Fearnley's book Behind Closed Doors: What Company Audit is Really About - written with University of Portsmouth colleague Richard Brandt and Professor Vivien Beattie of the University of Glasgow - is based on interviews with the finance directors of six UK listed companies and the audit engagement partners who conducted the audits.
Sponsored by the ICAEW, and published in 2001 (these awards aren't given out quickly are they) the book looked at the motivations of the parties in an audit, the relationship between the auditor and client, the contextual factors that influence an audit and strategies that are adopted.
I've not read it (something I intend to redress) but I understand a follow-up is planned, again with funding from the ICAEW.
Behind Closed Doors post Enron should be completed by 2009 and will look at the impact of recent regulatory change and on at whether the interactions between auditors and directors (and the integrity of the reporting process) have changed. Comparing the two should be fascinating.