STATUTORY AUDITORS’ INDEPENDENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING CORRUPTION: RESPONDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

Manipulating financial reports to show a strong accounting profit and good balance sheet position is one such practice. Stakeholders who otherwise do not have any access to the day-to-day affair of the business, have to depend upon the financial reports prepared by the company management using the loopholes of accounting regulations. Thus, a corporate accounting corruption would lead to huge loss to the entire stakeholder community of the concerned business. Numerous stakeholders of vested financial interest when loss a substantial portion of their wealth in a scam, it creates problem in the overall economy. A corruption also leaves a black mark over the regulatory environment of the country, which even sometimes deter new industrial project to enter the country impacting national economy. Against this backdrop, the current study makes an attempt to explore the relevant issues affecting statutory auditors’ independence in the context of corporate accounting corruption based on gender of respondents