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Auditing
Kinds of Auditing Terms modified by Auditing Selected AbstractsThe Difficult Client-Acceptance Decision in Canadian Audit Firms: A Field Investigation,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001Yves Gendron Abstract Auditing is often depicted in scientific and professional literature as being subject to conflicting forces, such as mechanization versus flexibility, and professionalism versus commercialism. This paper examines how auditors actually make the client-acceptance decision in the midst of these forces. The investigation was conducted via a field study at three Big 6 firms located in Canada. The results show that in all firms the client-acceptance decision process in action is largely flexible, being characterized by a high degree of informal communication and the adaptation of the client-acceptance written policies and decision aids to circumstances. Furthermore, while commercialism in one firm (A) has a significant influence on the decision process, in the two other firms (B and C) the decision process is mostly consistent with professionalism. This result conflicts with the concerns that North American regulators have recently expressed about auditors' professionalism. [source] A Strategy for Dealing with Financial Reporting Fraud: Fewer Mandates, More Auditing,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2008Steven E. Salterio First page of article [source] Factors Associated with the Use of and Compliance with the IIA Standards: A Study of Anglo-culture CAEsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2009Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi Chief audit executives (CAEs) are required to use and comply with The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards). However, this study finds that 13.5 percent of CAEs in Anglo-culture countries do not use the Standards. Furthermore, of those who use the Standards a significant number fail to comply with specific standards. Multivariate tests of data from CAEs in this study show that ,Length of IIA membership' and ,Internal auditing certification' are positively associated with use. Other significant variables are ,Superseded by local/government regulations or standards,',Not perceived as value added by management/board' and ,Compliance not expected in the country' that are inversely related to use. The length of training is also positively associated with compliance, while other significant variables are internal audit certification, ,Standards are too costly,',Not perceived as value added by management/board' and ,Inadequate internal audit staff' that are negatively associated with compliance. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of these results for practice and research. [source] Evaluating the Effectiveness of Auditing in Local Municipalities using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP): A General Model and the Israeli ExampleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 3 2007Shlomo Mizrahi This paper suggests a method for evaluating the effectiveness of auditing, and more specifically, develops measurement tools for evaluating the effectiveness of auditing in local municipalities. Auditing effectiveness is defined basically as the number and scope of deficiencies corrected following the auditing process. Given the relatively scant literature about the measurement of auditing effectiveness in the public sector, this study attempts to bring the issue to the forefront and provide systematic tools for such a measurement. The method suggested in this paper is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology, which is usually used for grading multi-criteria alternatives where a subjective (expert) comparison between alternatives is required. In our context, this methodology helps rank the relative importance of each deficiency in the auditing report by assigning weights to each deficiency. Applying this method to auditing in local municipalities, the paper develops measurement tools for evaluating their effectiveness based on questionnaires distributed among experts and illustrates their applicability in three local municipalities in Israel. [source] Internal Auditing and Risk Assessment in Large Italian Companies: an Empirical SurveyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 3 2003Marco Allegrini This paper aims at achieving an overall view regarding the state of the art of internal auditing in large Italian companies. Mainly, it is focused on risk assessment practices and on the execution of a risk-based approach in the audit process. The research is based on a survey carried out on the ,Top100' companies listed at the Italian Stock Exchange. Survey results reveal that practices vary significantly among three different models: 1A few companies (25%) carry out mainly traditional compliance activities and they generally follow an audit-cycle approach for the annual audit planning; 2In most companies (67%), internal auditors adopt the COSO model and perform mainly operational auditing. Risk-based approach is applied predominantly at macro level. 