Client commitment (i.e.
commitment to provide services to auditees’ top
managers) therefore constitutes a significant aspect
of today’s work in the public accounting domain. It
is often assumed in auditing literature that a higher
commitment to satisfy the needs of corporate top
managers as ‘‘clients’’ obscures the relevance and
appropriateness of ethical values such as auditor
independence, which may come to be perceived as
obstacles to commercial success.9