The Knechel et al. (2015) paper is of considerable interest as (i) a scholarly study of the
population of private company statutory audits in Sweden and (ii) as a vehicle for study
of how independent research is used to inform and/or justify evidence-based standards to
protect investors.
To me, there are three major takeaways. First, predictive validity and especially external
validity considerations for audit production and reporting research are central for both
scholars and standards setters and worthy of study by our own Master of Accounting students.12
Second, independent researchers have an important public interest role in designing,
conducting, and effectively communicating research results and implications. Third, if
auditing standards are to be evidence based—and the PCAOB may be moving in this
direction by creating the Center for Economic Analysis (PCAOB 2013a), then standards
setters and regulators must be skeptical of research claims and may need independent
scholarly help to reliably evaluate research validity in the public interest