The Auditor’s Report and the Audit Expectation Gap: An Impact Analysis

This paper investigates the impact of an auditor’s report on the audit expectation gap. It establishes a connection between existing literature concerning auditors' reports and the audit expectation gap, elucidating how the essential contents and characteristics of auditors' reports influence various components of the audit expectation gap. This study employs a qualitative methodology, using a systematic literature review technique. The findings suggest that the main contents and characteristics of the auditor’s report affect specific components of the audit expectation gap. Furthermore, the auditor’s report not only impacts the knowledge gap but also influences the performance and evolution gaps. Importantly, it provides an innovative framework to illustrate the influence of auditors' reports on various components of the audit expectation gap. This study introduces a novel model that has not been examined in practical contexts, and its applicability may vary in real-world settings. A significant limitation lies in the challenges associated with ensuring the thoroughness of the existing literature analyzed. The findings may serve as a foundation for future revisions to the auditor’s report format, and provide a robust basis for subsequent studies on auditor’s reports.