For accountants and auditors to honor these
imposed obligations, the audit must incorporate
both a rule-based assessment of the financial condition
of an audited entity and a principle-based
evaluation of the financial health of a firm as an
ongoing business entity and as a potential investment
opportunity. The fundamental duties implicit
in that role combine technical acumen and professionalism
essential to achieve precision, clarity in
providing enough information to insure transparency
regarding the audited entity’s financial condition,
and completeness and independence in
carrying out an audit comprehensive enough to
insure the integrity of the audit report. The role of
the audit function is ‘‘covenantal’’ to the degree
that the audit profession represents itself as a
guardian of public interest (Caldwell and Clapham,
2003: 249). As quid pro quo for being certified by
society as professional and competent, auditors
owe society a citizen’s duty (Manville and Ober,
2003) to follow principles as well as rules faithfully.
That ethical perspective will demand systemic
changes requiring a substantial modification in the
way that the business world views its duties and
obligations.