What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how an oversight regulator's enforcement style influences audit firm compliance behaviors and perceived audit quality through the slippery-slope framework.

June 8, 2018Abacus

Public Oversight of Audit Firms: The Slippery Slope of Enforcing Regulation

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To examine how an oversight regulator's enforcement style influences audit firm compliance behaviors and perceived audit quality through the slippery-slope framework.
Conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with audit regulators and audit partners.
Assessed changes in perceived enforcement styles and the resulting organizational compliance mechanisms.
Audit partners reported a noticeable shift in regulatory enforcement posture from collaborative oversight toward a coercive style.
The perceived coercive enforcement climate diminished inter-organizational trust and prompted audit firms to institute mandatory compliance artifacts, such as standardized checklists.
Partners noted that resulting operational adaptations focused predominantly on mitigating inspection risk rather than substantively advancing audit quality.

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Implication

Qualitative study reveals coercive regulatory enforcement drives forced compliance among audit partners, indicating rules may minimize inspection risk rather than improve audit quality.

Cite This Study

Dowling et al. (2018) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a70123375498292b70970fc https://doi.org/10.1111/abac.12130

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Implication

Qualitative study reveals coercive regulatory enforcement drives forced compliance among audit partners, indicating rules may minimize inspection risk rather than improve audit quality.

Public Oversight of Audit Firms: The Slippery Slope of Enforcing Regulation

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Public Oversight of Audit Firms: The Slippery Slope of Enforcing Regulation

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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