Assurance Services

What are Assurance Services?

The Assurance Services focus area emphasizes research, education and knowledge transfer, and interaction initiatives at UWCISA, particularly attuned to topics such as:

  • external FS audits,
  • IT controls and assurance,
  • use of specialists in FS audit and other assurance engagements,
  • emerging assurance service areas and related technologies & tools, and
  • professional responsibilities of assurance providers.

Led by

Tim Bauer

Tim Bauer, PhD, CPA, CA

UWCISA Associate Director Assurance Services

Research

Thought Leadership, Funding Specific Research ProjectsÌý

Current Assurance Services Research
Paper Details
Assurance Solutions and Services: Current and Future OpportunitiesÌýÌý

  • Research team:ÌýTim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang.ÌýÌý

  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine the marketplace of assurance services and solutions currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs, to inform the CPA profession and scholars about opportunities, barriers, competition, and trends for CPA firms in the ever-evolving areas of assurance services and tools and technologies used in or assessed within those services.Ìý

  • Status:ÌýPhase 1 data collection (interviews and database) complete, producing two papers and one preliminary summary of findings. Phase 2 data collection (interviews, roundtables, surveys) complete, adding to papers noted above and with one new paper being drafted.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis project has received support from UWCISA.

  • Research team:ÌýTim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang.Ìý

  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine the marketplace of assurance services currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs, to inform the CPA profession and scholars about opportunities, barriers, and competition for CPA firms in the ever-evolving areas of assurance services.
  • Status:ÌýCompleteÌý– this paper is forthcoming inÌýAuditing: A Journal of Practice & TheoryÌý(AJPT).
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
Developing New Assurance ServicesÌý

  • Research team:ÌýTim Bauer, Efrim Boritz, Krista Fiolleau, Brad Pomeroy, Adam Vitalis, Pei Wang.Ìý

  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine the marketplace of assurance services currently being offered by CPA firms and non-CPAs, to inform the CPA profession and scholars about opportunities, barriers, and competition for CPA firms in the ever-evolving areas of assurance services.
  • Status:ÌýCompleteÌý– this paper is forthcoming inÌýAuditing: A Journal of Practice & TheoryÌý(AJPT).
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
Business Models and Business Model Descriptions: A Research SynthesisÌý
  • Research team:ÌýEfrim Boritz and Louise Hayes, University of Guelph.Ìý
  • Objectives:ÌýTo explore the nature of business models and business model descriptions to better understand how they are and can be used in accounting and auditing.Ìý
  • Status:ÌýIn process – being prepared for journal submission.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
Neuro-Cognitive Measures of Professional Skepticism
  • Research team:ÌýEfrim Boritz, Kate Patterson, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University.
  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine the moderating role of neurocognitive measures such as risk-taking propensity, cognitive (inhibitory) control and social cognition during the decision-making process to reveal the impact of these neurocognitive traits on professional skepticism during individual decision-making processes associated with audit risk judgments.Ìý
  • Status:ÌýIn process – being prepared for journal submission.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
Neuro-Physiological Measures of Professional Skepticism
  • Research team:ÌýEfrim Boritz, Kate Patterson, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Kristian Rotaru, Monash University, and Carla Wilkin, Monash University.ÌýÌý
  • Objectives:ÌýToexamine the mediating role of neurophysiological measures commonly associated with the degree of cognitive and/or emotional arousal experienced during the decision-making process to reveal the mechanism through which professional skepticismÌýaffects individual decision-making processes associated with audit risk judgments.ÌýÌý
  • Status:ÌýIn process – being prepared for journal submission.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
  • Research team:ÌýLori Bhaskar, Indiana University, Tracie Majors, University of Southern California, and Adam Vitalis.
  • Objectives:ÌýToexplore the interaction of depletion and auditor skepticism on auditors' challenging of managers during negotiations, and to develop a new, more nuanced measure of auditors' client service-skeptic disposition for professionals and academics to leverage.
  • Status:ÌýComplete – this paper was published inÌýContemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2023.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper is co-led by Adam Vitalis, an associate director of UWCISA.

