1. Discuss question 13.17 with regard to the audit market. In current audit environments, the big local audit firms as well as small and medium-sized firms are not in the same position in terms of...

1. Discuss question 13.17 with regard to the audit market. In current audit environments, the big local audit firms as well as small and medium-sized firms are not in the same position in terms of financial and human resources and technical expertise as compared with the multinational accounting firms such as the Big Four. How do such disparities affect the audit quality, the auditors’ performance and in general terms competitiveness in audit market?

2. Auditor’s planning is affected by several factors in an IT environment. The auditors express concerns about risk assessment. They have specific concerns regarding risk assessment in an IT environment. Discuss these issues and the extent to which they affect the audit scope. Refer also to the study of Yu
et al.
(2000) in respect of the elements affecting the audit risks and its components.