemented as an internal exercise covering laboratories in the university where biological agents are handled or biological research works are carried out. We have put some efforts to raise biosafety standards university-wide in both laboratory infrastructure and laboratory practices to a higher level. Common audit findings are briefly discussed in this presentation.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.211-219
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• 2019

Accomplishing information system, techniques, methodology have been studied continuously and give much help to auditors who are using them. Additionally audit report which is the conclusion of accomplishing ISA(information system audit), has law of a basis and phase with ITA/EA Law(Electronic Government Law). This paper is for better quality of ISA report. But it has more errors about sentence and Grammatical structures. In this paper, to achieve quality improvement objectives, it is necessary to recognize the importance of an audit report by investigating on objectives, functionality, structures and usability of a report firstly, and a legal basis, the presence of report next. Several types of audit reports were chosen and the reports errors were divided into several categories and analyzed. After grasping reasons of those errors, the methods for fixing those errors and check-lists model was provided. And based on that foundation, the effectiveness validation about real audit reports was performed. The necessity for efforts to improve the quality of audit reports was emphasized and further research subject(AI Automatic tool) of this paper conclusion. We also expect this paper to be useful for the organization to improve on ISA in the future.