3Finally, it is possible to identify a very few large companies (8%), in which auditors are applying a risk-based approach both at macro and micro level. [source] Current Developments and Trends in Social and Environmental Auditing, Reporting and Attestation: A Review and CommentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 3 2000Rob Gray This is a discursive paper which attempts to provide a personal review of current and recent developments in social and environmental reporting with particular emphasis on the attestation and auditing implications. The paper takes the essential desirability of social, environmental and sustainability reporting as a crucial element in any well-functioning democracy as a given. It further assumes that any civilised, but complex, society with pretensions to social justice, that seeks a potentially sustainable future and which wishes to try and rediscover some less exploitative and less insulated relationship with the natural environment, needs social and environmental reporting as one component in redirecting its social and economic organisation. With reporting being such a central issue, the paper further takes good quality attestation of that information as essential to both its reliability and its ability to fulfill its required role in developing transparency and accountability. The paper has three motifs: the need to clarify terminology in the field of social and environmental ,audits'; the current weakness of attestation practices in the area; and the significant , but unfulfilled , promise offered by professional accounting and auditing education and training. The paper concludes with a call for a substantial re-think of accounting education and training. [source] The Regulation of Public Company Auditing: Evidence from the Transition to AS5JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 4 2010RAJIB DOOGAR ABSTRACT The replacement of Auditing Standard No. 2 (AS2) by Auditing Standard No. 5 (AS5) creates a natural experiment that sheds light on (1) potential inefficiencies caused by regulatory responses to a political crisis and (2) audit efficiency and effectiveness improvements resulting from the risk-based approach embodied in AS5. We study these effects by examining the impact of AS5 on audit fees. We find that AS5 audit fees are aligned with auditee fraud risk, but not AS2 audit fees. Second, relative to AS2 benchmark levels, AS5 audit fees are, on average, lower for all auditees. Third, relative to AS2 benchmarks, AS5 fees are lower for lower-fraud-risk auditees but greater for higher-fraud-risk auditees. Overall, the evidence is consistent with (1) initial overregulation (via AS2) followed by reform (via AS5) and (2) auditors deploying a risk-based audit approach to obtain both efficiency and potential effectiveness gains in audit production. [source] Strategic Auditing: An Incomplete Information ModelJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 5-6 2001Peter Cheng This paper presents a stylized model of the strategy game between the auditor and the client. The client is assumed to have either good or bad inherent risk in her reporting system. She chooses a reporting effort level to maintain the accounting records and data management depending on her type of inherent risk. The auditor chooses a high or low level of audit procedures. A high level of auditing procedures will reveal the client's type and effort from which the auditor can decide either to qualify the financial statements or to issue a clean report. The client and the auditor are assumed to move simultaneously. Pure strategy equilibria are derived for all the undominated strategies between the auditor and the client in the region of the model that is more similar to the Fellingham and Newman (1985) model. Unlike their model in which a high auditing level is never a pure strategy in equilibrium, we obtain pure strategy equilibria for high auditing levels. [source] U.S. versus Global Auditing: Why the Differences MatterJOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 4 2001Kay W. Tatum You know we now live in a global economy. U.S auditors must comply with global standards when dealing with multinational firms. But did you know that some international auditing requirements are more demanding than ours,and even conflict with them? © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Claims Auditing in Automobile Insurance: Fraud Detection and Deterrence ObjectivesJOURNAL OF RISK AND INSURANCE, Issue 3 2002Sharon Tennyson Research on insurer management of opportunism in claiming has developed in two parallel literatures. One is a theoretical literature on insurance contracting that yields predictions about the nature of optimal auditing strategies for the deterrence of fraud. The other is a literature based upon statistical analysis of claims that yields empirical strategies for the detection of fraudulent claims. This article links the two literatures by providing an empirical assessment of insurers' auditing practices in relation to theoretical predictions. The analysis makes use of a data set on the disposition of more than 1,000 randomly selected automobile personal injury protection claims settled in the state of Massachusetts. The findings of the article are consistent with the use of rational auditing strategies by insurers and with the use of audits for both deterrence and detection. [source] The Effectiveness of Internal Auditing: An Empirical Examination of its Determinants in Israeli OrganisationsAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Aaron Cohen Internal auditing (IA) has become an indispensable control mechanism in both public and private organisations. Yet very few academic studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of IA. The current exploratory study aims to build a conceptual understanding of the effectiveness of IA in organisations. Towards this end it develops a scale to measure the effectiveness of IA and a model of its determinants. One hundred and eight Israeli organisations that employ IA participated in the study (a 37% response rate). Data on the effectiveness of IA were collected from the organisations' general managers and data on the determinants from their internal auditors. The findings reveal good psychometric properties for the scale developed in this study. The correlation and regression analyses show support from top management to be the main determinant of IA effectiveness, with some effect also found for the organisational independence of IA. The effect of the predictors was consistent between the public and private sectors. The research model explained a large amount of variance of IA effectiveness. The findings are discussed in terms of how