The Auditor: Quo Vadis?

ISBN-13: 9781138496767 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 110 str.

Mervyn King;Linda de Beer

Opis

The audit profession is at a tipping point. Without significant innovation in its business model, staff recruitment strategies and audit execution processes, the audit profession may not remain relevant in the 21st century. The number of claims against auditors has significantly increased over the past twenty years due to the spate of corporate and audit failures early in the 21st century (Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat, etc.). Regulation to monitor professional and ethical standards has increased, leading audit firms to feel under even more financial pressure. In addition, the investor community is calling for greater insight and foresight from auditors. These challenges, coupled with the unlimited liability regime of auditors still applicable in many jurisdictions, are making audit firms and regulators nervous as to the systemic risk of another one of the Big 4 failing. And yet, the audit profession is in place to protect businesses, their wider stakeholder groups, including clients and investors, and society at large. Therefore, this book asks the important question about the profession’s future and engages a broad readership in the discussion of audit failure and reform. Intended to help readers to get up to speed with the issues and possible solutions quickly, this book assists directors, investors, business people and regulators, especially those with a non-financial background, to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and threats being faced by the audit profession, which in turn could disrupt the capital market and affect businesses across the globe. The book outlines the critical success factors needed for a sustainable audit profession.

Spis treści

List of tables; Foreword (Sir Mark Moody-Stuart); Acknowledgements; Acronyms and Glossary of Terms; Authors’ introductory note; Introduction; Part 1: The History of Audit; Chapter 1: History of Accounting and the Birth of the Loan Stock Company; Chapter 2: History of Auditing and the Birth of the Audit Profession; Chapter 3: The Statutory Role of Auditors; Chapter 4: The Audit Expectation Gap and the Role of Audit Regulation in Bridging the Gap; Part 2: The Threat – the Ability of the Audit Profession to Meet the Demands of the 21^st Century in the Context of Auditor Responsibility and Liability; Chapter 5: The Era of Audit Regulation; Chapter 6: The Modern Day Role of Auditors; Chapter 7: Auditor Responsibility and Liability; Chapter 8: Regulatory Focus Areas Impacting Auditors; Chapter 9: Critical Success Factors of a Strong Audit Profession into the Future; Part 3: Addressing the Liability Threat – The Auditor Judgment Rule; Chapter 10: Damages for a Negligent Audit; Chapter 11: The Outcry for Limitation of Auditor Liability; Chapter 12: Directors’ Duties and the Business Judgment Rule; Chapter 13: The Auditor Judgment Rule; Part 4: In Conclusion; Reference list; Index