Have changes in audit standards altered client perceptions of auditors?

PurposeChanges in external auditing over four decades motivates a historical investigation of how client employees' perceptions of auditors have changed across this period.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a longitudinal quasi-experiment to compare current client employees' perceptions of the auditor with results from 1972.FindingsChanges in client employees' perceptions of the audit, its usefulness and of auditor-client conflict suggest increases in auditor independence. However, this paper also finds that despite decades of efforts to strengthen auditor independence and skepticism, the primary analogy client employees apply to the external auditor remains “consultant”.Practical implicationsThe findings contribute to the discussion of whether regulatory and standard changes in the audit environment have changed aspects of client employees' perceptions of auditors.Originality/valueThe paper contributes by presenting a unique approach to partially replicating a historic study using a quasi-experimental research design.