The reputation of corporate reporting has been in crisis. Trust in the process of financial accounting and auditing has been undermined by a series of high profile scandals involving major corporations, including Enron, Parmalat, Ahold and Worldcom. In response, regulators and practitioners world-wide have put forward a series of initiatives to repair the damage and restore faith in corporate governance. In this important new book, the European Auditing Research Network analyzes how that response has developed in Europe, with particular emphasis on the field of auditing.Leading international academics review how regulation has been revised in specific European countries to help restore confidence in the contribution of auditing to corporate governance. Various themes are explored, including the growing trend of internationalization in regulation, ethics and auditing, professional liability and professional education. "Auditing, Trust and Governance" is an invaluable volume for students, researchers and professionals working in the fields of auditing, accountancy and corporate governance, and provides a useful basis for further research on the effects of the increased regulation.
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Foreword by Jurgen Tiedje
1 In the name of trust: some thoughts about trust, audit quality and audit regulation in Europe by Aasmund Eilifsen and Marleen Willekens 1
2 Audit regulation in Belgium: overregulation in a limited capital market oriented country? by Ann Vanstraelen and Marleen Willekens 19
3 An account of accountants: audit regulation and the audit profession in Denmark by Claus Holm and Bent Warming-Rasmussen 42
4 Developments in auditing regulation in Finland: from a national to an international framework by Lasse Niemi and Stefan Sundgren 78
5 The regulatory response in France to accounting scandals by C. Richard Baker and Jean Bedard and Christian Prat Dit Hauret 98
6 Audit regulation in Germany: improvements driven by internationalization by Annette G. Kohler and Kai-Uwe Marten and Reiner Quick and Klaus Ruhnke 111
7 Auditing in Italy: the development of a highly-regulated setting before and after the Parmalat case by Mara Cameran 144
8 The auditing profession in the Netherlands: from Limperg's principles to detailed rules by Roger Meuwissen and Philip Wallage 168
9 The development of the auditing profession in Spain: fast evolution in a highly regulated environment by Maria Antonia Garcia-Benau and Cristina De Fuentes Barbera and Antonio Vico Martinez 186
10 Developments in the framework of auditing regulation in the United Kingdom by Stuart Turley 205
11 Regulation and trust in auditing in Russia by Anna Samsonova 223
12 Auditing in the United States: from laissez faire to government control in 70 years by Jere R. Francis 243
13 Understanding regulation in its global context by Christopher Humphrey and Peter Moizer 262
Index 279
