New regulation in the European Union has introduced the mandatory disclosure of key audit matters (KAMs) to audit reports. The EU has identified KAMs as significant risks, significant transactions or events, or significant judgments by auditors. This paper aims to determine the factors that influence the number of KAMs that auditors disclose in the main European countries under the new regulation. We predict that the litigation risk, reputation loss, auditor-client relationship, precision of accounting standards, and the effect of regulators and supervisors' activities affect the number of KAMs that auditors disclose.The sample consists of firms on the FTSE 100, CAC 40, or AEX 25 that have disclosed KAMs at the 2016 fiscal yearend. In line with our hypotheses, the findings show that a higher number of business segments (complexity) and more precise accounting standards lead to the disclosure of a higher number of KAMs. Contrary to our expectations, the results indicate that a positive association exists between the audit fee and the number of KAMs disclosed.As audit fees can be related to higher client risk, this finding could indicate that litigation risk dominates any auditor-client dependence. Further, although auditors often view their audits of banks as complex, the findings show a 146 | PINTO aNd MORaIS

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The general objective of this study is to analyze whether the particularities of audited companies influence the volume of key audit matters (KAMs). Its specific objectives are to identify the number of KAMs disclosed by Brazilian companies and analyze the main factors associated with their disclosure. The paper aims to contribute to an area of investigation still lacking in studies that analyze the factors affecting KAM disclosure, which makes audit reports more individualized. The study contributes to understanding the main auditing issues in Brazilian companies that auditors consider relevant, by providing evidence on factors associated with their disclosure. This research is relevant for agencies that issue auditing standards and for financial information users. For issuers of auditing standards, the study is relevant because it identifies the factors associated with KAM disclosure, enabling it to be confirmed that the new audit report model has contributed to its destandardization. For financial information users, the study demonstrates that KAM disclosure varies from company to company, thus contributing to greater transparency of the audit report. Data were collected from the Audit Reports and Consolidated Financial Statements of the 447 Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Securities, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBovespa), on December 31st of 2016, and an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was applied to the defined model. The results show a positive relationship between the number of KAMs disclosed and both the auditor being a Big 4 and the complexity of the audited company. The auditor’s fees and auditor’s opinion being modified show a negative relationship with the number of KAMs. The article is relevant for companies, auditors, and regulatory and supervisory bodies as it identifies company characteristics that influence KAM disclosure and are determinants for the non-standardization of the auditor’s report.

Significant at the 10%, 5% and 1% levels of significance, respectively. Local standards include European-listed companies that follow local GAAP. IAS voluntary include European-listed companies that follow voluntary IAS/IFRS during the period 2000-2004. IAS mandatory include European-listed companies that follow mandatory IAS/IFRS in 2005. BVEPS is the book value of equity per share and NIPS is net income per share.

Through rule 1606/2002 by the European Commission, Portuguese listed firms were required to adopt IASB standards in the preparation and presentation of consolidated accounts for the periods beginning on or after 2005. IASB standards are developed in environments where accounting practices are especially directed at the private sector, reporting rules are largely unaffected by taxation requirements and capital is traditionally raised in public markets. However, in Portugal, financial reporting is closely related to tax reporting and banks play a key role in providing finance and inside access to information. We investigate whether adopting IASB standards is associated with higher earnings quality and higher value relevance. We compare the earnings quality and value relevance of accounting data of 34 Portuguese listed firms before (1995-2004) and after (2004-2005) the adoption of IASB standards. We find that firms, during the period when they adopt IASB standards, report less smooth earnings than those firms in periods when they adopted national accounting standards, which seems to suggest an improvement in earnings quality. However, we also find that the value relevance of accounting information decreases with the adoption of IASB standards

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Purpose -The last years have witnessed a growth in interest in social and environmental questions. Many companies have developed environmental management and auditing systems and altered their social and environmental disclosure practices. These developments resulted in the growth of research focusing on the analysis of information disclosed by companies. The purpose of this study is to contribute a reflection on the papers that have been published on social and environmental accounting from 2000 to 2006.Design/methodology/approach -A literature review of the papers examining social and environmental matters published in selected accounting journals allows the identification of the key content issues, methodologies and research questions which have been predominant in the social environmental accounting research (SEAR) area. It also enables one to pin-point areas for future research.Findings -The content was examined and classified in four groups: social and environmental accounting systems; social and environmental disclosures; regulation impact; and relations among environmental disclosure and environmental performance. For each group, the research method; data origins and type of data; industry and country were identified. Almost all the studies are based on content analysis and interviews. Data are collected not only from the financial statements but also from other types of information disclosed by companies. In many cases, industry activities are selected carefully and most of the studies used data from the UK, Australia, and the USA.Originality/value -The paper provides a contribution to the development of the SEAR area, exploring different views. It also helps schools to identify areas for future research.

One of the objectives of International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is to develop high-quality standards based on clearly articulated principles. However, despite stating that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are based on principles, IASB continuously revises and amends IFRS. This paper explores the relation between the changes in IFRS and whether the standards have become more complex over time. The sample comprises changes to IFRS between 2005 and 2016. Following Mergenthaler [(2012). Principles-based versus rules-based standards and accounting irregularities (Working paper)] and Donelson, McInnis, and Mergenthaler [(2012). Rules-based accounting standards and litigation. The Accounting Review, 87(4), 1247-1279], this paper scores the rules-based continuum for each standard. The results show that IFRS is becoming more complex because of the changes.