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Is mandated independence necessary for audit quality?

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  • Jamal, Karim
  • Sunder, Shyam

Abstract

Independence (in fact as well as in appearance) is widely thought to be necessary for the quality of audits, and audit quality is often equated with independence. Private incentives to demand (and supply) independent certification of financial statements are thought to be insufficient, thus the need to mandate independence through regulation. This study presents data from a field experiment on the unregulated market for certification of baseball cards to assess the role of independence vis-à-vis other auditor attributes such as competence, price, and service on audit quality. In our field experiment, we examine prices of baseball cards sold on eBay with or without third party certification. In addition, the certifier was either independent or deeply immersed in providing other services to market participants. We find that market participants pay a significant premium for certified cards. Certifiers who are deeply immersed (and therefore apparently less independent) also provide higher quality service in the form of being stricter graders, command larger price premiums, and dominate in market share. Implications for independence and audit quality are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jamal, Karim & Sunder, Shyam, 2011. "Is mandated independence necessary for audit quality?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 284-292.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:36:y:2011:i:4:p:284-292
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2011.03.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Taslima Akther & Fengju Xu, 2020. "Existence of the Audit Expectation Gap and Its Impact on Stakeholders’ Confidence: The Moderating Role of the Financial Reporting Council," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Gassen, Joachim, 2014. "Causal inference in empirical archival financial accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 535-544.
    4. Nurfarahin M. Haridan & Ahmad F. S. Hassan & Yusuf Karbhari, 2018. "Governance, religious assurance and Islamic banks: Do Shariah boards effectively serve?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(4), pages 1015-1043, December.
    5. Sheila Ellwood, 2014. "Debate: Autonomy, governance, accountability and a new audit regime," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 139-141, March.
    6. Nordin, Ingrid Gustafsson, 2023. "Narratives of internal audit: The Sisyphean work of becoming “independent”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Katrin Hummel & Christian Schlick & Matthias Fifka, 2019. "The Role of Sustainability Performance and Accounting Assurors in Sustainability Assurance Engagements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 733-757, February.
    8. Karim Jamal & Shyam Sunder, 2011. "Unregulated Markets for Audit Services," The Japanese Accounting Review, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, vol. 1, pages 1-16, December.
    9. Fengju Xu & Taslima Akther, 2019. "A Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Investigate the Audit Expectation Gap and Its Impact on Investor Confidence: Perspectives from a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
    10. DeZoort, F. Todd & Holt, Travis & Taylor, Mark H., 2012. "A test of the auditor reliability framework using lenders’ judgments," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 519-533.
    11. Mahendro Sumardjo & Najmatuzzahrah & Khoirul Aswar, 2022. "The Quality of Investigation Audit Influenced by Independence and Integrity," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 14(2), pages 15-27.
    12. Xingqiang Du, 2019. "Does CEO-Auditor Dialect Sharing Impair Pre-IPO Audit Quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 699-735, May.
    13. Marie Caussimont & David Carassus, 2015. "L’audit financier en contexte territorial : vers un audit de performance de la gestion locale ?," Post-Print hal-02141946, HAL.
    14. Andon, Paul & Free, Clinton, 2012. "Auditing and crisis management: The 2010 Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 131-154.
    15. Krista Fiolleau & Kris Hoang & Karim Jamal & Shyam Sunder, 2013. "How Do Regulatory Reforms to Enhance Auditor Independence Work in Practice?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 864-890, September.
    16. Castka, Pavel & Prajogo, Daniel & Sohal, Amrik & Yeung, Andy C.L., 2015. "Understanding firms׳ selection of their ISO 9000 third-party certifiers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 125-133.

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