Egyptian Investors’ Perception of Auditor Independence: Does the Type of Consulting Services Matter? | ||
| مجلة البحوث المحاسبية | ||
| Volume 12, Issue 3, September 2025, Pages 229-250 PDF (640 K) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/abj.2025.452618 | ||
| Author | ||
| Doaa Hafez Emam Abdellattif | ||
| Department of Accounting, College of Business Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Audit plays a vital role in verifying the accuracy and reliability of financial statements (FS), as auditors serve as agents for investors to ensure the transparency and accountability of FS. To fulfill this responsibility, auditors must maintain their independence, which has become increasingly important as accounting firms expand their provision of non-audit services (NASs) to audit clients. This research investigates the influence of providing consulting services (CSs) on perceived auditor independence (AI) from the perspective of Egyptian investors. It employs an experimental study to explore Egyptian investor perceptions when auditors provide various CSs alongside audit services (AS). The findings reveal that presenting CSs adversely influences investors’ confidence in the AI. Furthermore, this influence varies by the type of consulting service. Egyptian investors perceive internal control and information systems services as posing a greater threat to AI compared to tax services, which are considered the least harmful. These results suggest that the type of CSs provided influences the perceived threat to independence. This research provides a deeper understanding of AI and the impact of the type of consulting services to audit clients on auditor independence. Furthermore, the findings have practical implications for regulatory bodies, standard setters, and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), as they support efforts to restrict or prohibit CSs to maintain auditors’ objectivity and integrity | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Auditor independence; non-audit services; consulting services; tax services; internal control services; information systems services; Egyptian investors | ||
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