This research examines the importance of previously identified factors (i.e., investor needs, client retention, professional values and obligations, and time budget pressures) on independence in two scenarios. The sample includes 198 auditors from Big 6 auditing firms located in Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Case 1 (2), auditor judgment (stockholders' reliance on the thoroughness of the audit) was the primary factor for doing more work prior to signing off on the audit. The second most important factor was fear of losing the client (time‐budget problems). Hofstede's (1980) individualism was associated with auditor judgment, fear of losing the client, and stockholders' reliance on the audit in Case 1 and relying on auditing rules in Case 2. Wingate's (1997) litigation index was higher for countries with reduced perceptions of the importance of auditing rules and the obligation to be an independent representative in Case 2.

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