With PCAOB inspection rates at their most embarrassing ever these days, you'd think most educated people would not be all that confident in audits. Of course, most "normal" people don't stay up on PCAOB inspection rates.
We do, of course, which is why we thought it was hilarious that the Center for Audit Quality was able to find so many people who trust audited financial information. In the CAQ's 2014 Main Street Investor Survey, eighty percent of retail investors exhibited confidence in U.S. public companies, the highest level recorded since the CAQ began surveying on the topic in 2007. Investor confidence in U.S. capital markets has climbed to 73%, up 12 percentage points since 2011.
"These findings should encourage anyone with an interest in the health of our capital markets," said CAQ Executive Director Cindy Fornelli. "They bode well not just for investors, but for the entire U.S. economy, which relies on vibrant financial markets as an engine of capital formation and economic growth."
Of course she said that. It's her job to say that. If she said anything other than that, then we'd really have to get worried.
Now here's the truly hilarious part. These people surveyed express the most confidence in independent auditors:
Asked how much confidence they have in a number of different entities when it comes to effectiveness in looking out for investors’ interests, investors express the most confidence in independent auditors (75%), followed closely by audit committees (71%). They also show a robust level of confidence in stock exchanges: 70%, up from 48% in 2011.
75%, huh? That's approximately the same percentage of audits Deloitte managed to get right in 2013 of those inspected by the PCAOB.
Who are these clowns? And how can I get in touch with them? I have an awesome MLM opportunity I'd like to discuss with them.
