SOX and the Transition from Apartheid to Democracy: South African Auditing Developments through the Lens of Modernity Theory

This paper uses S outh A frica as an example to explore how crises of trust – stemming from the legacy of Apartheid, local and international corporate failures and the changing regulatory framework in the U nited S tates – have contributed to shaping aspects of S outh A frican corporate governance. Using Giddens' theory of modernity, the research considers how the country's racist past and recent corporate scandals have converged to shape S outh A frica's corporate governance landscape. In turn, mechanisms of modernity explain why S outh A frica has developed a highly sophisticated system of corporate governance.