The effects of corporate ownership on public accountants' professionalism and ethics

William E. Shafer, D. Jordan Lowe, Timothy J. Fogarty

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

The current trend toward corporate acquisitions of CPA firms poses potential threats to the autonomy and ethical standards of public accounting professionals. This recent consolidation movement suggests that for the first time a significant number of public accounting professionals are subject to the supervision and control of nonprofessionals. In addition to acknowledging the potential threats to auditor independence and objectivity, this paper suggests that these new organizational arrangements for the provision of public accounting services have other negative effects on professionalism and ethics such as desensitizing CPAs to traditional professional values, and subverting professional institutions to the goals of corporate employers. This paper develops a framework that identifies several specific research questions related to the effects of corporate ownership on professionalism and ethics in public accounting.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)109-124
Number of pages16
JournalAccounting Horizons
Volume16
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2002
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Accounting

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