Australian corporate collapse : the case of HIH

"Australia's current financial reporting framework is recognised as amongst the world's best, but this obviously did not and cannot offer immunity from corporate failure" (Larsen, 2002). There are numerous individual factors that can and are impacting on the reporting framework and should be addressed. Specifically, the auditor's role is to add credibility to the financial reports prepared and signed off by the company's directors and to provide a high level of assurance that the financial reports are free from material misstatement. Auditors may be unfairly or harshly judged for not foreseeing the collapse and warning the market/shareholders. In some instances there are clear cases of complacency on the auditors' part or outright negligence on the part of the auditor. The HIH Insurance collapse during 2001 has significantly influenced the audit profession, especially in the area of audit independence, audit committee and the legal liabilities of auditors. However, this case leads to a number of lessons to be learnt regarding the audit profession and responsibilities of auditors.