The perception of the impact of advertising ban on independent auditors in terms of unfair competition: A case study from Turkey

Independent auditors not only fulfill the audit function for businesses but also engage in activities such as providing consultancy, supporting, and contributing to the establishment of internal control and audit systems within the organization. Unfair competition, on the other hand, refers to actions such as defamation, deception, and advertising carried out by professionals in order to get ahead of one another, reach more clients, or earn higher income. These actions can lead to disputes and damages among professionals and between professionals and their clients. The advertising ban has been introduced to prevent such situations, including slandering one another and distorting events, subjects, and services in terms of their nature and quality. Due to the limited number of studies conducted in this field, this study is expected to have a developmental impact on the practices of unfair competition and the advertising ban. The aim of the research is to measure auditors' level of awareness in order to propose practices that will prevent behaviors that violate the advertising ban and contribute to unfair competition.