Audit regulation and its relevance for audit quality in Namibia

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Audit regulation and its relevance for audit quality in Namibia
 
Creator Dikuua, Miriam B. Maroun, Warren van Zijl, Wayne Ram, Asheer J.
 
Subject Assurance; Auditing; Accounting audit quality; external regulation; International Standard on Quality Control 1 (ISQC 1); Namibia; Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board (PAAB); Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN)
Description Background: Corporate scandals have resulted in decreasing levels of confidence in the audit profession so that audit quality is under finer scrutiny.Aim: This article has explored the role external audit regulation in Namibia plays in ensuring the quality of its financial statement audits.Setting: The opinions of audit and regulation experts in Namibia were examined.Method: A mixed-method approach, grounded in an interpretive epistemology, was employed. A correspondence table was developed, using the current literature. The opinions of audit and regulation experts on the effect that external regulations have on audit quality were then sought, using correspondence analysis and interviews.Results: The primary themes of audit quality from a regulatory perspective are maintaining independence and consulting on complex audit matters, the employment of competent members in the engagement team and a culture of quality, driven by firm leadership. It is further revealed that administrative functions play a vital role in contributing to the quality of an audit.Conclusion: A conceptual model, linking regulation and audit quality, is presented. Independence is considered the cornerstone of the audit profession, while regulations are relevant to independence. Regulators may consider introducing measures such as rotation of audit firms or the disclosure of audit tenure in annual financial statements.Contribution: This is the first research of its kind in Namibia. It is helpful to regulators and audit practitioners because it allows them to gain a better understanding of whether the current regulations adequately enhance audit quality, instead of being perceived as a ‘tick-box’ exercise.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor
Date 2023-04-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Mixed methods; Correspondence analysis
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajems.v26i1.4866
 
Source South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences; Vol 26, No 1 (2023); 13 pages 2222-3436 1015-8812
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4866/2740 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4866/2741 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4866/2742 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4866/2743
 
Coverage Namibia — JEL: M40, M42, M48
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Miriam Berenice Dikuua, Warren Maroun, Wayne van Zijl, Asheer Jaywant Ram https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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