RACE TO BELL THE CAT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SPANISH AND UNITED STATES’ AUDIT REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS

Abstract

Audit regulatory frameworks are responsible for establishing the standards and practices that govern auditing processes, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and accountability. Spain and the United States have distinct regulatory structures shaped by unique legal traditions and economic environments. Employing the doctrinal methodology, this study compares the audit regulatory frameworks of the United States and Spain. It first examines the history of audit regulation in both countries. It analyses the reach of the regulatory era initiated by the United States in the wake of the fall of Enron and its influence on Spain. With the internationalization of capital markets and audit practice understanding of auditor’s liability beyond our national boundaries is now a lawyer’s business imperative. This study found that formal audit regulation in Spain predates the US and recommends comprehension of law across national boundaries.