TITLE:
An Investigation of Audit Quality in Mauritius
AUTHORS:
Auhammud Bibi Mushiirah, Seetah Keshav, Pariag Maraye Neeveditah
KEYWORDS:
Audit Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.8 No.13,
September
29,
2018
ABSTRACT:
Objectives: The objective of the study was to investigate the importance of audit
quality in Mauritius and the factors affecting audit quality in Mauritius, from
the perception of accounting professionals in Mauritius. Methodology: For
the purpose of this study, a survey was carried out among accounting
professionals in Mauritius. Based on existing literature, the questionnaire was
designed and a five point-likert scale was used. The target population was
accountants, auditors and stock brokers who were used as a proxy for investors.
A stratified random sampling approach was used for the purpose of this study. A
sample size of 200 accounting professionals was out of the 200 questionnaires
administered, 188 were collected, of which 8 were discarded because they were
not properly filled. Statistical analysis techniques for example; Factor
Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Independent Samples T-test and One-Way-ANOVA
were used for the purpose of analysis. Findings: Majority of respondents
have shown agreement with the importance of audit quality for its multiple
beneficial contributions to successful corporate performance, and good
governance in general. In addition the impacting factors on audit quality, by
Turley and Willekens [1],
regarding audit fees, firm size, tenure, reputation, financial
statements-restatements, industry expertise, independence, non-audit services,
and audit rotation, have been perceived as essential for achieving audit
quality in Mauritius. The study reveals that female are more agreeable than
male that audit quality enhances firm performance. The study also reveals that
female are more agreeable than male that Long auditor tenure leads to high
audit quality and that financial restatements of faulty statements negatively
impact audit quality. Scope for Future Research: The study has
investigated the audit quality from the perspectives of accounting
professionals. Further study can include the perception of different users of
accounting information such as shareholders, potentials investors, creditors,
customers, employees amongst others to have a better evaluation of audit
quality in Mauritius.