TY - JOUR
T1 - Neither takers nor makers
T2 - The Big-4 auditing firms as regulatory intermediaries
AU - Herman, Lior
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/8/1
Y1 - 2020/8/1
N2 - What are regulatory intermediaries? What roles do regulatory intermediaries play? What is the basis of their regulatory capacity and authority? This article examines these questions by focusing on the Big-4 international audit firms in the context of harmonizing international financial reporting standards. I argue that regulatory intermediaries perform a variety of regulatory market failure correcting functions for both regulatory makers and takers. Intermediation is far from being secondary to the regulatory process, and intermediaries, particularly those of transnational nature, have a pivotal role. Furthermore, regulatory intermediaries, as exemplified in the case of the Big-4, continuously challenge the primacy of the state, and the division of labor and balance of power between regulatory actors. Regulatory entrepreneurship and activism, coupled with unique organizational model based on global networks of partnerships, have led to the ascension of the Big-4 to unprecedented regulatory and market powers.
AB - What are regulatory intermediaries? What roles do regulatory intermediaries play? What is the basis of their regulatory capacity and authority? This article examines these questions by focusing on the Big-4 international audit firms in the context of harmonizing international financial reporting standards. I argue that regulatory intermediaries perform a variety of regulatory market failure correcting functions for both regulatory makers and takers. Intermediation is far from being secondary to the regulatory process, and intermediaries, particularly those of transnational nature, have a pivotal role. Furthermore, regulatory intermediaries, as exemplified in the case of the Big-4, continuously challenge the primacy of the state, and the division of labor and balance of power between regulatory actors. Regulatory entrepreneurship and activism, coupled with unique organizational model based on global networks of partnerships, have led to the ascension of the Big-4 to unprecedented regulatory and market powers.
KW - Big-4
KW - IFRS
KW - regulatory intermediaries
KW - standard-setting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074682575&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1032373219875219
DO - 10.1177/1032373219875219
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AN - SCOPUS:85074682575
SN - 1032-3732
VL - 25
SP - 349
EP - 374
JO - Accounting History
JF - Accounting History
IS - 3
ER -