they can help guide and encourage the continuation of research on this issue. [source] The Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board after the Implementation of CLERP 9AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 42 2007CHRISTINE JUBS This paper traces the establishment of the reconstituted Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) as a result of the CLERP (Audit Reform and Corporate Disclosure) Act 2004, and its progress in developing auditing standards that are "in the public interest". The paper canvasses the composition of the AUASB, its transparency and due process, its relationship with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the Financial Reporting Council, and its resourcing and attitude to researching issues of importance in auditing. The paper discusses methods that might be used to provide evidence of the efficacy of the reforms to auditing standard-setting. [source] The Development of Specialist Industry Knowledge in Government AuditingAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 20 2000ROGER SIMNETT Government auditors play an important role in overseeing public agencies, yet there is little understanding of the types of knowledge that specialist industry auditors require in this environment and how this knowledge is acquired. This study develops a portfolio of knowledge items that various sources have suggested are important for industry-specialist auditors. It was found that the items perceived to be of greatest importance to government auditors were contained under the broad knowledge categories of "accounting", "auditing", and "entity-specific factors". Most of the specialised knowledge is acquired on the job, although some of this knowledge may be better acquired through formal training. [source] An Emerging Market's Reaction to Initial Modified Audit Opinions: Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 3 2000CHARLES J. P. CHEN Abstract This study investigates the valuation effect of modified audit opinions (MAOs) on the emerging Chinese stock market. Here, the term MAO refers to both qualified opinions and unqualified opinions with explanatory notes. The latter can be considered an alternative form of a qualified opinion in China. The institutional setting in China enables us to find compelling evidence in support of the monitoring role of independent auditing as an institution. First, we find a significantly negative association between MAOs and cumulative abnormal returns after controlling for effects of other concurrent announcements. Further, results from a by-year analysis suggest that investors did not reach negative consensus about MAOs' valuation effect until the second year, exhibiting the learning process of a market without prior exposure to MAOs. Second, we do not observe significant differences between market reaction to non-GAAP- and GAAP-violation-related MAOs. Third, no significant difference is found between market reaction to qualified opinions and market reaction to unqualified opinions with explanatory notes. [source] On the concept of a universal audit of quality and environmental management systemsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002Stanislav Karapetrovic There is a definite trend in industry today toward the integration of internal management systems (MSs), including those for managing quality, environment, health and safety, and social accountability. The standards describing the minimum requirements for such systems have been made largely compatible, but are not yet fully aligned or integrated. Apart from several national standards for integrated quality, environment and safety MSs, the world has yet to see a corresponding and internationally accepted guideline. In contrast, integrative standardization activities in the realm of MS auditing are proceeding in full force, with the introduction of the pioneering ISO 19011 guideline for quality and environmental auditing expected soon. This paper focuses on the concepts, principles and practices of a truly generic audit, applicable for the evaluation of diverse aspects of organizational performance against the criteria stated in MS standards. A universal audit model based on the systems approach and several important questions regarding the compatibility and integration of the current auditing schemes are discussed. These issues include the ability of integrated audits to foster unification of supported MSs, as well as different strategies for the development of a universal audit guideline (UAG) and integration of function-specific audits. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [source] Knowledge Acquisition and Memory Effects Involving an Expert System Designed as a Learning Tool for Internal Control Assessment*DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003Mary Jane Lenard ABSTRACT The assessment of internal control is a consideration in all financial statement audits, as stressed by the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 78. According to this statement, "the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit" (Accounting Standards Board, 1995, p. 1). Therefore, an accounting student will progress through the auditing course with the responsibility of learning how and why internal controls are assessed. Research in expert systems applied to auditing has shown that there is strong support for the constructive dialogue used in expert systems as a means of encouraging their use in decision making (Eining, Jones, & Loebbecke, 1997). The purpose of this study is to provide the student or novice auditor with a method for developing a more comprehensive understanding of internal controls and the use of internal controls in audit planning. The results of the study reinforce previous findings that novices do better when an expert system applies analogies along with declarative explanations, and clarifies the length of time in which the use of