To ascertain the purpose and value of audit in the public-sector corporations, this study was done to explore the needs and perception of audit value likewise to analyse the perception of stakeholders like auditees and the society on the value of the audit conducted by the external auditors in Liberia. A qualitative method was used to collect and analyse the empirical data used in this study. The findings of this study have proven that the need of audit in the public-sector corporations is for accountability and transparency but mainly for legitimacy as government must work along with other stakeholders like public entities to respond to the needs of its citizen. Furthermore, this studying has proven that, indeed audit can add value in the public sectors. In Liberia, the audit conducted by GAC is of great value to all stakeholder as auditors are identifying and reporting on the exact performance of the resource allocation and program implemented in the public corporations.

p. 1-137 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-02-26T16:35:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 333.pdf: 908853 bytes, checksum: cbfdcdd026a63902fa24fee21fb4862d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima(tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2013-03-14T19:34:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 333.pdf: 908853 bytes, checksum: cbfdcdd026a63902fa24fee21fb4862d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-03-14T19:34:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 333.pdf: 908853 bytes, checksum: cbfdcdd026a63902fa24fee21fb4862d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Este estudo objetivou investigar se a auditoria operacional, promovida pelo Tribunal de Contas do Estado de Pernambuco (TCE/PE), tem contribuído para a melhoria da gestão pública e quais os resultados concretos da auditoria operacional realizada na Agência Estadual de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos (CPRH). A pesquisa parte da premissa que os Tribunais de Contas do Brasil passaram a ter um novo papel, ampliando a fiscalização das ações governamentais para além dos aspectos legais, identificando a presença, nessas ações, de eficiência, eficácia, economicidade e efetividade e, que este tipo de auditoria pode ser capaz de contribuir para o fortalecimento dos controles internos e aperfeiçoamento dos procedimentos e rotinas dos órgãos auditados, além de proporcionar uma interação com gestores públicos. Para a concretização dos objetivos propostos, este estudo consistiu na realização do estudo de caso da experiência de auditoria operacional do TCE/PE na CPRH, utilizando a pesquisa documental e entrevistas semi-estruturadas. O estudo analisou como os gestores e técnicos das entidades envolvidas percebem a auditoria operacional, se os problemas encontrados pela equipe de auditoria refletiram as deficiências identificadas pela Agência, se as recomendações sugeridas foram implementadas e, tendo sido, verificar benefícios e/ou prejuízos abordados pela Instituição. Embora tenham sido identificadas algumas fragilidades no desenvolvimento dos trabalhos de auditoria operacional realizados pelo TCE/PE, que requerem ainda aperfeiçoamento, a pesquisa apurou resultados positivos para a CPRH após a realização desta auditoria. / Salvador

Business organizations disclose financial Information to a wide range of audiences through the medium of audited financial statements. Distinct classes of readers come in contact with these statements—each reader possessing varying degrees of financial expertise. Readers as "semantic reactors" develop their own expectations and interpretations of the messages management and the auditor are attempting to convey. In the process, many readers look upon the auditor's report as a "symbol" or seal of approval. The purposes of this study were to assess the role that communication theory plays In the auditor's attestation, to examine the perceived communication effects of the expanded auditor's certificate versus the current auditor's certificate, and to recommend ways in which communication problems can be dealt with more effectively. It was concluded that a communication problem does exist in relation to the auditor's report, and communication theory can play a distinctive role in reducing the magnitude of this problem. The profession should continue to seek answers as to the proper role of the auditor and management in relation to audited financial statements, as well as to settle the question concerning whom the statements are intended to serve.

Auditing is to provide stakeholders with reliable information from the entities. However, society has different expectations and perceptions on the auditing profession which leads to an expectation gap. The existence of the expectation gap is critical and may seriously damage the auditors’ reputation and the auditing profession as a whole. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is an expectation gap between business administration students and the auditing profession. In this study, business administration students’ expectations and perceptions of the auditing profession will be investigated. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether the track that the students have chosen to specialize in, work experience, year they are attending and if their grades have an impact on their knowledge-level and in turn on their expectations and perceptions on the auditing profession. An investigation model of these four factors is presented and tested through a survey answered by business administration students. The results show that the business administration students in Kristianstad University, lacks knowledge about the auditing profession. However, the third-year students had more knowledge about the auditing profession than first and second-year students. Furthermore, the students who had chosen to specialize in accounting and auditing had more knowledge about the auditing profession than the students who were specializing in bank and finance and international marketing. Our conclusion is that there is an expectation gap between the business administration students in Kristianstad University and the auditing profession. Furthermore, the year the students are attending and their chosen track have an impact on their expectations and perceptions about the auditing profession. On the other hand, work experience and grades do not have an impact.

