Current developments in United Kingdom auditing research;

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Current Developments in
United Kingdom Auditing Research
David R. Gwilliam
The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
A recent American academic visitor to the U.K., Raymond Johnson, wrote on more than one occasion (e.g., 1983) that "auditing research in the U.K. has been minimal" and further observed that the research that has taken place has concentrated on broad issues (e.g., the value of the external audit function, the extension of the auditor's role to include wider issues of efficiency and social accountability, etc.) to the virtual exclusion of consideration of the actual audit process. This orientation he considered to be one-sided and something of an obstacle to the development of worthwhile U.K. research.
This view is widely shared among U.K. academic accountants and, indeed, is one with which I have much sympathy. The purpose, therefore, of this paper is four-fold:
• To identify what auditing research has recently been carried out or is currently in progress in the U.K.
• To consider why there has been relatively little auditing research in the U.K.
• To consider to what extent the auditing research work carried out in the U.S. is directly applicable to the U.K. situation.
• To consider where developments in U.K. research effort may be of most benefit both for the U.K.'s own needs and in complementing the work of U.S. researchers.
Current Research Activity
Appendix 1 details the results of a recent survey of U.K. universities and polytechnics designed to establish the level of interest in auditing research and to ascertain current and recent research interests. Appendix 2 lists recent work published in Accounting & Business Research and in Accounting, Organizations and Society, the principal U.K. academic journals containing audit research.
Although the survey and journal review show that there is a certain degree of interest in auditing research (rather more in Scotland than the rest of the U.K.) and some projects have been completed, the overall impression is one of an academic accounting community for whom auditing is considered to be something of a sideline. The findings also bear out, with one or two exceptions, Johnson's contention that academic interest focuses on wide questions of the auditor's professional and social function rather than on more practical questions of identifying and improving suitable audit techniques.
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