Purpose Information technology (IT) largely affected contemporary businesses, and accordingly, it imposes challenges on the auditing profession. Several studies investigated the impact of IT, in terms of the extent of use of IT audit techniques, but very studies are available on the perceived importance of the said issue in developing countries. This study aims to explore the impact of implementing IT on the auditing profession in a developing country, namely, Egypt. Design/methodology/approach This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data. A survey of 112 auditors, representing three of the Big 4 audit firms as well as ten local audit firms in Egypt, is used to gather preliminary data, and semi-structured interviews are conducted to gather details/qualitative-pertained information. A field-based questionnaire developed by Bierstaker and Lowe (2008) is used in this study. This questionnaire is used first in conducting a pre-test, and then, the questionnaire for testing the final results is developed based on the feedback received from the test sample. Findings The findings of this study reveal that auditors’ perception regarding client’s IT complexity is significantly affected by the use of IT specialists and the IT expertise of the auditors. Besides, they perceive that the new audit applications’ importance and the extent of their usage are significantly affected by the IT expertise of the auditors. The results also reveal that the auditors’ perception regarding the client’s IT is not affected by the control risk assessment. However, the auditors perceive that the client’s IT is significantly affected by electronic data retention policies. The results also indicated that the auditors’ perception regarding the importance of the new audit applications is not affected by the client’s type of industry. The auditors find that the uses of audit applications as well as their IT expertise are not significantly affected by the audit firm size. However, they perceive that the client’s IT complexity as well as the extent of using IT specialists are significantly affected by the audit firm size. Research limitations/implications This study is subject to certain limitations. First, the sample size of this research is somehow small because it is based on the convenience sampling technique, and some of the respondents were not helpful in answering the surveys distributed for this research’s purpose. This can be attributed to the fear of the competitors that their opponent may want to gather information regarding their work to be able to succeed in the competition in the market so they become reluctant to provide any information about their firm. Even some people who were interested to participate were not having enough time because the surveys were distributed during the high season of their audit work and there was limited time for the research to be accomplished. Hence, it is difficult to generalize the results among all the audit firms in Egypt because this limits the scope of the analysis, and it can be a significant obstacle in finding a trend. However, this can be an opportunity for future research. Second, the questionnaire is long and people do not have enough time to complete it. This also affected the response rate. In addition to this, the language of the questionnaire was English, so some respondents from the local audit firms were finding difficulty in understanding some sophisticated IT terms. Practical implications This study makes some recommends/suggestions that can well be used to solve some practical problems regarding the issues concerned. This study focuses on accounting information system (AIS) training during the initial years of the auditors’ careers to help staff auditors when they become seniors to be more skilled with AIS expertise needed in today’s audit environment. Clear policy statements are important to direct employees so that IT auditors evaluate the adequacy of standards and comply with them. This study suggests increasing the use of AIS to enhance individual technical and analytical skill sets and to develop specialized teams capable of evaluating the effectiveness of computer systems during audit engagements. This study further recommends establishing Egyptian auditing standards in this electronic environment to guide the auditors while conducting their audit work. Social implications Auditors should prioritize causes of risks and manage them with clear understanding of who receives them, how they are communicated and what action should be taken in a given community/society. So, they have to determine and evaluate all risks according to the client’s type of industry (manufacturing, non-financial services and financial). Auditors also have to continually receive feedback on the utility of continuous auditing (CA) in assessing risk. In particular, it is better for the auditor to determine how the audit results will be used in the enterprise risk management activity performed by the management. In addition, privacy has several implications to auditing, and so, it has to be reflected in the audit program and planning as well as the handling of assignment files and reports. Alike, retention of electronic evidence for a limited period of time may require the auditor to select samples several times during the audit period rather than just at year end. Originality/value As mentioned, this study is conducted within a developing country’s context. The use and importance of IT is reality of time. However, very few studies are devoted to explore the use/importance of IT in auditing in developing countries, and thus, this study carries a significance to have better understanding about it. Moreover, knowledge of how IT is used, the related risks and the ability to use IT as a resource in the performance of audit work is essential for auditor effectiveness at all levels including developing countries.

Many studies have been conducted over the last 20 years to determine and measure factors that affect the walkability of city streets. Walkability is an essential factor in deciding whether a city is green or sustainable. This paper creates a comprehensive walkability index by analysing built environmental indicators that affect walkability. This research was conducted on mixed land use streets in Cairo, Egypt, combining the results from an online survey and a walkability assessment model developed by multi-criteria decision analysis techniques. The results were based on a three-pillar approach starting with the theoretical background to frame the walkability indicator, numerical assessment over the Egyptian cases using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique and a qualitative user perception survey. Our results confirm that determining to what extent Cairo’s streets are walkable is crucial to enhancing pedestrians’ perceptions of the walking environment. Furthermore, the results illustrated the essential factors within the built environment indicators that influence pedestrian walking behaviour.

