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The rise of regulatory capitalism and the decline of auditor independence: A critical and experimental examination of auditors’ conflicts of interests

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  • Windsor, Carolyn
  • Warming-Rasmussen, Bent

Abstract

This study investigates the decline of auditor independence coinciding with the rise of regulatory capitalism. A critical analysis supported by experimental evidence reveals regulatory capitalism's influence on auditor independence. Regulatory capitalism began in the United States during the 1970s when state enforced neo-liberal free-market doctrines of competition and deregulation commercialized the profession. Since then, regulatory capitalism's economic neo-liberal agenda has transformed the auditing profession and the employer firms into a transnational network of professional services firms that now promote and diffuse regulatory capitalism worldwide. Regulatory capitalism is further facilitated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the PCAOB that provide interconnections of powerful non-democratic private regulators such as the IFAC and IAASB. An experiment reveals auditors’ ethical predisposition to provide consistently high quality independence judgments required by IFAC's code of ethics. The majority of this sample of 174 Danish auditors was not consistently independent in the context of client economic factors, indicating that the code of ethics’ appeal to auditors’ altruistic behavior has failed. Moreover the transformed profession has become the transformer but at a price, the loss of public confidence and the decline of auditor independence. Conflicts of interests still abound.

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  • Windsor, Carolyn & Warming-Rasmussen, Bent, 2009. "The rise of regulatory capitalism and the decline of auditor independence: A critical and experimental examination of auditors’ conflicts of interests," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 267-288.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:20:y:2009:i:2:p:267-288
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2007.04.003
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    Cited by:

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    3. Keyser, John D., 2023. "Examine the available evidence: Was the Duhnke PCAOB captured?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2012. "Whose rights? Professional discipline and the incorporation of a (human) rights framework: The case of ICAS," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 17-35.
    5. Friedrich, Christian & Quick, Reiner, 2024. "Do non-audit service failures impair auditor reputation? An analysis of KPMG advisory service scandals in Germany," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Maroun, Warren & Solomon, Jill, 2014. "Whistle-blowing by external auditors: Seeking legitimacy for the South African Audit Profession?," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 109-121.
    7. Ardelean Alexandra, 2013. "Defining the Public Interest in Relation to the Accountancy Profession: Some Perspectives," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 60(2), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Jasim Al-Ajmi & Shahrokh Saudagaran, 2011. "Perceptions of auditors and financial-statement users regarding auditor independence in Bahrain," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(2), pages 130-160, January.
    9. Jackson, Gregory, 2010. "Understanding corporate governance in the United States: An historical and theoretical reassessment," Arbeitspapiere 223, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    10. Everett, Jeff & Tremblay, Marie-Soleil, 2014. "Ethics and internal audit: Moral will and moral skill in a heteronomous field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 181-196.
    11. Beattie, Vivien & Fearnley, Stella & Hines, Tony, 2010. "Factors Affecting Audit Quality in the 2007 UK Regulatory Environment: Perceptions of Chief Financial Officers, Audit Committee Chairs and Audit Engagement Partners," SIRE Discussion Papers 2012-29, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
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