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Regulating audit quality: Restoring trust and legitimacy

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  • Holm, Claus
  • Zaman, Mahbub

Abstract

The global financial crisis, corporate failures and scandals in many countries raise significant questions audit quality. In the UK, the FRC took the unprecedented step of codifying audit quality in its ‘Audit Quality Framework’. We analyze the extent to which audit firms, professional bodies, and investors considered the FRC proposals sufficient for addressing concerns about audit quality. Using impression management and legitimacy as a framework to analyze stakeholder responses we go beyond audit quality drivers identified by the FRC. In contrast to the drivers identified by the FRC, our focus on transparency, expertise, professionalism and commercialization of the audit shows that FRC, audit firms and professional bodies have mainly focused on issues which possibly do not pose a threat to the commercial interest of audit firms. Overall, our analysis shows that regulatory and professional bodies engaged in image management and the promotion of audit quality in an attempt to remedy tarnished image and augment their legitimacy and standing. In attempting to restore trust and legitimacy regulatory bodies, such as the FRC, have to reconcile complex often contradictory stakeholder demands.

Suggested Citation

  • Holm, Claus & Zaman, Mahbub, 2012. "Regulating audit quality: Restoring trust and legitimacy," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 51-61.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:accfor:v:36:y:2012:i:1:p:51-61
    DOI: 10.1016/j.accfor.2011.11.004
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    2. Saori Matsubara & Takahiro Endo, 2016. "The Role of Local Accounting Standard Setters in Institutional Complexity: 'Explosion' of Local Standards in Japan," Discussion Paper Series DP2016-35, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    3. Elmagrhi, Mohamed H. & Ntim, Collins G. & Wang, Yan & Elamer, Ahmed A. & Crossley, Richard, 2021. "The effect of vice-chancellor characteristics and internal governance mechanisms on voluntary disclosures in UK higher education institutions," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
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    7. van Brenk, Herman & Renes, Remko & Trompeter, Gregory M., 2022. "Auditing in the public interest: Reforming the profession by building on the strengths of the existing accounting firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

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