Conclusion
This Hong Kong study has found audit committee effectiveness, internal audit
effectiveness, the tone at the top, and ethical guidelines and policies to be positively
associated with the absence of fraud in organizations, but auditors’ prior success in fraud
detection, auditor type, and the receipt of an unqualified audit report to have no such
association.Though prior research indicated that organizations received clean unqualified
audit reports were expected to achieve satisfactory financial accomplishments in their
financial performances and operations. The results are interesting and both support and
counter those of earlier studies. This empirical study is the first of its nature to be carried
out in Hong Kong, and its findings make important contributions to the corporate
governance and auditing literature, particularly that which focuses on the Asia-Pacific
region. Its results provide auditors with practical insights that will prove useful in the
course of their work. The counterintuitive non-significance of some of the research
variables constitutes a good opportunity for further research. The study is not without its
limitation. The variables are measured based on the respondents’ perception rather than
using the real indicators. It is also recommended that further research be carried out to
determine whether the study’s results can be replicated. To conclude, the results of this
study have important implications for the accounting profession, management, and
corporate governance.