This study tackles the design challenge of urban in fill development which arises from changes in the urban form and daily living experiences. Using the Web of Science to review relevant literature published over the last decade, we found a signi ficant gap in the study of in fill development: it overlooks liveability and conviviality. To fill this gap, an in fill project in Ard el Golf, Cairo, Egypt, was surveyed using ethnographic research comprising two surveys and semi-structured interviews with site visitors, workers, and residents, and spatial analysis of the changes before and after the project. The results highlight the critical role of functional neighbourhood changes based on their impact on residents', site workers', and users' perceptions of their environment. A six-step strategic framework is presented aggregating the social and morphological dimensions that can off er designers a be er means of confronting the consequences of urban in fill projects with respect to the socio-spatial context for liveable and convivial urban living.

The influence of mechanical bending to tuning the hydrogen storage of Ni-functionalized of zigzag type of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has been investigated using density functional theory (DFT) with reference to the ultimate targets of the US Department of Energy (DOE). Single Ni atoms prefer to bind strongly at the axial bridge site of BN nanotube, and each Ni atom bound on BNNT may adsorb up to five, H2 molecules, with average adsorption energies per hydrogen molecule of )-1.622,-0.527 eV( for the undeformed B40N40-φ = 0 , ) -1.62 ,0 -0.308 eV( for the deformed B40N40-φ = 15, ) -1.589, -0.310 eV( for the deformed B40N40-φ = 30, and ) -1.368 --0.323 eV( for the deformed B40N40-φ = 45 nanotubes respectively. with the H-H bonds between H2 molecules significantly elongated. The curvature attributed to the bending angle has effect on average adsorption energies per H2 molecule. With no metal clustering, the system gravimetric capacities are expected to be as large as 5.691 wt % for 5H2 Ni B40N40-φ = 0, 15, 30, 45. While the desorption activation barriers of the complexes nH2 + Ni B40N40-φ = 0 (n = 1-4) are outside the (DOE) domain (-0.2 to -0.6 eV), the complexes nH2 + Ni-B40N40-φ = 0 (n = 5) is inside this domain. For nH2 + Ni-B40N40-φ = 15, 30, 45 with (n = 1-2) are outside the (DOE) domain, the complexes nH2 + Ni-B40N40-φ = 15, 30, 45 with (n = 3-5) are inside this domain. The hydrogen storage of the irreversible 4H2+ Ni-B40N40-φ = 0, 2H2+ Ni-B40N40-φ = 15, 30, 45 and reversible 5H2+ Ni-B40N40-φ = 0, 3H2+ Ni-B40N40-φ = 15, 30, 45 interactions are characterized in terms of density of states, pairwise and non-pairwise additivity, infrared, Raman, electrophilicity and molecular electrostatic potentials. Our calculations expect that 5H2-Ni-B40N40- = 0, 15, 30, 45 complexes are promising hydrogen storage candidates. IntroductionCarbon nanotubes (CNT) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) have attracted much attention as candidates for a hydrogen storage media [1,2]. During the past decade, the carbon-based materials have been considered as promising media for hydrogen storage [3, 4]. However, due to the very weak physical adsorption of H2 for most materials including carbon-based materials, attention has been directed at non-carbon nanosystems composed of light elements such as B and N [2]. Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are inorganic analogues of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [5]and possess physical properties suitable for a broad variety of applications [6]. Since theoretically predicted [7] and then successfully synthesized in 1995 [8], BNNTs have attracted considerable attention due to the undisputed fact that in contrast to metallic or semi-conducting CNTs: BNNTs are wide-gap semiconductors with almost same band gaps of 5.5 eV, independent of the tube diameter, helicity, and the number of tube walls [9], and they are chemically and thermally more stable [7,10-12]. Furthermore, the interaction of hydrogen molecules with material surfaces can be enhanced by heteropolar bonds at surfaces, a feature that is present in B...

The study is one of the first empirical studies that focuses on the evolution of BDAs in the auditing field. This study aims to examine the moderation effect of audit firm characteristics such as audit firm size and voluntariness to use have on the relationships between the factors affecting auditors’ ATT towards using ADAs. The study is supported by the TAM model and the UTAUT model. A survey is the main research instrument used in the current study; the survey is administrated on Google forms and in direct collect form as well. The data examined for both Big4 and Non-Big4 auditors and the results shows mixed significance level for the different variables.