The Economics of Auditing

Foundations and Unanswered Questions

Dan A. Simunic (University of British Columbia, Canada)

$284

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
12 December 2024

Microeconomics; Management accounting & bookkeeping; Accounting: study & revision guides; Business strategy; Management of specific areas

Series: Routledge New Works in Accounting History

The financial information provided to governments, creditors, investors etc. by businesses has been verified by auditors since ancient times. In its modern form, the independent public accounting profession has its roots in 19th century Scotland. A distinctive feature of this profession is that it consists of private for-profit businesses – operating as sole practitioners, partnerships, but mostly as large accounting firms. The question naturally arises – why should users of financial information provided by private for-profit firms place trust in the verification of that information by other private for-profit firms? This is the interesting and complex economic issue that underlies research in what has come to be called ‘the economics of auditing’. The author is one of the first researchers in this area. This book traces the development of this important stream of research that applies economic analysis to the study of financial statement audits by professional public accounting firms. It offers a narrative commentary, along with a series of previously unpublished papers that the author presented during the 1970’s, at Accounting Research workshops at the University of Chicago, as part of his dissertation research, that ultimately led to one of the bedrock papers in the field. It provides an explanation and discussion of the economic, regulatory, and research environment at that time. The book concludes with a discussion of important but currently “unanswered questions” in the field that flow from the author’s thesis research but remain unresolved. It will be of significant interest to advanced students and academics who are engaged in developing their own research programs, as well as to any researcher who is working in the area of the ‘economics of auditing’.

By: Dan A. Simunic (University of British Columbia Canada)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781032860541
ISBN 10: 1032860545
Series: Routledge New Works in Accounting History
Pages: 345
Publication Date: 12 December 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dan A. Simunic is Professor Emeritus in the Accounting and Information Systems Division, Sauder School of Business, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.