Assurance Services | University of Waterloo Centre for Information Integrity and Information Systems Assurance

What are Assurance Services?

The Assurance Services focus area emphasizes research, education and knowledge transfer, and interaction initiatives at UWCISA, particularly attuned to topics such as:

external FS audits,
IT controls and assurance,
use of specialists in FS audit and other assurance engagements,
emerging assurance service areas and related technologies & tools, and
professional responsibilities of assurance providers.

Led by

Tim Bauer, PhD, CPA, CA

Associate Director, UWCISA.

Research

Thought Leadership, Funding Specific Research Projects

Current Assurance Services Research

Paper	Details
Assurance Solutions and Services: Current and Future Opportunities	Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang. Objectives: To examine the marketplace of assurance services and solutions currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs, to inform the CPA profession and scholars about opportunities, barriers, competition, and trends for CPA firms in the ever-evolving areas of assurance services and tools and technologies used in or assessed within those services. Status: Phase 1 data collection (interviews and database) complete, producing two papers and one preliminary summary of findings. Phase 2 data collection (interviews, roundtables, surveys) complete, adding to papers noted above and with one new paper being drafted. Affiliation: This project has received support from UWCISA.
Cataloguing the Marketplace of Assurance Services	Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang. Objectives: To examine the marketplace of assurance services currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs, to inform the CPA profession and scholars about opportunities, barriers, and competition for CPA firms in the ever-evolving areas of assurance services. Status: Complete – this paper is forthcoming in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (AJPT). Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
Developing New Assurance Services	Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis. Objectives: To investigate how new assurance services are developed, informing research and practice about the key factors and the process through which new assurance service offerings emerge. Status: In process – data collection via interviews complete and data analysis ongoing. Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
Business Models and Business Model Descriptions: A Research Synthesis	Research team: Efrim Boritz and Louise Hayes, University of Guelph. Objectives: To explore the nature of business models and business model descriptions to better understand how they are and can be used in accounting and auditing. Status: In process – being prepared for journal submission. Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
Neuro-Cognitive Measures of Professional Skepticism	Research team: Efrim Boritz, Kate Patterson, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University. Objectives: To examine the moderating role of neurocognitive measures such as risk-taking propensity, cognitive (inhibitory) control and social cognition during the decision-making process to reveal the impact of these neurocognitive traits on professional skepticism during individual decision-making processes associated with audit risk judgments. Status: In process – being prepared for journal submission. Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
Neuro-Physiological Measures of Professional Skepticism	Research team: Efrim Boritz, Kate Patterson, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University. Objectives: Toexamine the mediating role of neurophysiological measures commonly associated with the degree of cognitive and/or emotional arousal experienced during the decision-making process to reveal the mechanism through which professional skepticism affects individual decision-making processes associated with audit risk judgments. Status: In process – being prepared for journal submission. Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
How Does Depletion Interact with Auditors’ Skeptical Dispositions to Affect Auditors’ Challenging of Managers in Negotiations?	Research team: Lori Bhaskar, Indiana University, Tracie Majors, University of Southern California, and Adam Vitalis. Objectives: Toexplore the interaction of depletion and auditor skepticism on auditors' challenging of managers during negotiations, and to develop a new, more nuanced measure of auditors' client service-skeptic disposition for professionals and academics to leverage. Status: Complete – this paper was published in Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2023. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Adam Vitalis, an associate director of UWCISA.
Improving Specialists’ Contributions to Audits of Fair Values	Research team: Tim Bauer, Cassandra Estep, Emory University, and Emily Griffith, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Objectives: To examine how to motivate specialists to deliver high quality work, in light of prior findings that specialists and auditors do not always work together effectively. Status: In process – under review at a journal. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Tim Bauer, an associate director of UWCISA.
How Are Goodwill Impairments Audited? A Study of Auditors and Valuation Specialists	Research team: Efrim Boritz and Lev Timoshenko, University of Calgary. Objectives: To examine how auditors and valuation specialists perform the audit of goodwill/cash generating unit (CGU) impairment under IFRS, focusing on both interpretation and application of fair value (FV) accounting and auditing standards by the two groups. Status: In process – under review at a journal. Affiliation: This paper has received support from UWCISA.
The Influence of Client Incivility and Coping Strategies on Audit Professionals’ Judgments	Research team: Tim Bauer, Sean Hillison, Virginia Tech, and Ala Mokhtar, McMaster University. Objectives: To examine whether client incivility negatively influences auditors’ judgments and whether any adverse effects are mitigated using coping strategies. Status: In process – under review at a journal. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Tim Bauer, an associate director of UWCISA.
Do Non-Professional Investors Weight Auditor Disclosures in their Valuation Judgments? A Replication of Dennis, Griffin, and Zehms (2019)	Research team: Lori Bhaskar, Indiana University, Tracie Majors, University of Southern California, and Adam Vitalis. Objectives: Toinvestigate via four replication studies whether variation in need for cognitive closure (NFCC) can explain Dennis, Griffin, and Zehms’ (2019, 215) surprising null result that suggests non-professional investors "struggle to weight" auditor disclosures in their valuation judgments. Status: In process – being prepared for journal submission. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Adam Vitalis, an associate director of UWCISA.

Education and Knowledge Transfer

Disseminating Best Practices, Sharing Material (Workshops / Conferences)

Developing Courses, Workshops, Cases and Other Teaching Material

Courses and programs

IT controls and assurance innovation

Under the leadership of Malik Datardina of Auvenir, UWCISA sponsored the development of a course on technology, assurance, innovation, and value creation. The course explores exponential technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and AI.

Master’s research paper

The Master of Accounting (MAcc) Program at the University of Waterloo offers students the option to complete a Master's Research Paper (MRP) instead of a 4th elective course, over the 8 months (Jan-Aug) of the program.
In 2024, two students are completing an MRP in the assurance area: Simreyna Kang, as supervised by Tim Bauer, and Matthew Tam, as supervised by Brad Pomeroy and Adam Vitalis.

Student case competitions, mentorship, and awards

UWCISA PhD & Academic Career Mentorship Program in Audit & Assurance, Cybersecurity, or Accounting Information Systems (AIS)

Under the leadership of Tim Bauer and sponsored by ISACA Toronto Chapter, UWCISA created the UWCISA PhD and Academic Career Mentorship Program in Audit & Assurance, Cybersecurity, or Accounting Information Systems (AIS).
Its purpose is to provide UW undergraduate and MAcc students who are interested in pursuing a PhD with an opportunity to learn more about an academic career in audit, assurance, cybersecurity, AIS, or related fields.
Prospective students are encouraged to follow the link above and see how to join the mentorship program in F24-W25.

Practitioner resources

Research on the future of assurance services

Under the guidance of Kaylynn Pippo, CPA Canada, Tim Bauer and Brad Pomeroy created a blog Research on the future of assurance services.
The blog, released in January 2023, summarizes for practitioners UWCISA’s Phase 1 and 2 research on new assurance service areas (e.g., catalogue, interviews, roundtables).

Interaction

Engaging with Profession, Students, Public

Assurance in practice

Tim Bauer has been invited to speak to members of the Halton-Peel CPA Ontario Association in September 2024. The topic of his presentation is: Emerging Services and Technologies for CPA Firms and CPA Professionals
The presentation will focus on assurance and advisory services offered by CPA firms and competitors, as well as technologies being used or encountered by CPA professionals in their various careers, and examine emerging trends in these services and technologies in light of recent calls for the profession to transform itself beyond financial statement measurement and auditing.