Mythical representations of trust in auditors and the preservation of social order in the financial community |
| |
Authors: | Bertrand Malsch Yves Gendron |
| |
Institution: | aFaculté des sciences de l’administration, Pavillon Palasis-Prince, 2325, rue de la Terrasse, Université Laval, Québec City (Québec), Canada G1V 0A6;bFaculté des sciences de l’administration, Pavillon Palasis-Prince, 2325, rue de la Terrasse, Office 6224, Université Laval, Québec City (Québec), Canada G1V 0A6 |
| |
Abstract: | The present paper investigates financial practitioners’ use and perception of audited financial statements. In-depth interviews, which we conducted with Canadian institutional investors, financial analysts and bankers, indicate: (1) a firm tendency to favour the quality of management over the content of financial statements in investment decisions and recommendation processes; and (2) a fundamental scepticism regarding the work of auditors. However, representations of auditor trustworthiness abound in formal texts surrounding the financial analysis domain—as if audited financial statements and the trust they convey towards numbers are indispensable to the work of financial analysts. Based on the work of Roland Barthes, we argue that financial practitioners’ trust in auditors constitutes a mythical representation whose main function is to maintain order and reproduce status quo within the financial system. |
| |
Keywords: | Financial practitioners Legitimacy Mythology Representations of trustworthiness Work practices |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|