An exploratory study of the nature and extent of key audit matters reported: a comparison between South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom

Date
2020
Authors
Abdulla, Zainab
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Abstract
Key Audit Matters (KAMs) are a significant and new addition to the audit report and was implemented for the purpose of reducing the information gap. This study aims to explore the nature and extent of KAMs reported between South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). The researcher conducted a content analysis on 300 independent audit reports of the top 50 listed companies in South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom for financial years 2017 and 2018. The nature of KAMs reported across the three countries was largely similar and consisted of asset valuation, goodwill and intangible asset impairments, taxation and financial instruments. Specifically, in the financial sector, the UK and Australia have reported a higher number of IT-related issues. Significant transactions and valuations which include judgements made by management are generally seen as areas of high risk. In respect of the extent of KAMs reported, the UK generally reports a higher number which may be a result of the earlier implementation of KAMs where all significant risks were disclosed. South Africa reported the lowest number of KAMs across all platforms among the three countries. This study is the first to compare KAMs among the above three countries. It makes an important contribution to the academic literature by adding to the limited body of research on KAMs and comparisons across countries. The results obtained provide insights on KAMs reporting to auditors in high risk markets and encourage new research in this field
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A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, 2020
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