Tort Reform, SAS58, And Auditor Liability: Is There An Interaction?

One of the major concerns of the auditing profession is its increasing exposure to litigation, particularly with parties not historically considered to have privity under contract law. A major reason for the increase in lawsuits against accounting firms is that they are often the only survivors in a multiparty action when a company fails. In an attempt to reduce the disparity between the perceptions of the profession and the public as to the responsibilities of an independent auditor, the AICPA issued SAS58, one of the “Expectation Gap” auditing standards. SAS58 changed the wording of the standard unqualified auditor’s report, but did not alter the underlying audit process or the auditor’s responsibility for the audited financial statements. Previous research suggests that jurors’ assessments of liability in audit failure suits have not been affected by SAS58. However, this research was based on a “join and several” liability model, and did not address the possibility that SAS58, in conjunction with tort reform legislation, may modify jurors’ perceptions of auditor liability. The present study was designed to explore that interaction