The Effectiveness of Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority on Independent Audit System
In parallel with the development in audit approaches occurring in the world, the system and authorities overseeing the system in Turkey have seen their share of those changes, and in light of Turkish Commercial Code 6102 with Decree Law 660, “The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority” was established. In this study, the duties and structure of “The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority” (which is a relatively young institution in Turkish administrative organization), the extent to which it adapts to developments in the world, and how it has an impact on independent auditors and tax inspectors have been studied.
Kamu Gözetimi, Muhasebe ve Denetim Standartları Kurumunun Bağımsız Denetim Sistemi Üzerindeki Etkinliği
Dünyadaki denetim anlayışında meydana gelen gelişime paralel olarak Türkiye’de de sistem ve sistem üzerindeki otoriteler değişimden payını almış ve 6102 sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu ışığında 660 sayılı Kanun Hükmünde Kararname ile Kamu Gözetimi, Muhasebe ve Denetim Standartları Kurumu oluşturulmuştur. Bu çalışmada Türk idari teşkilatında nispeten genç bir kurum olan Kamu Gözetimi, Muhasebe ve Denetim Standartları Kurumu’nun yapısı, görevleri, dünyadaki gelişime ne derece uyum sağladığı, bağımsız denetçiler ile vergi müfettişleri üzerinde nasıl bir etki bıraktığı incelenmiştir.
Research Question
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) on the independent audit system in Turkey. There are two main research questions:
Does The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) have an impact on the independent audit system in Turkey?
Is there any difference between the opinions of independent auditors and tax inspectors regarding the impact of The Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) on the independent audit system in Turkey?
Literature Review
Independent auditors and independent audit firms (which are the elements of the independent audit system that need to provide confidence in the financial markets), have not fulfilled their duties in the past. Accounting fraud and auditor failures led to the need for the supervision and audit of these independent auditors and independent audit institutions. In order to increase the confidence in the audit and the quality of the audit, the KGK with a public legal entity with administrative autonomy as a regulatory and supervisory body was established in 2013.
The KGK has the duty and authority to form and publish Turkish Accounting Standards and Turkish Auditing Standards that comply with international standards. The KGK also has the authority and duty to audit and supervise the auditing activities and activities of the independent auditors and audit firms and the compliance with the regulations and standards published.
Method
In this study, a survey was developed to gather information. Considering the duties and powers of the KGK, attention was paid to include the most effective questions in the scale. Fifteen questions were prepared for this purpose. A five-point Likert scale was used to collect data and evaluate the answers. The answer options were scaled between 1 and 5, 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. The Cronbach—Alpha test was used to test the reliability of the scale. According to the test results, the alpha value was 0.88 for questions directed to independent auditors and 0.948 for questions directed to tax inspectors. In other words, there were highly reliable results in both participant groups.
The research questions were directed at two separate groups of participants: independent auditors and tax inspectors. The main population of the study consists of independent auditors working in independent audit firms and tax inspectors working for the Tax Inspection Board of the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance. As of 30 June 2018, there are 17,812 independent auditors registered in the KGK. The number of tax inspectors is approximately 8,000 people. Approximately 550 of the independent auditors were contacted and 60 of them participated in the survey. 65 of the 500 tax inspectors received and answered the questionnaire.
Findings and Conclusions
According to the results of the study, the general perception of independent auditors participating in the study on the effectiveness of the KGK on the independent auditing system has been found positive, yet the same cannot be said for the general perceptions of tax inspectors. Independent auditors stated that the KGK is very effective in the implementation of independent auditing standards, has a reducing effect on errors and frauds in financial statements, took measures to protect the independence of the auditor and auditor, and took necessary measures to increase the level of auditors’ education, creates a free competition environment for independent auditing, enables auditors to work more meticulously and diligently, supervises the auditing firms and auditors effectively, applies sufficient administrative sanctions and increases the investors’ confidence in the financial statements.