active learning in a training system can provide an improvement to declarative knowledge, but procedural knowledge must be acquired over a longer time frame. [source] Some Lessons from Transaction-Cost Politics for Less-Developed CountriesECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 2 2003Avinash Dixit Transaction-cost politics views economic policy-making as a political process constrained by asymmetric information and limited commitment possibilities. This paper examines some implications of this perspective for less-developed countries (LDCs) considering policy reform. It emphasizes that success requires reform of the rules and institutions which govern the strategic interaction of the participants in the political game, and that reforms must cope with the special interests and asymmetric information which already exist. In this light, it examines some broad issues of the design of constitutions and institutions (definition and enforcement of property rights, control of inflation, and of government expenditures, federalism, and redistribution), as well as some specific issue of the design of organizations and incentives (problems posed by the interaction of multiple tasks and multiple interests, and their interaction with the limitations on auditing and administration that exists in many LDCs). [source] The Meaning of Balanced Scorecards in the Health Care OrganisationFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2001Lars-Göan Aidemark This study investigates the introduction of balanced scorecards in a health care organisation. It analyses a top-down control system, built on measurement, in a medical professional context, where attempts at implementing systematic performance auditing are expected to meet resistance. The study shows, however, that balanced scorecards, redesigned by medical professionals and used in a dialogue about service activities and finances, are regarded attractive successors to criticised financial control systems. In the light of the markets, hierarchies and clans perspective, developed by Ouchi, this popularity becomes comprehensible. Balanced scorecards are seen to reduce both the ambiguity of performance evaluation and the goal in-congruence between parties in the organisation. [source] Tribute to Professor Michael GibbinsACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2009Karim Jamal ABSTRACT On May 2-3, 2008, the Alberta School of Business and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta (ICAA) sponsored a dinner and a one-day research workshop in Professor Michael Gibbins's honor. At the dinner on May 2, three presentations were made on the contribution of Professor Gibbins to accounting education, research, and the profession. At the research workshop on May 3, three research papers were presented, a panel discussed professional judgment issues in accounting and auditing, and a CFO gave a luncheon speech on the new financial presentation project of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The dinner and symposium attracted participants from across Canada, the United States, Australia, and Singapore, which is not surprising given Professor Gibbins's global reputation. This paper summarizes the presentations and discussion that took place during the May 2 dinner and May 3 research workshop. [source] Productivity in "Top-Ten" Academic Accounting Journals by Researchers at Canadian Universities,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2003ROBERT MATHIEU ABSTRACT We examine the research productivity of academic accountants at Canadian universities for the 11-year period 1990-2000. Our analysis is based on the "top-ten" ranked refereed journals in accounting, auditing, and taxation, as documented by Brown and Huefner (1994). We first provide an overview of the importance of publishing in highly ranked accounting journals for individual academics, departments, and business faculties. We then provide details of the proportion of articles published in each of these journals by academics from Canadian universities; the type of research published in each journal (auditing, financial accounting, managerial accounting, and taxation); and details of editorial board service. Our results indicate that even at the most productive Canadian university (in terms of "top-ten" publications), faculty members publish (on average) approximately one article every seven years. Six Canadian universities have faculty members with, on average, more than one article in "top-ten" journals every 10 years. We also provide results of analyses that rank each Canadian university, after controlling for the relative quality of each journal, using impact factors published by the Social Science Citation Index. In addition, statistics are provided with regard to the 15 most productive researchers, in terms of "top-ten" publications, in the 11-year period. Finally, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association, we examine the productivity of academic accountants at Canadian universities over the past 25 years by combining our results with those reported by Richardson and Williams (1990). [source] Information and Communications Technology and Auditing: Current Implications and Future DirectionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2010Kamil Omoteso This exploratory study assesses, from a structuration theory perspective, the impact information and communications technology (ICT) tools and techniques are currently having on audit tasks, auditors (internal and external) and the organisations they work for from the point of view of coordination, control, authority and structure. Based on a triangulation of interview and questionnaire techniques, the findings indicate that ICT is re-shaping auditors' roles and outputs as well as audit organisations' structures. The findings also project the view that continuous auditing, artificial intelligence and CobiT are expected to gain more