Purpose – The objective of this study is to examine audit firms’ maturity in adopting emerging technologies across three dimensions: people, process and technology, and to identify the factors that shape this maturity.

Design/methodology/approach – Using a structured maturity assessment framework, the study adopted a quantitative approach, employing descriptive statistics, MANCOV A, MANOV A and univariate regressions on data from 166 experienced auditors.

Findings – Findings reveal that audit firms are currently at a moderate level of maturity. However, Big Four firms are transitioning from moderate to advanced stages, while non-Big Four firms are progressing from early to moderate stages. Organizational support and the use of emerging technologies for complex audit evidence collection are associated with higher maturity levels. Furthermore, frequent use of emerging technologies for audit evidence collection and auditor satisfaction are positively correlated with maturity.

Research limitations/implications – The study uses auditors’ perceptions of adoption, as captured through a survey, which may differ from actual adoption due to social desirability bias.

Practical implications – The moderate level of emerging technology adoption, with non-Big Four firms below this level and Big Four firms transitioning toward the advanced stage, offers a nuanced understanding of the persistent adoption gap. The findings also emphasize the importance of formal, firm-wide policies and guidelines tailored to appropriate technologies that enhance adoption maturity and auditor satisfaction. Furthermore, it is crucial for audit firms to integrate and frequently use emerging technologies when performing complex procedures, such as analytical procedures and inspections, to progress toward maturity. These findings underscore the need for proactive regulatory guidance to advance technology adoption in auditing.

Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the maturity level of emerging technology adoption in external audits using a structured assessment framework.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impacts of remote auditing on auditors’ work and work-life balance. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted a qualitative online survey approach using open-ended reflections from 98 highly experienced auditors. The survey design aligns with a “Big Q” approach to qualitative data. The reflections were interpreted through the theoretical lens of the social presence theory. Findings Auditors underscore that remote auditing has improved their work-life balance since it offers flexibility, greater autonomy and efficient use of time. However, they believe less social contact due to remote auditing can hurt their work. Research limitations/implications This study aimed to holistically comprehend the concept of work-life balance in a remote auditing setting. Therefore, the study refrained from making comparisons based on demographic information (e.g. gender, experience and type of audit firm). Practical implications The findings highlight the need for adopting flexible work arrangements that prioritise auditors’ well-being. This is critical for making the audit profession attractive and enhancing overall audit quality. Updated regulatory guidance and controls are needed concerning the use of technologies in remote auditing to ensure high-quality audits. Social implications The findings of this study can positively reshape public perception of the audit profession. Firstly, enhanced work-life balance can improve audit quality. Secondly, incorporating emerging technologies in auditing can result in society perceiving auditors as adaptive to innovation and technological advancement that has been touted for their potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of audit and audit quality, potentially enhancing societal trust in auditing. Originality/value The findings of this study complement the auditing literature that has mainly focused on the traditional work paradigm, requiring in-person presence. The authors identify potential challenges emanating from auditors’ remote work and propose solutions for audit firms to improve work-life balance in a remote work setting.

This study examines how a paradigm shift from traditional to digital audits could affect the audit expectation gap. It uncovers possible new areas of the expectation gap and threats and challenges resulting from this paradigm shift. The findings suggest that audit digitalization will result in the audit profession transitioning from the defensive approach of educating users on auditors’ duties to a constructive approach of using digital tools to perform some of the duties that users expect of auditors. Specifically, digital technologies have the potential to enhance internal controls and facilitate fraud prevention and detection, thus narrowing the expectation gap in relation to these critical issues. It may further accelerate the elimination of future challenges and threats and the narrowing of future expectation gaps. The potential benefits of switching to the constructive approach are lower costs for audit firms, enhanced audit quality, and improved client perceptions of auditors. 

