Leading academic and professional accountants have suggested that the crisis in auditing over the past few years may have had its origin in deregulation which allowed firms to advertise their services and solicit new clients, encouraging accounting firms to become more commercial. In this paper,...

pt. 1. The social environment of auditing -- pt. 3. The impact of regulation of auditing -- pt. 3. Research on the process of auditing -- pt. 4. Issues concerned with audit reporting -- pt. 5. Alternative auditing services -- pt. 6. Conclusion.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the circumstances under which high quality audits reduce a firm's cost of debt. The paper extends previous research by Pittman and Fortin by considering how auditor quality relates to the capital cycle and industry of the firm....