This student work contains description and application of complete audit works. This student work is divided into two parts, the theoretical and the practical one. In the theoretical one I was interested in basic principles of audit, such as definition, functions, legal requirements and detailed actions during the whole process of audit. All mentioned procedures are applied in the practical part of my work. The true and fair view, especially whether financial statements present fairly in all material respects the assets, liabilities and financial position of the audited company, Company{\crq}s acting in accordance with law and verification of audit documentation are the main goals of the student work.

Auditors use substantive analytical procedures to make assertions about the adequacy and appropriateness of client balances. The analytical procedure process consists of auditors creating independent account expectations and corroborating unusual fluctuations through obtaining and evaluating additional audit evidence. Prior analytical procedure research has found that knowledge of clients' unaudited account balances biases auditors' expectations towards the current year figures. However, this research has failed to examine the impact of biased expectations on the subsequent stages of analytical procedures. This dissertation assesses the full impact of biased account expectations on auditors' use of analytical procedures. I experimentally test the hypotheses of my dissertation through administering an experiment to senior level auditors. After inducing an account expectation bias that favors the client account balance in half the participants, I examine the auditors' cognitive investigation into an unusual account fluctuation. The results indicate that a biased account expectation negatively affects auditors' judgment quality. In particular, a biased expectation leads auditors to favor hypotheses and additional information that supports the proposition that the client's balance is reasonably stated. Alternatively, auditors with unbiased account expectations are more willing to consider all hypotheses and are able to identify the most pertinent additional information to the decision task. As a result of the different decision strategies employed, auditors who form unbiased account expectations are significantly more likely than auditors with biased account expectations to identify the correct relationship among the underlying data and the proposed hypotheses during a substantive analytical procedure.

The primary purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the perceptions of college and university auditors concerning the importance of selected factors associated with operational auditing. The secondary purpose was to determine whether the perceptions of certified auditors differ significantly from those of noncertified auditors. Selected factors associated with operational auditing for colleges and universities were categorized in three attribute groups—organizational, personal, and environmental. The identification of organizational and personal attributes was based mainly on concepts set forth in the Standard for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing published by the Institute of Internal Auditors (1978). Identification of environmental attributes was based on a review of the relevant literature, as well as on discussions with selected college and university auditors. Each attribute, whether categorized as organizational, personal, or environmental, was used as a basis for the identification of detailed factors associated with operational auditing. The findings of this study reveal that factors dealing with organizational attributes were perceived as considerably more favorable than were factors dealing with personal or environmental attributes. With regard to the secondary purpose of this research, a total of 14 hypotheses were developed and subjected to t-tests to determine whether the perceptions of certified auditors differed significantly from those of noncertified auditors. Of the 14 hypotheses tested, there were no significant differences between perceptions of the two groups concerning the importance of independence, audit plan, audit program, audit supervision, continuing education, training, audit follow-up, objectivity, technical competence, experience, and interpersonal skills. Certified auditors perceived attributes that deal with audit report and professional certification to be more important to operational auditing than did their noncertified counterparts. With regard to the importance of a knowledge and understanding of the higher education environment (i.e., knowledge of characteristics uniquely identifiable with institutions of higher education) to operational auditing, certified auditors perceived this attribute less favorably than did noncertified auditors.

Digitization has fundamentally changed the auditing profession. Audits are now performed using digital systems and tools that have revolutionized the audit process. Digitization has created opportunities to carry out a simplified audit process by simplifying the working method. For the leading audit firms, it is a basic precondition to adopt the digital tools in order to maintain competitiveness. This study aims to investigate and describe how digitalisation has changed the working methods of the audit process at the leading audit firms. The question asked in the study is how it has changed and what will be investigated is which working methods have changed and what the change has been. The study is characterized by aqualitative research approach in which eight semi-structured interviews were conducted, which together with the study's theoretical frame of reference form the basis for the study's produced results. Previous research states that working methods have changed and that this is the basis for the revision process, thus surveys are carried out with the results as a basis for ensuring the previous research. The results indicate that the audit process has been facilitated with the help of the digital tools that the audit firms' IT department works with to design. The working methods have changed because the auditor, with the help of digital tools and systems, has been given a different communication system and the handling of data has been facilitated. The result of the digitization also frees up time for the auditor, who devotes more value-creating time to the client, which may involve work as an advisor

