772
Opinion of the Court
cial Committee on Solicitation (1981), App. 29. The Report contradicts, rather than strengthens, the Board's submissions. The AICPA Committee stated that it was "unaware of the existence of any empirical data supporting the theories that CPAs (a) are not independent of clients obtained by direct uninvited solicitation, or (b) do not maintain their independence in mental attitude toward those clients subjected to direct uninvited solicitation by another CPA." Id., at 4, App. 38. Louis Dooner's suggestion that solicitation of new accounts signals the need for work and invites an improper approach from the client ignores the fact that most CPA firms desire new clients. The AICPA Report discloses no reason to suspect that CPA's who engage in personal solicitation are more desperate for work, or would be any more inclined to compromise their professional standards, than CPA's who do not solicit, or who solicit only by mail or advertisement. With respect to the prospect of harassment or overreaching by CPA's, the report again acknowledges an "absence of persuasive evidence that direct uninvited solicitation by CPAs is likely to lead to false or misleading claims or oppressive conduct." Id., at 2, App. 35.
Other evidence concerning personal solicitation by CPA's also belies the Board's concerns. In contrast to the Board's anxiety over uninvited solicitation, the literature on the accounting profession suggests that the main dangers of compromised independence occur when a CPA firm is too dependent upon, or involved with, a longstanding client. See, e. g., P. Cottell & T. Perlin, Accounting Ethics 39-40 (1990); G. Previts, The Scope of CPA Services: A Study of the Development of the Concept of Independence and the Profession's Role in Society 142 (1985); S. Rep. No. 95-34, pp. 50-52 (1977); General Accounting Office, CPA Audit Quality: Status of Actions Taken to Improve Auditing and Financial Reporting of Public Companies 36 (Mar. 1989) (GAO/AFMD-89-38). It appears from the literature that a business executive who wishes to obtain a favorable but unjustified audit opinion
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