Assurance Services

Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang.  

Objectives: The evolving expectations of stakeholders in a data- and technology-driven economy will dramatically reshape the services CPA auditors are expected to provide. In order to ensure that the CPA profession is viewed and well equipped to be a leading provider of trust in the digital world, we must consider future forms and uses of information and explore new ideas for assurance services and how those services are being delivered. 

Primary purpose: to research the marketplace of assurance services and solutions currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs.

• In Phase 1 the research team completed an initial review of practitioner-oriented sources and academic literature to compile a database of the evolution of assurance-related services, and tools and technologies used in such services, to date. The research team also conducted 20 interviews with practitioners addressing issues related to the development of new assurance services. Two papers and one preliminary summary of findings document this phase of the project. Each separate report is discussed in the three rows below. The research team presented a summary of their findings to the AICPA's Assurance Services Executive Committee on October 18, 2022.
• Phase 2 is underway. Data collection involved conducting 1) a survey with mainly CPA firm representatives about technologies and tools used in assurance services (emailed to CPA Canada membership; accessible January 24, 2023 until the end of February 2023 with assistance from CPA Canada), 2) roundtable discussions with assurance leadership in Canada (January 27, 2023 with assistance from CPA Canada) and the US (February 1, 2023 with assistance from the AICPA) about priorities and competition for emerging assurance service areas, and 3) eight interviews with CPA and other professionals about the development of emergent assurance services (conducted throughout December 2023). This data is being added to the various reports started in Phase 1.

Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang. 

Objectives: Identify emerging assurance service areas and report on CPA firm market presence (or not) in these areas. 

Status: In process

• An initial version of the report was submitted to Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (AJPT), the top audit and assurance journal in accounting, in December 2023. Results of the roundtable discussions in January 2023 have been included in a revised version of the paper in an effort to validate findings and conclusions made in the report. The revised version is now available and was conditionally accepted by AJPT in September 2023: 

• Report: Cataloguing the Marketplace of Assurance Service Areas 

Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis. 

Objectives: Identify emerging technologies and tools related to assurance services. 

Status: In process

• This paper was presented at the 2023 Joint Midyear Meeting of the AIS, SET and International Sections of the AAA  held in Las Vegas, NV in January 26-28, 2023. Results from the survey are included in the most recent version of the report in an effort to provide additional insight from practitioners and CPAs into the use of emerging technologies and tools used in assurance services. The paper is scheduled to be presented at the AAA Audit and AIS/SET Midyear Meetings in January 2024.

• Report: Cataloguing Assurance Related Technologies and Tools

Research team: Tim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis. 

Objectives: Investigate how new assurance services are developed via interviews with CPA and other professionals. 

Status: In process

• A preliminary report is available at the link below. Additional interviews were conducted in December 2022 and will be combined with the initial interview data in a full report that will describe the development of new assurance services as reflected in interview participant responses. This report is being drafted in Summer/Fall 2023.

• Report: Research on Emerging Assurance Service Areas 

Research team: Efrim Boritz and Louise Hayes, University of Guelph.  

Objectives: This paper addresses a series of research questions aimed at exploring 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

• This paper was presented at the AAA Annual Meeting in New York, NY, August 2016; the International Symposium on Accounting Information Systems (ISAIS) in Valencia, Spain, May 2017;  the AAA SET Midyear Meeting in Orlando, FL, January 23-25, 2020. 

• The paper was submitted to IJAIS but reviewers requested changes that were not acceptable to the authors. It is being revised for submission to a different journal.

Research team: Efrim Boritz, Katharine Elizabeth Patterson, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University. 

Objectives: 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

• This paper was presented at the Annual Congress of the EAA in Paphos, CY, May 2019.

• Rejected by Behavioral Research in Accounting (BRIA) mainly due to use of student subjects. Revised to use MTurk subjects and rerun in Q3 of 2020. Pilot tests of 70 participants were conducted. Some issues were identified with Qualtrics that were resolved and new data was gathered. MTurk data proved unreliable and additional data was gathered in Winter 2022.

Research team: Efrim Boritz, Katharine Elizabeth Patterson, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University.  

Objectives: examine 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

• This paper was presented at the AAA Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2019.

• Data was collected from practitioners at Big 4 firms during 2019. Paper was rejected by TAR and CAR. Additional analyses will be conducted based on the review comments received.

• This paper has been accepted for publication and will appear in print in 2024 at Contemporary Accounting Research, the premier Canadian (and internationally recognized) journal for the Canadian Academic Accounting Association.

Research team: Tim Bauer, Cassandra Estep, Emory University, and Emily Griffith, University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

Objectives: examine how to motivate specialists to deliver high quality work and communication to auditors even in situations where specialists may otherwise feel coerced or compelled to contribute in a limited fashion.  

Status: In process

• Invited in September 2022 to revise and resubmit manuscript for review at Contemporary Accounting, Research. As part of this revision, survey data was collected from approximately 30 valuation specialists in November & December 2022. A revised manuscript should be completed in April 2023.

• The paper is under second round review at Contemporary Accounting Research. The revised manuscript is available at the link below.

• Report: Improving Specialists' Contributions to Audits

Research team: Efrim Boritz and Lev Timoshenko, University of Calgary.  

Objectives: 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

• The paper is being revised for resubmission.