ISO auditing and the construction of trust in auditor independence
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 21 October 2013
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine, through a qualitative study, how auditor independence is socially constructed within the network of individuals involved in the realization of ISO 14001 audit engagements – ISO auditors, consultants, and managers of certified companies. The paper analysis focuses on the sense-making strategies used by actors within the network to develop and sustain trust (or doubt) in professional independence.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is predicated on a theoretical perspective centered on sense-making processes and the construction of inter-subjective meanings around claims to expertise. Interviews were conducted with 36 Canadian practitioners – including ISO auditors, managers of certification bodies, accreditation inspectors, consultants, and corporate environmental managers – to better understand how confidence into auditor independence is constituted in the flow of daily life within the small group of people involved in the surroundings of ISO 14001 audit engagements.
Findings
Practitioners use a range of sense-making strategies to construct and maintain the belief that IS0 14001 audits meet the professional requirements of auditor independence. As such, the constitution of confidence involves stereotyping, distancing, storytelling and procedural mechanisms that are collectively mobilized in the production of a culture of comfort surrounding the concept of auditor independence.
Originality/value
Through interviews with a range of actors involved in the achievement of ISO 14001 audits, the study provides insight into the production of meaning related to one of the chief claims surrounding auditing expertise, that of professional independence. This paper also points to a lack of self-criticism in the ISO auditing community since practitioners seem disinclined to adopt a reflective attitude of professional skepticism towards the claim of auditor independence.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the auditors and other practitioners who participated in the interviews conducted as part of this study. The authors benefited from the comments made by the two reviewers. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Citation
Kouakou, D., Boiral, O. and Gendron, Y. (2013), "ISO auditing and the construction of trust in auditor independence", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 26 No. 8, pp. 1279-1305. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2013-1264
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited