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Ensuring Independent Auditors: Increasing the Saliency of the Professional Identity

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Abstract

We conceptualize threats to auditor independence as conflicts of social identity rather than interest and hypothesize that the greater the saliency of the professional identity among auditors, the more likely the auditor will engage in independent decision-making. Furthermore, we assert that saliency of non-professional identities and weakness of the professional image threaten independence. We hypothesize that a return to the traditional will relate positively to the saliency of the professional identity among auditors and ultimately, to independent decision-making. Actions for re-establishing the external image of the profession are drawn from historical references to the traditional image.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Accounting, Business Ethics & Information Systems Rutgers Business School – Newark & New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 111 Washington Street, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Danielle E. Warren

  2. Department of Legal and Ethical Studies, Fordham University, 33 West 60th Street, New York, NY, 10023, USA

    Miguel Alzola

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  1. Danielle E. Warren
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  2. Miguel Alzola
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Correspondence to Danielle E. Warren.

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Warren, D.E., Alzola, M. Ensuring Independent Auditors: Increasing the Saliency of the Professional Identity. Group Decis Negot 18, 41–56 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-008-9123-0

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