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A Research Study on Financial Reporting and Auditing Bridging the Expectation Gap (Melbourne and Sydney: Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants and The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, 1994), 199 PP
Brenda A. Porter (Ph.D., Massey University; CA, FCIS) is Professor of Accountancy, Massey University, New Zealand, and has published empirical research on the audit expectation performance gap. From August 1989 to December 1990, she was Director of Research of the New Zealand Society of Accountants.
In the Foreword to A Research Study on Financial Reporting and Auditing-Bridging the Expectation Gap (the Study), Peter Jollie and Graham Paton, the respective Presidents of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (ASCPA), explain:
...the differing perceptions of the financial reporting and audit function-the so-called "Expectation Gap"...goes to the very heart of financial reporting in [Australia]. It is vital that this important issue is given a frank and open airing to clear any misconceptions and ensure both preparers and users of financial reports fully understand the reporting and auditing process. ... [W] e commissioned this Research Study to provide a basis for discussion within the professional and business community. (Study, iii)
Given the project's rationale and broad scope -e-mbracing the expectation gap in both the financial reporting and auditing arenas-it might be expected that the Study would be conducted by a sizable Working Party, comprising representatives of each group with an identifiable interest in financial reporting and auditing. It might also be expected that the Study would address issues specifically identified as contributing to the expectation gap in Australia (or internationally) and that steps would be taken to ensure that the Study was widely disseminated among all interested parties. However, the Study does not meet these expectations. The Working Party consisted of just four members-two from ICAA and two from ASCPA. It also had four observers (two from ICAA, one from ASCPA, and the Director of Auditing Standards, Australian Accounting Research Foundation) and one researcher-from Coopers & Lybrand.(1) Thus, all of the Study's personnel were drawn from the accounting profession. As a consequence, rather than presenting the differing viewpoints of various sectional interests-and stimulating vigorous debatethe Study seems to be oriented toward inculcating (and gaining acceptance...