Investor fears over 'aggressive" accounting More than half, 56pc, of those polled said that the numbers in preliminary results statements, which are market-moving, should be signed off by auditors. Investors questioned the independence of companies" audit committees, with just 26pc agreeing they were sufficiently independent of management. Less than half (46pc) agreed auditors were sufficiently independent. Those polled were also keen for auditors to review how companies had reached valuations on which their directors" pay packets hinge. However, some participants warned against imposing new assurance standards which might have the unwanted result of companies making fewer disclosures. Richard Sexton, deputy global assurance leader at PwC, said: "We ignore those views at our peril but they need to be put alongside other stakeholders" positions to see what is possible. Any solution will need to balance carefully the standardisation that rules create with the flexibility that companies need in order to express themselves. PwC interviewed 104 investors and analysts to compile the survey.