Evidence of the audit expectation gap in Singapore

Reports a study in 1996 of the audit expectation gap in Singapore. The main aims were to measure the level and nature of expectation gap in the 1990s and compare with the results of Schelluch, Low and Low et al.. The motivation for performing this research in Singapore was due to lack of research on this issue in recent years and Singapore’s status as one of the “dragon countries”. The research method adopted is a replication of a study by Schelluch. The results found evidence of a wide audit expectation gap in Singapore in the areas of auditor responsibility for fraud prevention and detection, maintenance of accounting records, freedom of the entity from fraud, and auditor judgment in the selection of audit procedures. The results strongly support the adoption of the long‐form audit report in Singapore if Singaporean professionals are serious about reducing the expectation gap and improving decision making by financial statement users.