It is of utmost importance to the profession that the general public maintain confidence in the independence of independent auditors. Public confidence would be impaired by evidence that independence was actually lacking, and it might also be impaired by the existence of circumstances which reasonable people might believe likely to influence independence. To be independent, the auditor must be intellectually honest; to be recognized as independent, he must be free from any obligation to or interest in the client, its management, or its owners. For financial institutions, the most common services performed by external auditors that require independence include audits of financial statements, audits of internal control over financial reporting, and attestations on managements assessment of internal control over financial reporting. By being independent, an auditor is more qualified to approach the audit process objectively and perform the task with integrity. An independent audit offers company shareholders an expert, unbiased opinion