Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

This study aims to investigate and predict information quality ranking using factor analysis and artificial intelligence in firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange for nine years from 2011 to 2019. The independent variable used in this study is the financial criteria of the firm, and the dependent variable is the quality measurement criteria of accounting information, in which all criteria have been converted into a single variable according to the factor analysis method. The present study is considered empirical accounting research, and the artificial intelligence method has been used to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that according to the variable selection method of artificial intelligence, neighbourhood analysis among performance variables, including "Accounts receivable to sales ratio criteria", "Firm size", "Financial risk", "Current assets to total assets ratio", and "Cost to Sales ratio ", firms have the highest correlation with information quality rating. Other results indicate that linear and nonlinear artificial intelligence methods can predict accounting information firms' quality ratings on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Due to the importance of financial information quality in financial reporting, and innovation of the present study is the simultaneous use of all information quality criteria and artificial intelligence to examine research hypotheses

Creating businesses compatible with the environment and providing competitive advantages for companies. Banks are vital in creating ecological balance through economic growth and development of this type of entrepreneurship by considering the environmental risks through the companies’ green financing. Taking into account the importance of the proper financing method in accomplishing the ideas of environmental entrepreneurs, the present research aimed to model the components affecting companies' green financing through the state banking system. This is mixed-method research. The first part included Grounded Theory (GT) and interviews with 36 experts selected through purposive and snowball sampling. After extracting 362 open codes, 77 subsidiary components and 21 principal components were identified. In the second part, 20 components with the highest code frequency were included, and by employing the interpretive structural modeling (ISM), the components’ relationship and sequences were classified into 6 levels. The results of MICMAC analysis revealed that components of understanding the conditions and requirements of green projects plus setting green goals for the banks concerning their mission are pretty effective in implementing green financing as a crucial factor in accomplishing sustainable entrepreneurship and the emergence of clean industries.

Fair value is one of the primary measurement basis in IFRS, especially for financial instruments. Since this measurement basis is derived from market logic, it can only work correctly if the business of the financial reporting unit is also consistent with this logic. The Banking business model as a financial intermediary is attracting resources and allocating them to resource applicants. This study investigates the compatibility of Iranian banking business with the fair value measurement logic described in IFRS. Our research methodology includes; a systematic review of IFRS Standards, literature, global experiences of implementing fair value, and a questionnaire (including 4 topics and 28 questions). We sent the questionnaire to four groups of respondents, including banks, Independent auditors of banks, supervisory institutions, academic experts and researchers, to collect Professional perspectives and opinions. Finally, we analyzed responses to our questionnaire (with a 90% rate of return) using a fuzzy logic method. Findings indicate that the banking business framework in Iran is influenced by three main factors: legal, policy, and managerial structure. Each of these factors imposes restrictions on the banking business, creating a deep gap between market logic and what runs in Iran’s banking business. Therefore, the possibility and quality of fair value implementation in the financial reporting of Iran's banking industry will depend on when and how to fill this gap.

In recent years, investors have evaluated the organizations through environmental, social and governance criteria and assessing firms. However, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks affect business processes and controls, increase financial risk, and threaten the firm's survival. This paper examines whether the employer's negative environmental, social, and governance reputation is related to audit effort and quality. For this purpose, data from 107 firms is collected from 2015 to 2020. The analyses show a positive and significant relationship between ESG criteria and delays in the audit report; auditors increase audit efforts by spending long days auditing financial statements in response to poor ESG credits. Because auditors work harder, the financial statements of such firms are less likely to be reviewed. There is a positive and significant relationship between ESG criteria and the restatement of financial statements: the greater the negative reputation resulting from ESG criteria, the greater the likelihood of financial statement restatement and the higher the quality of the audit due to the auditors' scrutiny. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between ESG criteria and financial statement reform. The paper also studies the interactive effect of the negative clients’ ESG reputation and the delay of the audit report. The results show that delays in the audit report have a significant inverse effect on the relationship between ESG criteria and the presentation of financial statements and adjustment of financial statements.

Many recent professional reports have reported that professional turnover is a primary concern for the audit profession. Also, based on the information received from the Securities and Exchange Organization by March 2019, the average retention period for auditors who worked in their trusted firms was 574 days, which is too low compared to global statistics. This study investigates why auditors leave public accounting and the consequences of auditor departures. We find that audit competency is negatively associated with a departure decision. Specifically, audit partners, managers, and auditors generating more audit revenues and providing higher quality audits have a lower likelihood of departure. Therefore, this study examines why auditors leave the formal accounting profession and the consequences of auditors leaving the profession. In order to achieve this goal, the present study uses a data theory strategy based on interviews with 18 experts in the auditing profession in 2022 who were improbably and purposefully selected using the snowball method. Finally, the developed model includes four categories of conditions (including individual factors, job factors, internal organizational links, organizational characteristics, perceived organizational climate, organizational job attitudes, audit fees, and career advancement), context (including macro-level factors). At the professional level, actions and consequences were presented and conceptualized. Finally, it can be said that the present study can provide specific and interesting perspectives for the auditing profession, auditing firms, and legislators to use in relation to the performance analysis of the profession.

Based on the prospect theory, the current research evaluated the cooperation strategy in the financial services supply chain. This research was descriptive in data collection and quantitative in terms of method. The game theory approach in this research was modeled using the Stackelberg approach. Cooperation strategies in the supply chain included reducing sensitivity, expanding profits, avoiding losses, and relying on references. The 4-player game was used to achieve the best cooperation path. The statistical population of the research was specialists, experts, and managers of companies providing financial services, among which 135 participants were selected as the statistical sample. According to the results, some of the paths of the cooperation model in financing were eliminated, and 24 paths remained out of 81 available options. Then, using the Stackelberg competition, the weights of each route were determined. Finally, with Stackelberg's competition calculations, the best cooperation path was determined, which included the guidance of financing management, the flexibility of financing service providers, the attraction of partners' support policies, and the allocation of financial resources based on the profit expansion prospect. Unlike most empirical studies of supply chain management, which use partners' data at the business unit or strategic partner level, in this research, game theory based on prospect theory was used to evaluate the cooperation strategy. The supply chain of financing services is created to solve financial problems, and different companies, according to the characteristics of their industry, adopt different cooperation strategies based on maximizing their profit in this chain of cooperation.

Audit quality is one of the critical topics in the area of capital markets. Financial reporting quality plays a vital role in building trust and confidence with the users of financial statements. Achieving high-quality financial reporting depends on the accuracy of each component of the supply chain's operation. External audit, as one of the most critical components of this chain, plays a significant role in maintaining and improving the quality of financial reporting. Therefore, employing the fuzzy Delphi method and aggregating experts’ opinions, this study attempts to identify the indicators of audit quality improvement and design a model suitable for the economic environment of Iran using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) technique. To this end, following the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), 60 indicators are identified and categorized into five dimensions: A) input factors with 21 indicators, B) process factors with 10 indicators, C) output factors with 9 indicators, D) key interactions with 10 indicators, and E) contextual factors with 10 indicators. Data analysis is performed using R and AMOS software programs. The results of this study demonstrate that 54 indicators are accepted that create a model for audit quality improvement.