The research set out to describe how professional attributes (PAs) can be nurtured during the teaching and learning of auditing technical content in an open distance learning (ODL) environment. First the research described the necessity to include PAs in the academic programme. This was followed by describing the relevance of PAs during the performance of an audit and identifying and describing the PAs that an entry-level registered auditor are expected to demonstrate. The main categories of PAs identified were: professional demeanour, critical reasoning and communication. The University of South Africa was selected as the ODL institution and data were collected through individual interviews with auditing lecturers and a focus group discussion with auditing students. Tesch’s open method of descriptive coding was used for data analysis. Generic recommendations to nurture PAs and specific recommendations to nurture professional demeanour, critical reasoning and communication while teaching and learning auditing technical content in an ODL environment were proposed. / Auditing / M. Com. (Auditing)

The research set out to describe how professional attributes (PAs) can be nurtured during the teaching and learning of auditing technical content in an open distance learning (ODL) environment. First the research described the necessity to include PAs in the academic programme. This was followed by describing the relevance of PAs during the performance of an audit and identifying and describing the PAs that an entry-level registered auditor are expected to demonstrate. The main categories of PAs identified were: professional demeanour, critical reasoning and communication. The University of South Africa was selected as the ODL institution and data were collected through individual interviews with auditing lecturers and a focus group discussion with auditing students. Tesch’s open method of descriptive coding was used for data analysis. Generic recommendations to nurture PAs and specific recommendations to nurture professional demeanour, critical reasoning and communication while teaching and learning auditing technical content in an ODL environment were proposed. / Auditing / M. Com. (Auditing)

Idag råder en företagsmiljö som består av digitaliserade strukturer i form av informations- och affärssystem där den digitala informationen är central. Den nya företagsmiljön kräver enligt forskningen nya metoder för utvärdering och rapportering. Medan digitaliseringen kommit långt i utveckling inom företagande och samhället i stort så har redovisnings- och revisionsmetoder stått stilla.Ett koncept som har kommit att bli aktuellt i tomrummet mellan digitaliseringens framväxt och revisionsmetoders traditionella utförande är Continuous Auditing. Konceptet har forskats kring under en relativt lång tid, varvid förhoppningen var att företag skulle ta till sig konceptet och byta ut sina omoderna revisionsmetoder. Bland annat förespråkas att revisionen borde utföras på ett mer proaktivt sätt och att automatiserade lösningar ska ersätta manuella utföranden. Undersökningar har visat på att Continuous Auditing enbart har tillämpats i en begränsad utsträckning. Syftet med denna studie är därmed att utreda varför så är fallet genom att undersöka huvudanvändarna, internrevisorernas inställning till konceptet.För att genomföra undersökningen tillämpar denna studie en kvalitativ forskningsansats med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med internrevisorer. Intervjuerna och analysen kring dessa har utgått ifrån en teoretisk referensram bestående av tidigare litteratur och forskning inom internrevision, Continuous auditing och teori kring teknologitillämpning.Bland annat ger resultatet uttryck för att studiens internrevisorer är öppna för att införa närliggande koncept och upplever att det finns ett behov av att införa sådana i företag. Däremot råder det tveksamheter kring vilka användarna av sådana koncept ska vara. / There is a discussion about the current way of conducting business that contains a digitalized structure in the form of information- and enterprise systems where the digital information is vital. According to research this new environment requires new methods for measurement and reporting. While the development of the digitalization in businesses and society has gone far, the accounting and auditing methods have not.One concept that has become relevant in the process of digitalization is Continuous Auditing. There has been research about the concept for a while and there was a hope that businesses would start adopting it and switch from traditional auditing methods. For instance, the research has spoken about the possibility to do auditing in a more proactive way and implement automated technology. However, the research has shown that the concept only has been implemented in a few cases. This study has the purpose to examine why through examining the main users, the internal auditors` attitudes towards the concept.This study has applied a qualitative approach with the help of semi-structured interviews with internal auditors. The interviews and the analysis have been formed by previous literature and conducted research on internal auditing, continuous auditing and also theory about technology adoption.For instance, the results of this study were that internal auditors are willing to adopt similar concepts and are feeling the need to implement such. However, it is unclear whether the users should be internal auditors.

