ABSTRACT
Professor Ijiri expresses a popular viewpoint when he states that the data provided by accountants ‘directly affect the way in which conflicting interests are solved’. 1 This paper suggests that there is also a flow of influence in the opposite direction: the development of data is affected by the conflicting interests of its suppliers (management), its consumers (mainly shareholders and creditors), regulatory agencies and accounting bodies. Accordingly, their changing interests are reflected in the changing interpretation of the auditor’s role, i.e., of what is meant by a ‘fair’ view of a ‘company’s affairs’. The main references are the memoranda submitted to, and the reports of, the Company Law Committees in Britain since 1841.
