The most serious consequences stemming from such a
misunderstanding are that the independent auditor can quickly be portrayed as
the force that represents all good in financial accounting and the guarantor of
anything positive anyone wants to feel about a given company.

1. Why is
public accounting often viewed as a guarantor of results or even as a provider
of assurance that one’s investment is of high quality?

2. To what
extent is it reasonable to view the auditor as a guarantor? Explain.

3. How does
the auditing profession work to create or communicate a reasonable set of
expectations that users should hold?

4. To what
extent do you believe that user expectations of the public accounting
profession appear to you to be unwarranted? Explain.