SUMMARY: This study examines the work environment in the audit division of large public accounting firms. Based on 18 semi-structured interviews (eight partners and ten staff auditors currently or recently employed by large public accounting firms), we find that the interviewees cite several positive aspects of auditing careers including the people, intellectual stimulation, challenge, and responsibility. However, they also cite significant negatives, including PCAOB regulation, stress, and hours. None of the staff interviewees plans to stay in public accounting long term, and while all of the partners would recommend public accounting to others, most focused only on public accounting as a place to start a career. The findings raise a number of concerns regarding the profession's ability to sustain the quality of its human capital, especially since there are no signs of a radically improved work environment in public accounting that may appeal to Millennials. We conclude by discussing possible improvements in the public accounting work environment that would address the issues raised in the interviews.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and synthesize the current academic literature on emerging trends to increase CSR reporting credibility. Design/methodology/approach This paper synthesizes literature on emerging trends to increase CSR reporting credibility from the past ten years, focusing mainly on the most recent five years, by searching ABI/Inform and Business Source Premier for academic papers containing the following keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting, CSR, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. Findings This paper identifies four relatively unexplored trends to improve CSR credibility: CSR assurance, integrated reporting, CSR reporting standards, and CSR regulation. Research limitations/implications This study will be of use to academic researchers to facilitate research and discussion on the credibility of CSR disclosure. Practical implications Regulatory agencies, boards of directors, customers, suppliers, and investors are increasingly using CSR information for decision making; therefore the credibility of the information is important. Originality/value Much of the extant research investigating CSR has focused on financial performance metrics. The study synthesizes the recent CSR literature, including some interdisciplinary research focusing on emerging accountability trends in reporting. The authors identify several research opportunities that will enhance the authors’ understanding of CSR reporting.

The novelty, ambiguity, and the lack of official guidance surrounding cryptocurrency transactions impose additional audit risks that should be considered during client-acceptance and retention and planning audit procedures. We develop a four-quadrant model to assist auditors in client-acceptance and continuance decisions and identify cryptocurrency risks that should be considered during audit planning and audit evidence gathering.

SUMMARY The novelty, ambiguity, and the lack of official guidance surrounding cryptocurrency transactions impose additional audit risks that should be considered during client acceptance and retention and planning audit procedures. We develop a four-quadrant model to assist auditors in client acceptance and continuance decisions and identify cryptocurrency risks that should be considered during audit planning and audit evidence gathering.

No abstract