As a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis, the European Commission recently reformed the audit market. One objective was to restore public trust in the auditing profession and thus to enhance the audit function. This study investigates whether perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality are influenced by audit firm rotation, auditor retention and joint audits, because regulators argue that these instruments can improve auditor independence and audit quality. Therefore, we conduct an experiment with bank directors and institutional investors in Germany. The results indicate a negative main effect for joint audits on perceived auditor independence, and that a rotation cycle of 24 years marginally significantly impairs participant perceptions of audit quality, compared to a rotation cycle of only ten years. Besides the main effects, planned contrast tests suggest a negative interaction between rotation and joint audit on participant perceptions of auditor independence. Moreover, a negative interaction effect is revealed between rotation after 24 years and retention on perceptions of audit quality. It is particularly noteworthy that we failed to identify a positive impact of the regulatory measures taken or supported by the European Commission on perceptions of auditor independence and audit quality.
In metal forming, lubricants are still used to prevent corrosion, to reduce friction, wear and tool load as well as to protect the workpieces and intermediates. In economic and ecological points of view, the challenge is the avoidance of lubricant usage. Within this article we define the term of dry metal forming, a technology which contributes an approach to establish green technology in mass production. Regarding this, the benefits of this technology are shown. Three different approaches exist to achieve a dry forming process: ceramic tools, self-lubricating coating systems and hard material coatings. Concerning this matter, the state of research in dry metal forming is reviewed within this paper.
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