The failure of auditor independence

The collapse of Enron represents a pivotal point in U.S. business history. While many deficiencies in the U.S. business model have been highlighted, perhaps the key failure that has become salient is the failure of our auditing system to create true independence. We provide a brief history of attempts to create true independence. We provide a brief history of attempts to create and prevent auditor independence in the U.S., and then outline the critical cognitive, structural, legislative, and political barriers to true independence.