Perceptions of Auditor Independence and Official Ethical Guidelines.
通过问卷调查英国财务报表编制者和使用者对29种审计师-客户关系的看法，发现双方对审计独立性的感知存在显著差异，且使用者比编制者更怀疑独立性受损会影响投资和贷款决策。
Abstract ABSTRACT: The paper examines the role and importance of auditor independence as perceived by various interested parties in the United Kingdom. A questionnaire postulating 29 auditor-client relationships was sent to a sample of both the preparers of and the users of financial statements. They were asked whether they thought auditor independence might be impaired for each relationship and what impact they thought this might have on investment and lending decisions. The results showed that non-independence was perceived by the respondents to impair investment and lending decisions. It was also found that there were significant differences in the perceptions of auditor independence, and the importance thereof, between the responses of the preparers of financial statements and the responses of the users of financial statements. The results showed that while the views of accountants working in professional practices agreed quite closely with the ethical guidelines on auditor independence published by the British Institutes of Chartered Accountants, the users of financial statements were much more skeptical of auditor independence.