The Assurance Research Advisory Group (ARAG) is comprised of representatives from academia and public practice. The group funds research projects addressing private company¹ assurance topics that are of interest to practitioners. Selected research topics are shared annually through a call for interest. Approved research teams are eligible for access to firm personnel, peer reviewers and up to $10,000 in funding. The research funded by the ARAG will provide the profession with valuable insights into the factors that affect the quality of assurance services.
The 2019 grant recipients approved by ARAG are as follows:
Marcus Doxey, Assistant Professor, and Chez Sealy, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama whose research project is titled “The Effects of Assurance Level on Assurance Professionals’ and Financial Statement Users’ Qualitative Materiality Judgments.”
Elizabeth Poziemski, MSA Program Director/Lecturer and Lisa Baudot, Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida whose research project is titled “An Examination of Auditor Evidence Sufficiency Determinations.”
Lisa Gaynor, Associate Professor, University of South Florida, William Kinney, Professor, University of Texas at Austin, and Sandra Vera-Munoz, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame whose research project is titled “Deconstructing Users’ Confidence: Full Audits, Analytical Procedures and Inquiries, and Selected Substantive Tests.”
¹Defined as entities not required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB auditing standards, including privately held companies, not-for-profit organizations, employee benefit plans and governmental entities.
If you are interested in conducting academic research on public company auditing topics, the Center for Audit Quality has two programs that might be of interest: Access to Audit Personnel and Research Advisory Board grants.