Reports Of Solving The Conflicts Of Interest In Auditing Are Highly Exaggerated

Abstract

Nelson argues that we should trust the auditing profession and collect more data before taking action to reform the auditing system. We argue that the risk of doing nothing is greater than the risk associated with reform, and that the arguments Nelson makes have been exploited by the auditing industry to defend a system that destroys the independence of audits for the financial benefit of the auditors themselves.