Section 45 of the Auditing Profession Act: Blowing the whistle for audit quality?

This study responds to the calls for more practically-orientated research which does not hesitate to open the ‘black box’ of audit practice. Using detailed interviews, the research provides insights into how a legislated duty for South African auditors to report certain irregularities to an independent regulator may be a means of improving audit quality and widening the scope of information made available to stakeholders. The legislation is not, however, without its limitations. Where the reporting requirement is applied in a legalistic fashion, or adhered to merely for the sake of professional appearance, notions of the auditor blow the whistle in the public interest may be more symbolic than pragmatic. This is relevant, not only for academics wanting to understand the functioning of the audit practice in the largely neglected African context. The reporting requirement, as an example of the interaction between audit practice and external regulation of the profession, has implications for policy makers when examining how arms-length regulation can be used as a means of enhancing the quality of audit engagements and relevance of audit reports.