Introduction: Auditors‘ Legal Liability in the United States

J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Information Systems at Northwestern. I was asked by Professor Dan Spulber, editor of the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, to organize a special edition of the journal based on “The Liability Crisis in the U.S. and Its Impact on Accounting,” a conference sponsored by the Accounting Research Center, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, which was held April 7, 1993. All the presenters and panelists were requested to provide a version of their views for publication. Also included is one refereed research paper that is relevant to the main theme of fees and legal liabilities of the “Big 6” auditing firms. The author expresses his sincere appreciation to Professor Dan Spulber and MIT Press for providing this opportunity and to Ms. Betty Eccher for improving the presentation of this issue.