prominence while a need was also seen for new software development to help auditors match the complexity of their clients' information systems. The study's results reveal the current state of affairs of the relationship between ICT and auditing against the backdrop of continuous global ICT sophistication thereby updating ICT audit literature and the likely future direction of this relationship. [source] Identifying Organizational Drivers of Internal Audit EffectivenessINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2009Marika Arena This study attempts to understand the organizational drivers of internal audit effectiveness in the light of recent changes in the ,mission' of internal auditing and its central role in corporate governance. On the basis of data from 153 Italian companies, our survey shows that the effectiveness of internal auditing is influenced by: (1) the characteristics of the internal audit team, (2) the audit processes and activities, and (3) the organizational links. Internal audit effectiveness increases in particular when the ratio between the number of internal auditors and employees grows, the Chief Audit Executive is affiliated to the Institute of Internal Auditors, the company adopts control risk self-assessment techniques, and the audit committee is involved in the activities of the internal auditors. [source] Evidence on the Impact of Internal Control and Corporate Governance on Audit FeesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2008David Hay Previous studies generally suggest that internal control and external auditing can substitute for each other, so that better internal control will be associated with lower audit fees. However, their empirical results do not support this view. In contrast, previous studies of the interaction between corporate governance and external audit services often assume that they are complementary, and that improved governance is associated with higher audit fees, although the evidence about this issue is also mixed. We examine whether the ,substitution' or ,complementary controls' views apply. We find that measures of internal auditing, corporate governance, and concentration of ownership are all positively related to audit fees, consistent with the explanation that controls are complementary. The study makes a contribution by assisting regulators in understanding the effects of regulation of corporate governance, and by showing auditors and auditing standard setters that the view that internal controls can substitute for external auditing may not be helpful. We also find that these relationships hold only in a relatively less-regulated environment. [source] Internal Audit Departments: Adoption and Characteristics in Italian CompaniesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2007Marika Arena This article analyses the adoption and characteristics of internal audit departments in Italian companies, in the light of recent changes in the economic and political environment following the big financial scandals which occurred both in Italy and abroad. The research framework is informed by new institutional theory, driving the definition of a conceptual model. The research approach comprises two steps: first, a preliminary in-depth case study to support the research design (assessment of relevant variables and questionnaire's construction); second, an extensive survey involving 364 Italian companies, with a response rate of 63%. The article highlights an actual diffusion of internal audit structures among Italian companies. Data collected show increasing attention towards internal audit activities, resources and competencies and highlight the relevance of isomorphic pressures in influencing companies' support of internal auditing. [source] Psychological Characteristics Contributing to Expertise in Audit JudgmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2006Pamela Kent Prior research has sought a better understanding of the relation between audit expertise and judgment of auditors. The motivation for this study is derived from the need to further understand psychological characteristics contributing to audit expertise. This paper adopts part of a framework derived from the decision-making literature in psychology and applies it to auditing. Shanteau proposes that expert decision makers inherently possess 14 psychological characteristics. The importance of these characteristics is assessed using the perceptions of 55 practising auditors from three national accounting firms in Australia within and across four phases of the audit using a survey instrument. The results indicate that each of the 14 characteristics is important across all four phases of the audit in varying degrees. In addition, the degree of importance varies across characteristics and between audit phases. These findings indicate that psychological characteristics are associated with audit expertise to be applied and tested in future research. [source] Internal Auditing and Risk Assessment in Large Italian Companies: an Empirical SurveyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 3 2003Marco Allegrini This paper aims at achieving an overall view regarding the state of the art of internal auditing in large Italian companies. Mainly, it is focused on risk assessment practices and on the execution of a risk-based approach in the audit process. The research is based on a survey carried out on the ,Top100' companies listed at the Italian Stock Exchange. Survey results reveal that practices vary significantly among three different models: 1A few companies (25%) carry out mainly traditional compliance activities and they generally follow an audit-cycle approach for the annual audit planning; 2In most companies (67%), internal auditors adopt the COSO model and perform mainly operational auditing. Risk-based approach is applied predominantly at macro level. 