Auditing in the public interest: Reforming the profession by building on the strengths of the existing accounting firms

Brenk, Herman van; Renes, Remko M.; Trompeter, Gregory M.

doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2020.102184

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…This reshaping of hybrid identities is thus strategic but may also have subconscious influences which need further understanding. As regulators, driven by concerns over conflicts of interest and corporate failures, seek to implement major structural reform in the profession (House of Commons, 2019; The Economist, 2018a, b; van Brenk et al. , 2020), we envisage this rhetoric of “commercial professionalism” and reinvented identity to become more prevalent.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The continued occurrence of corporate scandals and failures, mostly involving Big Four firms, has fuelled allegations of conflicts of interest and driven regulatory intervention (Dowling et al. , 2018; Malsch and Gendron, 2011, 2013; Sikka, 2009; van Brenk et al. , 2020).…”

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cooper and Robson, 2006;Dellaportas and Davenport, 2008;Lee, 1995;Power, 2003;Sikka and Willmott, 1995;Whittle et al, 2016). The continued occurrence of corporate scandals and failures, mostly involving Big Four firms, has fuelled allegations of conflicts of interest and driven regulatory intervention (Dowling et al, 2018;Gendron, 2011, 2013;Sikka, 2009;van Brenk et al, 2020). Auditors stand accused of allowing their quest for profit (commercialism) to compromise their professional obligation to protect the public interest with high-quality audits.…”

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The commercialist identity of mid-tier firm auditors: a precarious balancing of priorities

Harber

Willows

2022

AAAJ

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PurposeThis paper aims to extend our understanding of how mid-tier firm auditors legitimise and institutionalise the logic of commercialism within their profession. This paper is responsive to research that shows how Big Four auditors have restructured the market and re-cast the relationality between the two logics to forge an identity that suits them commercially. Such research provides insight into auditor agency and intentionality, illustrating how auditors maintain and indeed grow their status and role within society.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews with audit executives situated in a strategically challenging regulatory context are interpreted through a theoretical framework developed from institutional complexity theory, coupled with the understanding that institutional logics are a socially constructed phenomenon.FindingsMid-tier auditors appear to be as commercially orientated as their Big Four counterparts, expressing the logics of professionalism and commercialism as highly complementary. In response to competitive pressures and the difficulty of replicating the multi-disciplinary practice business model of the Big Four, mid-tier auditors present a competitive and contrasting identity as “more devoted experts”, using various legitimation techniques and “heroic” representations. This identity representation is strategic, allowing them to forge a consistent and coherent “collective identity defining story” designed to counter the “versatile expert” identity of the Big Four and establish social legitimacy with their potential client base.Originality/valueThese findings contribute to our understanding of how mid-tier auditors are “catching up” to the Big Four in the construction of their commercial business model. By shedding light on the rhetoric and “identity experimentation” of auditors, the findings can aid legislators and regulators to exercise democratic control over the profession and promulgate regulations that better align auditors’ interests with the public interest. As regulators encourage mid-tier firms to compete with the Big Four and lower supply concentration in the market, this study believes the tensions inherent in the logics, as well as the strategic necessity for firms to represent themselves in a favourable manner, will become more prominent.

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Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The commercialist identity of mid-tier firm auditors: a precarious balancing of priorities

Harber

Willows

2022

AAAJ

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“…Ello pone de manifiesto que la actuación de forma independiente puede no estar siempre garantizada, pudiendo encontrar situaciones en las que se requeriría más independencia tanto desde el punto de vista normativo como desde la perspectiva social. En este sentido, Van Brenk et al (2022) insisten en resaltar que los auditores reciben una presión significativa para actuar en pro del interés público. Por ello, la normativa afronta esta cuestión compaginando el principio básico de independencia -que obliga al auditor a abstenerse de actuar cuando pudiera verse comprometida su objetividad en relación con la información financiera a auditar-, con el establecimiento de un sistema de amenazas y salvaguardas -lo que supone enumerar un conjunto de circunstancias, situaciones o relaciones específicas en las que los auditores se consideran que no tienen la independencia necesaria frente a la entidad auditada-.…”

Section: ¿Cómo Ayuda La Independencia En Auditoría Al Interés Público?unclassified

“…En este sentido, conviene remarcar que no se suele cuestionar, ni en la literatura ni en la profesión, la afirmación de que la contabilidad y la auditoría trabajan en pro del interés público. No obstante, siguen existiendo llamados a introducir reformas que incrementen el énfasis de la auditoría sobre el interés público (Brenk et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Independencia en auditoría. En pro de la defensa del interés público

2022

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A lo largo de la historia se han producido escándalos financieros que han puesto de manifiesto las terribles consecuencias que la falta de independencia del auditor tiene sobre la defensa del interés público. En el presente trabajo analizamos, desde un punto de vista reflexivo y crítico, las consecuencias de dos casos de gran relevancia como son Enron y Bankia. A pesar de que ambos casos se produjeron en países distintos (EE. UU. y España) la gran repercusión internacional, política y mediática de los mismos nos ha servido como plataforma para llegar a un mensaje mucho más profundo en el que reclamamos la importancia de la auditoría, especialmente de la buena auditoría, lo que supone su ejercicio desde la más estricta independencia, sin restricciones. Solamente así se trabajará en pro del interés público.

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Critical auditing studies: Adopting a critical lens toward contemporary audit discourse, practice and regulation

Samsonova-Taddei

Gendron

2022

Critical Perspectives on Accounting

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Auditing in the public interest: Reforming the profession by building on the strengths of the existing accounting firms

Cited by 21 publications

References 62 publications

The commercialist identity of mid-tier firm auditors: a precarious balancing of priorities

The commercialist identity of mid-tier firm auditors: a precarious balancing of priorities

Independencia en auditoría. En pro de la defensa del interés público

Critical auditing studies: Adopting a critical lens toward contemporary audit discourse, practice and regulation

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