Title: Egyptian auditing investigated: diagnoses and remedies

Authors: Mohamed A. Wahdan; H. Jaap Van den Herik

Addresses: Accounting Department, Faculty of Commerce, Menofia University, Gamal Abd El-Nasr Street, Shebin El-Kom, Menofia, Egypt. ' Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC), Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands

Abstract: The paper aims at diagnosing the present status of the auditing profession in Egypt which is characterised by the co-existence of two different groups of auditors: a) auditors with an academic degree; b) practitioners. To diagnose the current auditing status and to explore the unique features that characterise the Egyptian auditing community, we formulate eight hypotheses after a thorough literature review. The core research activities described in the paper are: 1) diagnosing the status of the auditing profession in Egypt; 2) remedying the auditing deficits. The findings of the study indicate that there is a general agreement on: 1) the lack of experience and expertise; 2) the weakness of professional ethics; 3) the variations among the auditors' judgments. However, significant differences exist between the two groups of auditors regarding the lack of experience, expertise, and professional ethics.

Keywords: auditing profession; auditor role; auditor judgment; auditing deficit; IT auditing; information technology; Egypt; professional ethics; experience; expertise.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEA.2012.049078

International Journal of Economics and Accounting, 2012 Vol.3 No.3/4, pp.365 - 385

Published online: 06 Aug 2014 *

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