... reported is more pronounced for clients audited by the Big 4 auditors and less experienced audit partners. These findings suggest that auditors’ incentive to protect against potential losses from important client engagements outweighs any impairment to auditor independence and leads to a higher number...

...-recurring audit-related services decrease accruals quality. The results demonstrate that provisions of non-audit services create economic bonding, and thus a threat to auditor independence. Results remain robust with the inclusion of corporate governance and institutional variables. Research limitations...

...Christina Chiang Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct linkage between professional scepticism and auditor independence. Design/methodology/approach The study reviews the extant literature on professional scepticism, auditor independence, conflict of interest...