Commercial Loan Officers and the Audit Expectation Gap

Abstract: The audit expectation gap, generally known as the differences between what users of financialstatements expect from the auditor and what the auditor actually provides, is present andresulting to a widespread concern. This thesis aims to investigate the level and nature of the audit expectation gap betweenauditors and commercial loan officers. In addition, this thesis also asks the question ifeducation is a mean to reduce commercial loan officers’ audit expectation gap. A questionnaire containing seven-point Likert scales with bipolar adjectival statements wassent to auditors and commercial loan officers. The respondents were asked to choose anumber from the scale which identified their level of agreement to either one of thestatements. The results revealed substantial evidence of an audit expectation gap particularly on issuesconcerning auditors’ responsibilities in fraud detection and prevention. Education oncommercial loan officers could reduce the audit expectation gap.