Beware of the Watchdog: Rethinking the Normative Justification of Gatekeeper Liability
| Autor: | Miguel Alzola |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
050502 law
Economics and Econometrics Legal liability 05 social sciences Liability Auditor independence General Business Management and Accounting Gatekeeping Misconduct Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Law 0502 economics and business Professional ethics Economics Normative Business and International Management Business ethics 050203 business & management 0505 law |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Business Ethics. 140:705-721 |
| ISSN: | 1573-0697 0167-4544 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10551-017-3460-3 |
| Popis: | One of the prevailing explanations of the corporate scandals of the Enron era and the recent financial crisis is the failure of professional gatekeepers—such as auditors, corporate lawyers, and securities analysts—to detect and disrupt corporate misconduct. The alleged solution to this failure—typically proposed and justified on consequentialist grounds—is to impose legal liability on professionals. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the normative foundations of gatekeeper liability. In the course of this paper, I shall defend the claim that gatekeeper liability may be morally objectionable not only on grounds of fairness but also on consequentialist grounds. The expected contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it systematizes the framing and moral justification of gatekeeping duties. Second, it calls into question the normative underpinnings for targeting intermediaries instead of primary wrongdoers. Third, it anticipates some negative (and often overlooked) results of gatekeeping strategies in the accounting profession, specifically in the realm of clientele selection, the expectation gap, and auditor compensation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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