Investors more confident about auditors and markets

The confidence of U.S. investors in the U.S. capital markets reached a record high this year, according to an annual survey by the Center for Audit Quality, with high confidence expressed in auditors and audited financial statements.

Eighty-three percent of investors indicated they have confidence investing in U.S. publicly traded companies, a record high. Confidence in markets outside the U.S. also increased dramatically to 54 percent, up from 42 percent in 2016.

Seventy-eight percent of investors said they are confident in audited financial information released by public companies, a slight increase from 75 percent in 2016. Investors expressed exceptional degrees of confidence in the ability of external auditors (84 percent), audit committees (82 percent) and stock exchanges (82 percent) to carry out their investor protection roles.

Independent auditors continued to top the list of entities that investors said are effective in advancing investor protections.

“Main Street investor confidence soared to a new high in our survey this year,” said CAQ executive director Cindy Fornelli in a statement. “Investors place strong trust in America's market system, while also having high expectations and closely watching policy debates in Washington. The administration and Congress should heed our survey's list of investor concerns, which is topped by the growing national debt and the threat of cyber-attacks on the financial markets.”

Auditor protection of investors

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