The Extent of Compliance of the Libyan External Auditor's Report with the Revised International Standard on Auditing No. (700) (External Auditor's Report): A Content Analysis Study of External Auditors' Reports in Libyan Commercial Banks

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the extent to which external auditor reports in Libyan commercial banks comply with International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 700, "External Auditor's Report." Content analysis was used for 61 external auditor reports in the Libyan commercial banking sector, covering the period 2015-2024 and published on the banks' websites.

The study found that the external auditor reports of Libyan commercial banks comply to a moderate degree with the elements and content of ISA 700. The report's core elements achieved a compliance rate of 51.288%, while the content of the reports achieved a compliance rate of 54.754%.

The study recommended that external auditors in Libya consult and refer to the updated ISA 700 when issuing their reports. It also recommended that the Central Bank of Libya utilize the ISA and its accompanying report templates to develop a standardized auditor's report template that external auditors would adhere to when preparing their external reports.