We study regulation of the auditing profession in a model where audit quality is unobservable and enforcing regulation is costly. The optimal audit standard falls short of the first-best audit quality, and is increasing in the riskiness of firms and in the amount of funding they seek. The model can encompass collusion between clients and auditors, arising from the joint provision of auditing and consulting services: deflecting collusion requires less ambitious standards. Finally, banning the provision of consulting services by auditors eliminates collusion but may not be optimal in the presence of economies of scope.
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CESifo GmbH in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number
CESifo Working Paper No. 1980.
Giovanni Immordino & Marco Pagano, 2005.
"Optimal Regulation of Auditing,"
CSEF Working Papers
133, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Salerno, Italy, revised 01 May 2007.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Corporation and Securities Law M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Accounting - - - Auditing
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