UK investors' perceptions of auditor independence

Dart, Eleanor

Abstract

The auditor's role in society is that of validating the truth and fairness of financial statements. If owners of organisations doubt the auditor's independence, financial statements will lack credibility. This questionnaire-based study investigated how investors perceive three potentially independence-impairing auditor-client relationships: the joint provision of audit and non-audit services, an audit firm's economic dependence upon a client and long-term relationships between auditor and client. The objective was to determine whether, after a series of high-profile corporate collapses, owners retain faith in the integrity of the auditor. The results suggest that economic dependence and the provision of non-audit services are perceived as greater threats to auditor independence than long-term relationships between the auditor and client. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jan 19, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 19, 2016
• Journal: British Accounting Review
• Print ISSN: 0890-8389
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 173-185
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2011.06.003
• Keywords: UK, investors, perceptions, auditor independence
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/959669
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838911000503
• Contract Date: Apr 19, 2016