THE CREATION OF THE AUDITING PROFESSION IN GREECE

Traditionally, studies of the professionalization of auditors have hig hlighted how accountants used the state to advance their interests. Th is paper examines the emergence of the auditing profession in Greece a nd how it was used by the state to further its strategic interests dur ing the late 1940s and early 1950s period. The evidence presented show s that auditing was perceived as an instrument of both economic and po litical control as well as a legitimising device of the Greek governme nt at the time. Overall, it is argued that the Greek State initiated a professionalization project for auditors because it perceived auditin g as an effective instrument of social management rather than as an in strument to serve the needs of capital. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.