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Auditor Liability and the Precision of Auditing Standards

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  • Ralf Ewert

Abstract

This paper deals with the precision of auditing standards under a negligence liability system for auditors. Auditing standards such as, e.g., GAAS in the US and GoA in Germany provide rules for judging the auditors' due care and are supposed to serve both descriptive and normative purposes. In order to fulfill these functions, it is usually hypothesized that the standards must be made as precise as possible. This paper argues, however, that vague standards need not be detrimental. In fact, it is shown that for each precise standard there exists a vague standard that outperforms the precise standard equilibrium in terms of auditing efforts, quality of the financial statements, costs of using the legal system, and direct as well as total auditing costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Ralf Ewert, 1999. "Auditor Liability and the Precision of Auditing Standards," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 155(1), pages 181-181, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:sici:0932-4569(199903)155:1_181:alatpo_2.0.tx_2-e
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Minlei Ye & Dan A. Simunic, 2013. "The Economics of Setting Auditing Standards," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1191-1215, September.
    2. Ralf Ewert & Eberhard Feess & Martin Nell, 2000. "Auditor liability rules under imperfect information and costly litigation: the welfare-increasing effect of liability insurance," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 371-385.
    3. Eberhard Feess, 2012. "Malpractice liability, technology choice and negative defensive medicine," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 13(2), pages 157-167, April.
    4. Dari-Mattiacci, Giuseppe & Schafer, Hans-Bernd, 2007. "The core of pure economic loss," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 8-28, March.
    5. Ralf Ewert & Alfred Wagenhofer, 2019. "Effects of Increasing Enforcement on Financial Reporting Quality and Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 121-168, March.
    6. Jochen Bigus, 2007. "Die Sorgfaltsanreize des Wirtschaftsprüfers bei beschränkter Haftung," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 61-86, February.
    7. Jochen Bigus, 2015. "Auditor Reputation Under Different Negligence Regimes," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 51(3), pages 356-378, September.
    8. Mark Penno, 2022. "Concepts‐based Accounting Standards," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 58(2), pages 209-232, June.
    9. Eberhard Feess & Gerd Muehlheusser & Ansgar Wohlschlegel, 2009. "Environmental liability under uncertain causation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 133-148, October.
    10. Reinhard Schrank, 2021. "The Impact of Damage Apportionment on Internal Control System Quality and Financial Reporting Accuracy," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(2), pages 251-296, June.
    11. Koch, Christopher & Schunk, Daniel, 2007. "The Case for Limited Auditor Liability - The Effects of Liability Size on Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 07-04, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.
    12. Erich Pummerer & Marcel Steller & Julia Baldauf, 2013. "Prüfungsqualität, Prüferhaftung und Risikoaversion — Eine analytische Betrachtung der Bedeutung der Risikoaversion für die Prüfungsqualität," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 32-59, February.
    13. Eberhard Feess, 2013. "Negligence standards and care levels when damages depend on sales prices," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 389-405, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • K41 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Litigation Process
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other

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