Investors need to stop imagining auditors or anyone else offers fraud protection

Several companies boasting Big Four accounting firms as auditors have emerged as fraudulent, leading many to wonder what value auditors bring to an investors' understanding of a company. The big issue is that auditors have little obligation to detect fraud at companies they audit, and neither it seems does anyone else. Until they do, investors need to stop believing a Big Four sign-off is a seal of approval. In fact, for a system supposedly built with its own reputation in mind, developed markets have offered investors very little protection.