Corporate failures and accounting scandals have shaken the foundations of investors' confidence in the transparency, integrity and accountability of corporations and financial markets. There have also been public disquiet about the role of professional auditors and audit firms, who had been associated with these corporate scandals. Written from a global perspective, the book assists in understanding the gravity of independent attitude of statutory auditors in protecting stakeholders' interest and examines the effectiveness of the existing standards and other legal and regulatory requirements in enforcing statutory auditors' independent engagement. It then suggests modifications in those regulations. The study has been made through seven chapters in order to address empirically statutory auditors' independence in protecting stakeholders' interest. Primary audiences of the book are researchers in finance and control, students, andprofessionals in the field of accounting and auditing.

Chapter¿I: Introduction.- Chapter¿II: Regulatory and Ethical Framework for Statutory Auditors' Independence: A Review in Select Countries including India.- Chapter¿III: Statutory Auditors' Independence in Select Corporate Accounting Scandals since 1990: A Comparative Study.- Chapter¿IV: Perceptions of Respondents on Statutory Auditors' Independence in Corporate Accounting Scandals : An Empirical Analysis.- Chapter¿V: Ethical Responsibility of Statutory Auditors in the Backdrop of Corporate Accounting Scandals : An Analysis of Respondents' Perceptions'.- Chapter¿VI: Respondents' Perceptions on Quality Control Procedures for Statutory Financial Audit: A Survey.- Chapter¿VII: Concluding Observations and Suggestions.