Evaluating the Effectiveness of External Auditors for Public Limited Companies in Malawi

Abstract

The roles and liabilities of public accountants (audit firms) are limited to the members (shareholders) or those charged with corporate governance (such as trustees) of a particular firm as clearly affirmed in International Standard on Auditing (ISA 200) – Objectives of the auditor. The results of this study however suggest that significant business is denominated by only two international audit firms in Malawi. This could be a potential source of conflict as the dominant public accountants firms may not have sufficient resources to effectively undertake quality control measures and avoid accidental or intentional leaking of sensitive information between or among competitors. Regulatory authorities should explore means of protecting shareholders.