Audit Expectation Gap: A Comparative Literature Analysis of Private Sector and Public Sector

Abstract

The Audit Expectation Gap (AEG) issues are steadily expanding around the globe, irrespective of the particular sector involved. A comparative analysis will be more crucial for the AEG literature since the significance of the expectation concerns stems from the concepts of "stewardship and public accountability", which are applicable to audits in both private and public sectors. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the similarities and distinctions between the AEG studies conducted pertaining to the private and public sectors. This research is directed by theoretical considerations and arrives at conclusions based on the extant literature. An exhaustive search of the published literature was conducted by applying the search terms “expectation gap” and “audit expectation gap” combined with “public sector”, “government sector” and “performance audit” in the Google Scholar search engine and three databases of Scopus, Jstor, and Emerald were performed separately and independently for each sector from 1970 to 2022. Thus, only the articles published in reputable journals concerning the AEG were selected after applying some selection criteria. It was found that the research contexts, selected target populations, and the dimensions applied to assess AEG were found to be significantly different, despite the fact that the definitions and statistical techniques used were found to be comparable in both sectors. This comparison study opens up a wealth of doors for conducting further research in the future.