Should we care about who owns audit firms?

Audit firms have long been owned by their individual partners and have described their activity as a "profession" rather than an "industry." But partly in response to the need for higher investments in areas such as technology and compliance, an increasing number of firms have opened up to private equity and other financial investors. How might this shift influence the quality of financial reporting?

Joining this episode of Financial Statements are:

HOST

Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

GUESTS

Maria Nykyforovych Borysoff
Assistant Professor of Accounting, Costello College of Business, George Mason University

Liza McAndrew Moberg
Former Director of International Affairs, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board