Revisiting the regulation of auditor independence: Spanish evidence on different perceptions Online publication date: Thu, 07-Aug-2014
by Maria A. García-Benau; Ana Zorio
International Journal of Critical Accounting (IJCA), Vol. 4, No. 5/6, 2012
Abstract: Following the dramatic financial scandals at the turn of the millennium, the financial system reporting framework has changed considerably to restore confidence among investors. In 2002, Spain was one of the pioneer EU member countries to regulate audit quality and protect auditor independence. In the specific setting of Spain, the objective of this research is to obtain evidence that can contribute to the debate on whether there is a need for regulation in this field. In this sense, we find evidence on the existence of an expectations gap between two groups of agents affected by the important changes that the 2002 rules on independence and audit quality imposed on auditors, i.e., the auditors themselves and the academics who educate future auditors. Our results point out that there is an expectations gap both in terms of independence in fact and in appearance for certain items under study, as well as in the area of improvement in audit quality or in the opinions on how these regulatory changes are expected to affect auditors' activities.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Critical Accounting (IJCA):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook