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A History of Auditing: The Changing Audit Process in Britain from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day
Contributor(s): Matthews, Derek (Author)

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ISBN: 041538169X     ISBN-13: 9780415381697
Publisher: Routledge
OUR PRICE: $161.50  

Binding Type: Hardcover - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: January 2006
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Annotation:

The collapse in the US of Enron and Worldcom, together with their auditors, Arthur Andersen, has focused the public spotlight on the company audit and made it a highly controversial aspect of the accountant's work. In Britain, the recent legal action by Equitable Life against Ernst and Young is only the latest in a long line of scandals at BCCI, Maxwell, and the Barings bank, among many others. "A History of Auditing" for the first time lifts the lid off the work of the auditors, and details how historically they have got themselves into the present situation.
The book draws on new evidence generated by a postal questionnaire and oral history among auditors both past and present, together with an analysis of company reports and exhaustive use of contemporary textbooks and articles, making frequent frequent comparisons with American practice. The resulting history traces the evolution of the auditing process from its leisurely Victorian beginnings where armies of clerks checked and ticked everything intheir client's books, to the transformation in the 1960s when, with the growing scale of clients auditing became more a matter of checking a client's systems rather than the records themselves. The changes in the 1980s are also documented when because of the growing pressure on audit fees from clients meeting the threat of global competition, auditors began to put their faith in such nebulous techniques as risk assessment. Alongside all these changes auditors also had to cope with the advent of computerization which robbed them of the audit trail.
This comprehensive history will be a useful reference tool for accounting, business and economichistorians and will also be an enlightening read for all those with an interest in auditing procedures.

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Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Business & Economics | Accounting - General
- Business & Economics | Accounting - Financial
- Business & Economics | Finance - General
Dewey: 657.094
LCCN: 2005015544
Series: Routledge New Works in Accounting History
Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" L (0.99 lbs) 192 pages
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

The rise of the British accountancy profession from the late nineteenth century to the present day, and the world-wide success of its accountancy firms, were to a large extent based on the growth of the audit function.

This book explores the history of the audit process in Britain, demonstrating that the characteristic features of the auditing industry are a diversity in practice based largely on the different types of clients the auditors serve. The book examines the innovation that was brought about by the staggering developments in information technology which have been seen over the last few centuries.

This comprehensive history will be a useful reference tool for accounting, business and economic historians and will also be an enlightening read for all those with an interest in auditing procedures.

 
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