An examination of a pragmatic approach to minimizing underreporting of time

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to propose and examine a pragmatic approach to minimizing auditors’ underreporting of time. Specifically, the study examines the effects of time budget pressure (TBP) and reported time use policy (RTUP) on time underreporting. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a 2 × 2 between experimental design. The participants are 130 undergraduate accounting students and they completed a ratio-based task. The online experiment manipulated TBP and a RTUP. Findings This study shows a RTUP reduces time underreporting, especially when TBP is high. Practical implications This study is useful to audit firms because it provides a feasible solution to minimizing time underreporting. Social implications Studies show that firm culture affects the dysfunctional behavior of time underreporting. Consequently, this study recommends that firms influence the culture around time reporting through an upfront communication of a use policy. Originality/value Studies on time underreporting exist, but formal studies on solutions to the issue are sparse. The authors propose a solution to the issue of time underreporting, which is a RTUP.

Towards sustainable audit quality: framework based on the UK financial reporting council

“…Review of previous studies such as Thiombiano and Udeh (2021), Bright (2018) and Bloomfield (2012) show that most of this research study did not pay much attention to the field of SAQ, and often to assess the auditing quality, attention has been paid to the area of expectation gaps and conflicting perceptions of audit quality based on the examination of underlying causes such as gender and level of education. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the dimensions of this area by determining the quality standards of auditing based on the model of the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC).…”