3Finally, it is possible to identify a very few large companies (8%), in which auditors are applying a risk-based approach both at macro and micro level. [source] A Model for Audit Engagement Planning of E-CommerceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2003Jagdish Pathak The impact of networking technologies on information systems (IS) and its auditing is growing dramatically. This growth is changing the nature of information systems in the modern organization, with special reference to e-commerce. It would also be reasonable to infer that a corresponding effect is mounting on the information system's auditing function. This paper primarily stresses the identification of specific constructs which can contain the potential variables/critical success factors in audit engagement planning that contribute to the success/failure of audit engagement in e-commerce-centric technological scenario, and the same can be used to build a model for its empirical validity in future studies. The objective of this paper is to devise a model, based on the variables turned potential critical success factors to successfully perform audit engagement planning for the current state-of-the-art e-commerce technologies. The available literature is analyzed to identify appropriate candidates for factors that appear to materially affect the success of the e-commerce audit resource planning function. Based on this model, an empirical examination, though not within the scope of this paper, is the next logical step in this direction to establish the validity of this model in the technologically complex e-commerce milieu. [source] Disciplinary Observance and Sanctions on German and Danish AuditorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2002Reiner Quick This paper presents the results of a comparative study on disciplinary observance systems of the auditing profession within two member states of the European Union: Germany and Denmark. Disciplinary observance is an important factor in reducing the hidden action problem, but could also be used by the profession to signal quality. In Germany, the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer is the supervisory body which oversees compliance with standards and professional duties. It is entitled to sanction the minor violations of duties by auditors. Only more severe types of misbehaviour are dealt with by courts. In Denmark, a special court (Disciplinæernævn) is concerned with disciplinary actions against auditors. The results of this study will demonstrate that audit regulations and in particular disciplinary laws remain basically national, despite efforts to harmonise auditing. This study identifies characteristics of disciplinary systems common to both countries and provides information on the functioning of both systems that may be useful in a number of ways. The results presented might initiate a more systematic comparison of disciplinary systems within member states of the European Union, which would enhance institutional knowledge of the European market for auditing services. This in turn could promote the process of achieving a single European market for auditing services and thus reduce market inefficiencies. [source] Auditing the strategic role of operationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 3 2007Bob Lillis The literature relating to auditing the strategic role and contribution of operations has been dominated by methodologies attuned to the predominance of the environmental and competitive forces, and entry deterrence approaches to achieving and sustaining competitive advantage, broadly termed the outside-in perspective. However, tools suited to the resource-based and associated dynamic capability view to strategy formulation, deemed the inside-out perspective, are sparse. This paper makes a contribution to furthering understanding of the auditing of the strategic role and contribution of operations by conducting a review and critique of established ideas, practices and approaches from both strategy formulation perspectives. It argues that the reported methodologies reflect the traditional outside-in perspective to strategy formulation. It highlights the limitations of the available tools for an inside-out view and questions the suitability of the existing methods to the more recent inside-out emphasis, also a factor vital in circumstances where a firm typically is pursuing a combination or blend of the outside-in and inside-out approaches to strategy formulation. Finally, it presents the outline of an additional audit tool designed to address these limitations and describes next steps in future research. [source] Deracializing Exploitation? ,Black Economic Empowerment' in the South African Wine IndustryJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 1 2008ANDRIES DU TOIT This paper considers the discourse and practice of ,Black Economic Empowerment' (BEE) in the South African wine industry. It argues that far from representing a decisive break with an inequitable past, BEE allows the South African wine industry to avoid potentially more uncomfortable options to redress current and past race-based imbalances , such as land redistribution, import boycotts and better working conditions for grape pickers. An essentialist racial discourse, pivoting on ahistorical and dislocated notions of ,blackness', has been used to displace the transformation agenda away from addressing the conditions faced by workers, and to an ameliorism that allows a small cohort of black entrepreneurs to become the preferred beneficiaries of ,transformation' in the wine industry. The new terrain is characterized by branding, advertising and image building on the one side: and by codes of conduct, a sectoral BEE charter, scorecards and auditing on the other. These allow the standardization, legitimation and ostensible deracialization of exploitative labour and social relations in the South African wine industry. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||