Idag råder en företagsmiljö som består av digitaliserade strukturer i form av informations- och affärssystem där den digitala informationen är central. Den nya företagsmiljön kräver enligt forskningen nya metoder för utvärdering och rapportering. Medan digitaliseringen kommit långt i utveckling inom företagande och samhället i stort så har redovisnings- och revisionsmetoder stått stilla. Ett koncept som har kommit att bli aktuellt i tomrummet mellan digitaliseringens framväxt och revisionsmetoders traditionella utförande är Continuous Auditing. Konceptet har forskats kring under en relativt lång tid, varvid förhoppningen var att företag skulle ta till sig konceptet och byta ut sina omoderna revisionsmetoder. Bland annat förespråkas att revisionen borde utföras på ett mer proaktivt sätt och att automatiserade lösningar ska ersätta manuella utföranden. Undersökningar har visat på att Continuous Auditing enbart har tillämpats i en begränsad utsträckning. Syftet med denna studie är därmed att utreda varför så är fallet genom att undersöka huvudanvändarna, internrevisorernas inställning till konceptet. För att genomföra undersökningen tillämpar denna studie en kvalitativ forskningsansats med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med internrevisorer. Intervjuerna och analysen kring dessa har utgått ifrån en teoretisk referensram bestående av tidigare litteratur och forskning inom internrevision, Continuous auditing och teori kring teknologitillämpning. Bland annat ger resultatet uttryck för att studiens internrevisorer är öppna för att införa närliggande koncept och upplever att det finns ett behov av att införa sådana i företag. Däremot råder det tveksamheter kring vilka användarna av sådana koncept ska vara. / There is a discussion about today’s current way of conducting business that contains a digitalized structure in the form of information- and enterprise systems where the digital information is vital. According to research this new environment requires new methods for measurement and reporting. While the development of the digitalization in businesses and society has gone far, the accounting and auditing methods have not. One concept that has become relevant in the process of digitalization is Continuous Auditing. There has been research about the concept for a while and there was a hope that businesses would start adopting it and switch from traditional auditing methods. For instance, the research has spoken about the possibility to do auditing in a more proactive way and implement automated technology. However, the research has shown that the concept only has been implemented in a few cases. This study has the purpose to examine why through examining the main users, the internal auditors` attitudes towards the concept. This study has applied a qualitative approach with the help of semi-structured interviews with internal auditors. The interviews and the analysis have been formed by previous literature and conducted research on internal auditing, continuous auditing and also theory about technology adoption. For instance, the results of this study were that internal auditors are willing to adopt similar concepts and are feeling the need to implement such. However, it is unclear whether the users should be internal auditors.

Revisionspliktens avskaffande -En jämförelse mellan en liten och en stor revisionsbyrå Datum: 15 januari 2013 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi/redovisning, 15 ECTS Institution: Akademin för hållbar samhälls- och teknikutveckling, HST Författare: Nicklas Erngren Annica Larsson Mariah Wahlgren Titel: Revisionspliktens avskaffande -En jämförelse mellan en liten och en stor revisionsbyrå Handledare: Angelina Sundström Nyckelord: revisionsplikt, revision, revisionsbyrå, revisor, små företag, framtidsmöjligheter Frågeställning: Hur har revisionsbyråerna förändrats genom revisionspliktens avskaffande? Hur har storleken på revisionsbyråerna inverkat på tjänsternas utbud? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva skillnader och likheter i hur revisionsbyråerna förändrat sitt utbud av tjänster och vilka andra förändringar de gjort efter avskaffandet av revisionsplikten för små företag. För att uppnå syftet och besvara forskningsfrågorna har två revisionsbyråer studerats. Metod: För att besvara forskningsfrågorna och uppfylla syftet har två gruppintervjuer gjorts med Lars Lönnkvist och Barbro Andersson på Revisorsknuten och Sara Keyser och Magnus Hallberg på PwC i Nyköping. Intervjuerna gick ut på att ta reda på vad respektive revisionsbyrå gjort för förändringar av sitt utbud efter avskaffandet av revisionsplikten. I analysdelen har sedan svaren ställts mot varandra för att se vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan den stora(PwC) och den lilla (Revisorsknuten) revisionsbyrån. Slutsats: Studien visar att det finns likheter i de förändringar som gjorts bland annat ett större fokus på redovisningstjänster än tidigare. Båda revisionsbyråerna har haft hand om redovisning tidigare men har nu gått över till att marknadsföra dem tydligare. Det finns även skillnader i byråernas förändringar av tjänster, där PwC satsar på helhetslösningar som ska vara lätt tillgängliga och ha tydliga priser så har Revisorsknuten satsat mer på att bjuda ut den kunskap byrån besitter till företag som behöver kvalificerade medarbetare fort. / Removal of audit requirement –a comparative study between large and small auditing firm Date: January 15th 2013 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration/Accounting, 15 ECTS Institution: School of Sustainable development of society and technology, Mälardalen University Authors: Nicklas Erngren Annica Larsson Mariah Wahlgren Title: Removal of audit requirement –a comparative study between large and small auditing firm Tutor: Angelina Sundström Keywords: mandatory auditing, auditing, auditing firm, auditor, small business, future opportunities Research questions: How has the audit firms changed after the removal of the audit requirement? How has the size of the audit firm affected the content of their services? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the differences and similarities in how audit firms handling their services and what other changes they made after the removal of the audit requirement. To achieve the purpose and answer the research questions, two audit firms have been studied. Method: The empirical data has been collected through two group interviews with Lars Lönnkvist and Barbro Andersson at Revisorsknuten and Sara Keyser and Magnus Hallberg at PwC in Nyköping. The purpose of the interviews was to find out how each firm had changed their services after removal of the audit requirement. The result from the interviews was then set against each other in the analysis chapter to find out similarities and differences between the large (PwC) and the small (Revisorsknuten) auditing firm. Conclusion: The study shows that there are similarities in the changes that have been made. Both auditing firms have made greater focus on accounting services than before. They have both had accounting services in the past but they are now marketing themselves better than before. There are also differences in the changes the firms have made. Where PwC is investing in a complete customer solutions that are easily accessible and have clear and easy to understand rates. Revisorsknuten have a plan to offer their expertise to other companies in need of qualified employees quickly.

