A comparison of the readability of PCOAB Auditing Standards and Auditing textbooks.

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Abstract

The “plain language” movement is more than two centuries in the making, and yet it is still an issue. Complaints about language that is difficult to understand can be found in the works of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. More recently Presidents Nixon, Carter and Clinton all required plain language in government documents. However, evidence suggests that the movement has not resulted in significant change.
An analysis of variance revealed that the auditing textbooks examined were all at a similar level of readability and were not significantly different. However, the PCAOB Auditing Standards are significantly different (α=0.05) in readability from each of the auditing textbooks, with the standards being written at a level of readability that is more difficult to read than each of the textbooks.

Author

• Cynthia M Daily, University of Arkansas-Little Rock