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of critical realism as an important philosophical consideration for research on emerging technologies in auditing. Particularly, this study explores the ontological tenets of critical realism with its epistemological and methodological implications and examines its potential for research on the impact of emerging technologies on auditing. This paper appears to be the first to implements critical realism in studying the impact of emerging technologies on auditing. Our narrow focus in this area mainly results from the trumpeted transformational role of these technologies on auditing and the proliferation of contemporary research in this area touting these technologies for their prospects in enhancing audit efficiency, effectiveness, and audit quality. We conclude that the stratified ontology of critical realism is useful both for research on emerging technologies in auditing, specifically in understanding complexities, and for enhancing professional scepticism. The contribution of this study is multifaceted. Firstly, there is a great potential for research to go beyond the empirical domain in order to get a deeper understanding of different research problems. With a focus on generative mechanisms, critical realism also enables researchers to look beyond their intradisciplinary areas. Secondly, the adoption of critical realism may enhance scepticism (necessary for audit quality) among practitioners as they may sceptically question the benefits of these technologies. The adoption of critical realism can result in new research questions and challenge prior research through the implementation of a plurality of research methods.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to study how fair values in financial reports are audited. Design/methodology/approach The study is a qualitative case study based on in-depth interviews. Findings One important finding is that auditors anchor in the figure presented by the company, and despite the auditing efforts, there is a substantial risk of management bias in the fair values reported. There is a risk for confirmation bias. Research limitations/implications Relatively, few respondents were employed in this study, but their background and competence lead to the assessment that the study provides a representative picture of what is being investigated. Practical implications Auditors may need to develop ways of performing auditing of fair values to reduce the risks identified in this study. Social implications This study presents a perspective of the auditing process enabling an evaluation of the quality of fair value estimates regarding investment properties in the financial reports. This study also provides users of financial reports as investors, bankers and other institutions with an enhanced understanding of reported estimates of fair (market) values. Originality/value Very few studies have investigated how auditors evaluate fair values of investment properties. This study contributes by giving users of financial reports an enhanced understanding of the quality of reported estimates of fair (market) values.

Prior studies on constructive alignment (CA) have focused on highlighting the benefits of CA and its implementation in different settings, with little attention on how to effectively assess or develop intended learning outcomes (ILOs) that align to teaching and learning activities as well as assessment criteria. The present study fills this void by developing a practical framework to enable teachers to assess and develop constructively aligned learning outcomes of teaching, learning, and assessment criteria using the course; International Financial Accounting (FEAD 11). To realise the objective of the study, we developed a framework that incorporates six key steps: assessing the adequacy of current ILOs; modifying current ILOs if needed; adjusting teaching and learning activities to suit the modified ILOs; adjusting the assessment criteria to suit modified ILOs; continuously monitoring the modified ILOs for quality assurance; and identifying and implementing the relevant support tools. The benefits of this framework lie in its potential for enhancing quality learning by ensuring that ILOs are reasonable and constructively aligned to teaching, learning, and assessment criteria.

Although the audit expectation gap has been subject to substantial research over the past two decades, it remains a controversial issue for the audit profession. This study, therefore, examines the existence of an audit expectation gap in Cameroon between auditors and users (accountants, bankers, and investors), assesses the dimensions of the gap, and relates the findings to prior findings on the expectation gap. A survey questionnaire capturing fifteen semantic different belief statements on a five- point Likert scale was filled by respondents (n=365). The questionnaire addressed issues concerning auditors’ duties, and the consistency and usefulness of audits and audited statements of account. The results indicate significant evidence (α = 0.05) of an audit expectation gap concerning auditors’ accountability to prevent as well as detect fraud and to maintain the soundness of internal control systems, and issues related to auditors' objectivity and impartiality. An expectation gap was equally observed regarding auditors’ trustworthiness and whether audited statements of accounts obviously articulated the degree of guarantee and the work performed by auditors. We mainly recommend the establishment of an informative and educational platform aimed at keeping users abreast of auditors’ responsibilities. These findings serve as a critical reference point for policymakers and regulators interested in enhancing audit quality and audit reliability in Cameroon and other developing economies exhibiting similar audit regulatory and socio-economic characteristics as Cameroon.

This study aims to conceptually examine how a paradigm shift from traditional audits to digital audits could impact critical and recurring issues of the expectation gap. The findings indicate that digital platforms such as data analytics systems supported by machine learning can facilitate the identification of anomalies in data which can be investigated manually by auditors. Also, big data can be used in the audit process to interrogate an entire population of journal entries, transactions, and unstructured data, enabling auditors to focus on transactions displaying unusual patterns identified through artificial intelligence. Furthermore, drones could equally facilitate stock counts, compliance, and the attainment of operational objectives. In a nutshell, existing extant literature and commentaries underscore the significance of these digital technologies in enhancing internal controls and facilitating fraud prevention and detection. This study further contributes to the extant literature by projecting new avenues where the expectation gap is likely to emerge due to a paradigm shift from traditional audits to digital audits, enabling the auditing profession to take pre-emptive measures to prevent the exacerbation of an already worsening trust and confidence in the audit profession by financial statement users.