Load growth projections on South Africa's electricity demand indicate that Eskom's spare capacity will be eroded by the year 2005. In the late 1960s South Africa experienced electricity shortages and Eskom embarked on a program to build large coal fired power stations, to ensure that South Africa would have sufficient electricity capacity to meet the envisaged high growth rate. With sanctions being imposed on South Africa, the demand was much less than predicted and in the late 1980s South Africa had an excess of generating capacity, which resulted in some power stat ions being mothballed. Due to the increased economic growth after the 1994 elections and Eskom's electrification drive, there has been an increase in demand and the excess capacity has diminished. From past experiences, the lead time to build a power station varies with the type of power station. For large fossil, nuclear and hydro plants, the lead time is in excess of six years. Gas fired stations can have a lead time of less than three years. An option to defer the building of new power stations to meet this expected shortfall in demand is Demand Side Management (DSM). Eskom has already begun initiating a DSM program to try and defer the expected demand shortfall. From a university perspective there have been cutbacks in funding from government. For this reason tertiary institutions have been forced to review the way in which they manage their operating costs. A large tertiary institution spends a substantial portion of their facilities budget providing utility service to the campus. At most universities, 20 % or more of the annual utility budget is for electricity. In many facilities operations, tremendous potential exists to improve on energy efficiency and resource conservation and to reduce electricity costs. The management of energy tended not to feature very high on the list of priorities of tertiary institutions. Therefore targeting electricity for cost reductions in a campus environment makes sense. Additionally the historically low electricity price in South Africa, coupled with economic isolation meant that there is a proliferation of inefficient energy technologies present. The University of KwaZulu-Natal campuses (Medical, Pietermaritzburg, Howard College and Edgewood) spend about R 8 million per year in electricity expenditure. This constitutes about 5.8 % of the annual operational costs for the above mentioned centres (excluding salaries and capital expenditure). Not only is energy consumption a significant cost to the university, but energy use at the university also contributes to the depletion of natural resources and environmental problems associated with energy production and processing. The work presented in this thesis is the first step towards the establishment of what has become the formal energy management program at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A comprehensive energy audit was conducted and metering of the mini substations was subsequently introduced. The readings from these meters, together with the results of the energy audit, are analysed. A successful case study involving energy efficient lighting technology implemented on the campus main library is also discussed. Energy savings of approximately R 220 000 per annum has been realised from the implementation of this case study. Conservative estimates to retrofit all the existing luminaires, with more modem efficient luminaires, show that the lighting system demand component can be reduced by approximately 600 kW. The audit has revealed loads that can be potentially shifted without adversely affecting regular campus activities. The air-conditioning load has been identified as an area where considerable savings can be attained. The ability to conservatively reduce the base load will realise savings in excess of R 100 000 per annum (2002 costs) and merely requires an awareness campaign to be instituted at minimal cost. The specific objectives of the study are given in the table below: 1. To conduct an energy audit to identify major energy users on campus. Object achieved: YES. 2. To establish a database of historical energy consumption data for each building on the Howard College campus. Object achieved: YES. 3. To further investigate the larger users of energy and quantify their energy consumption, and identify trends, where possible. Object achieved: YES. 4. To make recommendations where possible, for savings to be made. Object achieved: Yes. 5. To implement a case study demonstrating that energy management is a viable option. Object achieved: YES. As can be seen from the above table, all of the objectives were met. This analysis forms the basis of future efforts in the energy management program at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.