Educational interventions for teaching the new auditor independence rules

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 brought sweeping changes to the accounting profession. One important mandate was for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strengthen the rules of auditor independence. To meet its legal responsibility, the SEC issued Final Rule No. 68 [United States Securities and Exchange Commission (USSEC) (2003). Final Rule 68: Strengthening the commission’s requirements regarding auditor independence. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office [Issue Date: January 28, 2003 (www.sec.gov/rules/final/33-8183.htm and Retrieval Date: January 25, 2004)]], thereby adopting new independence rules for auditors of public companies.This paper provides accounting educators with a model and six educational interventions and supplemental resources for teaching independence. Methods and guidance for integrating the model into a one-semester auditing course are presented. Learning outcomes are presented and the effectiveness of the interventions for teaching independence to undergraduate accounting students is assessed. The outcomes show significant gains in learning and retention and students report a high level of learning benefit from and satisfaction with the independence project.