Auditor independence and corporate governance: Ethical dilemmas

Auditors' primary function in society is as purveyors of opinions for reliable and relevant information. Many company failures have highlighted whether auditors have a conflict of interest problem. At the root of auditors' lack of independence, issues are conflicts of interest resulting from the structural features of auditor-client relationship. The throughput model is advanced in order to explain how six dominant ethical positions deal with conflicts of interest problems and corporate governance issues. Finally, a discussion of potential solutions to improve ethical issues is offered for future research.