A Review of Audit Research in Iran

The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive picture of the current status of audit research in Iran. In addition, this study seeks to present more clear directions about the research opportunities by examining the trends of research themes overtime as well as identifying research areas which have been less considered by researchers. This paper reviews 457 audit research articles published in 16 accounting and auditing scientific journals as well as publications of economic, management and financial groups from 1992 to autumn of 2017. In order to make a literature review map, the conceptual framework of the articles was examined and independent and dependent variables were identified. Based on the matrix of relations examined in the papers, a comprehensive conceptual framework of audit research in Iran was obtained and 11 research areas were identified along with the frequency of studied relationships in each area. More than 60% of the research has used the archival method and 33% of the research has used the survey method. Audit quality has been a major part of past studies and 70 percent of the research conducted in this area has examined the consequences of audit quality. After audit quality, audit fees and auditor's opinions are ranked second and third. Professional Skepticism, judgment and decision making, fraud, ethics, and professional conduct have been less considered by researchers.