Premature Signing-Off of Audit Procedures: An Analysis

A commonly quoted outcome of time and budget pressures is premature sign-off: audit personnel sign off on audit program steps before completing one or more of the required procedures. The issue of premature sign-off is addressed in the context of the Big Eight accounting firms. Questionnaire responses from audit personnel in offices of Big Eight accounting firms indicate: 1. Premature sign-offs, while not uncommon, do not appear to be frequent. 2. The most commonly quoted reasons for premature sign-offs are the auditor's belief that the audit step is not essential and time limitations. 3. Senior personnel appear to the group most likely to sign off prematurely, and they quote low risk as the most common reason. Although 85% of the 409 respondents either never, very rarely, or rarely signed off prematurely on audit procedures, it appears that the problem of premature sign-offs does exist and needs to be confronted because of the effect it may have on audit quality.