Professor of Accounting Javed Siddiqui has been appointed as a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and will start next month.
The Board advises on proposals for the funding of academic research and events from ICAEW’s charitable trusts, and also helps develop research initiatives that support closer links between the academic community and the wider accounting profession.
Professor Siddiqui said the ICAEW was currently interested in commissioning research addressing challenges such as the recruitment and retention of accountancy students, the impact of AI in auditing, the feasibility of audit reforms in the UK, and the wider impact of accounting policies.
Future of audit
He said: “Academics from the Accounting and Finance division at AMBS have played a major role in the debate about the future of audit in recent years and this is just one area where I hope to be able to provide further input for the ICAEW in my new role.
“A fundamental question right now is what exactly we want from audit. Personally speaking, I don’t think we see and hear enough examples of all the good things that audits can do, whether it’s in the area of sustainability, promoting human rights, or tackling modern slavery. Too often we only hear negative stories around failed audits and high-profile company collapses.”
Cited
Professor Siddiqui’s assessment of the extent to which the case for joint audits is supported by research evidence has previously been cited by the International Federation of Accountants in one of its policy briefings.
Similarly, his oral evidence in 2021 to the House of Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee figured prominently in justifying proposed corporate governance and auditing reforms made in its report on Liberty Steel and the future of the UK steel industry.