The UK Competition Commission in its report stressed that external auditing should be completely independent, and auditors should be seen by customers as third-party inspectors, rather than corporate advisers. The Commission has expressed concern that in its work, auditors are more interested in the interests of the company’s top management than its investors that is, they advocate the senior management of the company and not its shareholders.
According to experts from the UK Competition Commission, in order for clients to perceive the conclusions and results of the work of auditors as reliable and trustworthy, the audit firm must first of all ensure the consistently high quality of its services.
It is also necessary to maintain clear and high-quality communications with clients - shareholders of the company, to explain, if necessary, their role as an external auditor, to skilfully combine their own standards and requirements with the expectations of customers.
In addition, it is very important for an external auditor to maintain their own reputation at an appropriate level. After all, shortcomings in working with one client can become known to the general public, for example, if the regulator will detect violations not marked by the auditor. And this, in turn, can undermine the trust of other customers of the relevant audit firm.
And most importantly, clients should feel that the auditor cares about the interests of the company, rather than concentrating only on their own profits. For this purpose, he/she must give each client enough human and material resources, maintain constant communication, and look for the most optimal solutions for the company to eliminate the identified shortcomings.