THE REALITY OF AUDITORS' INDEPENDENCE IN THE GAMBIA - CONFRONTING THE KEY PLAYERS

Abstract

There has not been any publicized corporate scandal involving auditors in the Gambia unlike various reported cases in the WEST (Enron and others). Does this mean that auditors in the Gambia are more objective, independent and competent than their western counterparts? This study therefore sought to investigate the reality of auditors' independence in The Gambia by administering 25 Likert-type questionnaires to participants in Augustus Prom, PKF, D.T Associates including Eco Bank and legal practitioners in December 2018. Respondents were also drawn from Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) and students. Simple frequency distribution and percentage were used to analyze the data in order to obtain the views of sampled stakeholders. The study is important because it will reveal the state of auditor independence in The Gambian audit environment. The findings showed that 68% of the audit reports are biased according to the respondents. Therefore, the research concluded that auditors in The Gambia are yet to be fully independent. This is the reality.