Trusting/Distrusting Auditors' Opinion

Abstract

Trust relations are important for effective interchanges between auditors (trustees) and market participants (trustors) such as investors, creditors, customers, and other users of financial statement information. In particular, auditors' opinion regarding client's ability to continue in existence is essential to improving social capital in Society. Previous literature has shown that the issuance of a qualified audit report with doubts about the viability of a company may have imminent consequences for both auditors and financial statement users. We build on previous research by analyzing auditors' trustworthy behavior regarding this important opinion in a Throughput Model. A number of propositions are forwarded regarding how investors and other users may trust (distrust) auditors' opinions. In this regard, dominant determinants of six trust positions were used to explain the auditors', and in turn investors' and creditors' decision-making process.