Factors Influencing the Professional Conduct of Auditors in the Dialogue on Going Concerns: A Study of the Banking Sector

Аннотация

This article is dedicated to exploring the dialogue between shareholders, management, partners, government and auditors regarding the status of banking sector entities as ‘going concerns’. The purpose of this article is to develop and validate an approach to the study of factors influencing auditors’ opinion on going concerns.
The authors identify factors which affect auditors’ professional conduct in establishment of an opinion on an entity as a going concern. Articles were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and analysed for relevant factors, and a number of research hypotheses are formulated, among which the modification of legislative regulations on banking
and auditing activity is identified as a key factor. The state of auditing activity and the banking sector during 2009-2019 is evaluated. Additionally, in order to identify periods during which a significant influence of a selected factor is expected, a novel analytical method was devised based on the nature of modifications of legislative regulation of banking
and auditing activity and the period of such modification.
The following factors are significant influences on auditors’ decisions on the going concern status of credit organisations: evolution of auditing standards, implementation of external audit quality control, development of banking regulation and supervision, and interaction of auditors with financial institutions and regulators. Evidence was also discovered of
conclusions recorded against entities inconsistent with the real conditions of individual banks.
The authors have established a basis for an integrated study of the influence of factors on the professional conduct of auditors in providing opinions on the going concern status of audited entities, and have proposed further research prospects as related to establishing and measuring the relationship between audit report types based on bank statements and
factors describing the results of their activities.