Politics and the Public Accounting Profession in the U.S.: Implications for the Federal Regulation of Auditing and Financial Reporting

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the involvement of the U.S. public accounting profession in federal politics and to focus attention on the extent to which the profession engages with federal legislators and other policymakers to influence public policy. In the essay, I discuss and present evidence regarding the profession's use of political strategies such as making political campaign contributions and lobbying federal legislators and regulators. The profession's political efforts are then examined within the context of their self-proclaimed commitment to the public interest. I conclude that the public accounting profession's extensive involvement in federal politics works principally to protect its own professional interests and favors conservative, pro-business agendas. As a result, broader public interest responsibilities are often neglected. Although the profession deserves the right to participate in public policy debates, its parochial and patronage orientation does not resonate well with its self-proclaimed professional cornerstones of independence and integrity.

Citation

Roberts, R.W. (2006), "Politics and the Public Accounting Profession in the U.S.: Implications for the Federal Regulation of Auditing and Financial Reporting", Lehman, C.R. (Ed.) Independent Accounts (Advances in Public Interest Accounting, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 85-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1041-7060(06)12006-4