Have changes in audit standards altered client perceptions of auditors?

Marcus Doxey and Robert Ewing

American Journal of Business, 2020, vol. 36, issue 2, 109-127

Abstract: Purpose - Changes in external auditing over four decades motivates a historical investigation of how client employees' perceptions of auditors have changed across this period. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses a longitudinal quasi-experiment to compare current client employees' perceptions of the auditor with results from 1972. Findings - Changes in client employees' perceptions of the audit, its usefulness and of auditor-client conflict suggest increases in auditor independence. However, this paper also finds that despite decades of efforts to strengthen auditor independence and skepticism, the primary analogy client employees apply to the external auditor remains “consultant”. Practical implications - The findings contribute to the discussion of whether regulatory and standard changes in the audit environment have changed aspects of client employees' perceptions of auditors. Originality/value - The paper contributes by presenting a unique approach to partially replicating a historic study using a quasi-experimental research design.

Keywords: Audit clients; Audit history; Audit regulation; Audit standards; Replication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ajbpps:ajb-01-2020-0008

DOI: 10.1108/AJB-01-2020-0008

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