  • Research team:ÌýTim Bauer, Cassandra Estep, Emory University, and Emily Griffith, University of Wisconsin-Madison.ÌýÌý

  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine how to motivate specialists to deliver high quality work, in light of prior findings that specialists and auditors do not always work together effectively.
  • Status:ÌýIn process – under review at a journal.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper is co-led by Tim Bauer, an associate director of UWCISA.
How Are Goodwill Impairments Audited? A Study of Auditors and Valuation Specialists

  • Research team:ÌýEfrim Boritz and Lev Timoshenko, University of Calgary.ÌýÌý

  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine how auditors and valuation specialists perform the audit of goodwill/cash generating unit (CGU) impairment under IFRS, focusing on both interpretation and application of fair value (FV) accounting and auditing standards by the two groups.
  • Status:ÌýIn process – under review at a journal.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper has received support from UWCISA.
  • Research team:ÌýTim Bauer, Sean Hillison, Virginia Tech, and Ala Mokhtar, McMaster University.
  • Objectives:ÌýTo examine whether client incivility negatively influences auditors’ judgments and whether any adverse effects are mitigated using coping strategies.
  • Status:ÌýIn process – under review at a journal.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper is co-led by Tim Bauer, an associate director of UWCISA.
Do Non-Professional Investors Weight Auditor Disclosures in their Valuation Judgments? A Replication ofÌýDennis, Griffin, and Zehms (2019)
  • Research team:ÌýLori Bhaskar, Indiana University, Tracie Majors, University of Southern California, and Adam Vitalis.
  • Objectives:ÌýToinvestigate via four replication studies whether variation in need for cognitive closure (NFCC) can explain Dennis, Griffin, and Zehms’ (2019, 215) surprising null result that suggests non-professional investors "struggle to weight" auditor disclosures in their valuation judgments.
  • Status:ÌýIn process – being prepared for journal submission.
  • Affiliation:ÌýThis paper is co-led by Adam Vitalis, an associate director of UWCISA.

Education and Knowledge TransferÌý

Disseminating Best Practices, Sharing Material (Workshops / Conferences)Ìý
Developing Courses, Workshops, Cases and Other Teaching MaterialÌý

Courses and programs

IT controls and assurance innovationÌý

  • Under the leadership of MalikÌýDatardinaÌýofÌýAuvenir, UWCISA sponsored the development of a course on technology,Ìýassurance, innovation, and value creation. The course explores exponential technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and AI.Ìý

Master’s research paper

  • The Master of Accounting (MAcc) Program at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ offers students the option to complete a Master's Research Paper (MRP) instead of a 4th elective course, over the 8 months (Jan-Aug) of the program.
  • In 2024, two students are completing an MRP in the assurance area: Simreyna Kang, as supervised by Tim Bauer, and Matthew Tam, as supervised by Brad Pomeroy and Adam Vitalis.

Student case competitions, mentorship, and awardsÌý

UWCISA PhD & Academic Career Mentorship Program in Audit & Assurance, Cybersecurity, or Accounting Information Systems (AIS)Ìý

Practitioner resources

Research on the future of assurance services

  • Under the guidance of Kaylynn Pippo, CPA Canada, Tim Bauer and Brad Pomeroy created a blog .
  • The blog, released in January 2023, summarizes for practitioners UWCISA’s Phase 1 and 2 research on new assurance service areas (e.g., catalogue, interviews, roundtables).

InteractionÌý

Engaging with Profession, Students, Public Ìý

Assurance in practiceÌý

  • Tim Bauer has been invited to speak to members of the Halton-Peel CPA Ontario Association in September 2024. The topic of his presentation is: Emerging Services and Technologies for CPA Firms and CPA Professionals
  • The presentation will focus on assurance and advisory services offered by CPA firms and competitors, as well as technologies being used or encountered by CPA professionals in their various careers, and examine emerging trends in these services and technologies in light of recent calls for the profession to transform itself beyond financial statement measurement and auditing.