The SEC has been concerned with the "independence" of external auditing firms. It is especially con

cerned about how large nonaudit (such as consulting) fees might impact how aggressively auditing

firms pursue accounting issues they uncover in their audits. Congress passed legislation that prohibits

accounting firms from providing both consulting and auditing services to the same client. How might

consulting fees affect auditor independence? What other conflicts of interest might exist for auditors?

How do these conflicts impact the governance process