Despite increased emphasis on principle-based
verbiage about audit independence, the creation of
the PCAOB, and establishment of additional rulebased
standards on audit firms, the decision to act
ethically in conducting audits is likely to be made
internally within each firm and followed by a careful
review of commonly held ethical perspectives that
may provide a valuable insight into why auditors and
auditing firms are seduced by a rule-based interpretation
of their audit responsibilities.