Understanding the impact of auditor procurement on audit quality

The global financial crisis and recent unexpected collapses of major multinational businesses following a 'clean' (unmodified) audit opinion, such as Dick Smith electronics in 2016, has highlighted the importance of auditors to be thorough and compliant with auditing standards, i.e., to conduct an audit of a high standard of quality. There are however factors that influence audit quality, one of which is, the strategy of the business in appointing the auditor, for example, auditor tendering versus private appointment. The purpose of this application is to understand how auditor procurement impacts audit quality. Hypotheses and methodology have been formulated and data collection/analysis will be completed.