In my thesis I evaluated and assessed the activities of auditors in relation to the ethics of behavior in terms of legislation of the Czech Republic. I focused on the published cases of misconduct of auditors and the subsequent punitive sanctions. Ethical behavior is the basis for the auditor's professionalism. In connection with the accounting scandals and falsification of accounting and audit reports, the public began to discuss - among other things - auditors' liability for fraud detection leading to distorted accounts of the entities and the principles of ethical behavior started to get into the spotlight of auditors?, which was later enshrined in legal and professional standards including Code of Ethics of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Expectations of many users of financial statements from the auditor's report are too high and usually go up beyond what the auditor can actually verify and confirm. However, it must be acknowledged that not all auditors are sufficiently aware of their responsibilities in relation to the distortion of financial statements due to fraud or misconduct, and adequately adapt their audit procedures due to them. Certainly worth mentioning is the most visible impact of accounting scandals in the accounting and auditing profession - the fall of Arthur Andersen, one of the former "Big Five" auditing firms. Accounting profession has responded by developing and tightening ethical standards with an emphasis on the conduct of professional accountants in the public interest, not only in the interests of individual clients or employers. The role of audit in society is irreplaceable. Quality of the audits undertaken, however, ultimately depends on the auditor's discipline and education, the control of the Council Chamber and also public oversight of auditing, as well as pressure of the users of financial statements and of the representatives on the appropriateness and quality of outputs. Ethics in the auditor's work and its compliance in life are the things that determine auditor?s reputation.

A Reestruturação da Auditoria Interna do Instituto Nacional Seguro Social - INSS, do Rio de Janeiro, teve como marco principal a mudança de foco do trabalho daquela auditoria. A Auditoria Interna antes do processo de modernização era apenas um instrumento de detecção de fraude, com caráter punitivo para as pessoas envolvidas. Com a reengenharia implantada, a partir do ano de 2000, o foco dos trabalhos foi direcionado a fim de lograr melhorias nos métodos de controle, gestão e prevenção de fraudes e erros. O objetivo desse estudo foi de examinar a percepção dos funcionários da Auditoria Interna Regional do INSS Rio de Janeiro sobre este processo de modernização. Analisou o comportamento humano em relação às resistências a nova metodologia de trabalho. Buscou-se analisar diversas bibliografias de autores renomados com o objetivo de fundamentar a pesquisa de campo que foi realizada com entrevistas semi-estruturadas de forma direta. Os entrevistados eram servidores públicos que exerciam a função de auditor interno na Auditoria Regional do Rio de Janeiro. Este estudo levantou pontos importantes sobre o processo de modernização da auditoria interna, em especial no que diz respeito treinamento dos funcionários envolvidos; resistências culturais ao fator de mudanças e controle na prevenção de fraudes. Nas entrevistas realizadas, foram detectados fatores de sucesso como o empenho das pessoas envolvidas na reestruturação. Descobriu-se que as recomendações dos relatorios de auditoria são colocados em prática, e a estrutura física foi reformulada com sucesso. Alguns fatores de insucesso também foram detectados; por exemplo, restrições legais que impedem a eficácia dos trabalhos; envio de grande quantidade de informação por meio eletrônico, os quais são absorvidos apenas parcialmente não se conseguindo interpretar todas as mudanças, principalmente por falta de treinamento, e o baixo nível técnico na área contábil. A equipe de Auditoria Interna do Rio de Janeiro, em pouco tempo estará aposentada. Atualmente não existe um processo de investimento de melhora na capacidade dos funcionários. Não há plano de carreira diferencial para os auditores internos. O quantitativo atual é próximo ao ideal, porém a capacidade técnica está muito abaixo do esperado para o desenvolvimento de atividades de auditoria que visem a melhoria de técnicas de controle, e principalmente de gestão dos recursos públicos. A partir disto ficou constatada a grande importância da melhoria dos recursos humanos envolvidos na Auditoria Interna do Rio de Janeiro. / The Internal Audit Restructuring of the Instituto Nacional de Seguridade social (National Institute of Social Security) INSS had as its main demarkation point the changing focus on the work developed by that department. Before the modernization process the Internal Audit was only an instrument for detecting frauds to punish to the people involved on them. With the reengineering implemented, as from the year 2000, the work focus was redirected to the improvements on the control, manage and errors and frauds prevention modules. This study objective was to analyze the Rio de Janeiro Regional INSS Internal Audits employees perception about this modernization process. It analyzed the human behaviour in relation to the resistances to the new work methodology. It searched to also analyze several reputed authors bibliographies with the objective of validating the field research performed with semi-structured direct interviews. The interviewers were civil service employees who worked as internal auditors in the Rio de Janeiro Reginonal Auditing. This study raised important questions about the internal audit modernization process, specially the ones related to the employees trainning, cultural resistance to the changes and control of fraud preventions. In the interviews made were also detected success factors like the people interest on the restructuring. It disclosed that audit reports are put in practice and physical structure was successfully altered. Some unsuccessfull factors were also disclosed like; legal restrictions obstructing the work effectivenesss, sending of large amount of information by eletronical means which are only partially absorbed not allowing the interpretation of all changes manly due to the lack of training and the low technical level on accounting areas. Most of the Rio de Janeiro Internal Audit team will be retired in a short term. Nowdays it does not exist an investment planning process to improve the personnel skills. It does not exist a differential career plan for the internal auditors. The current number of auditors is closely to the ideal; however their technical skills are below the ones expected in relation to the auditing activities development aiming an improvement on control techniques and mainly to the management of public resources. As from these findings it has been evidenced the great importance on the betterment of the Rio de Janeiro Internal Audit human resources.

Internal auditing is the auditing performed by companies themselves. Previous research has put forth the idea that female chairmen in audit committees increase the internal auditing. In this study, we examine how levels of risk preference within internal auditing are influenced by the gender of the chairman in an audit committee. We also examine how the independence of a chairman affect internal auditing. We propose two hypothesizes, where the first one considers if the risk preference is affected by the gender of an audit committee chairman. The second hypothesis is stated to further question if the risk preference is affected by the independence of an audit committee chairman. The study is based on 697 observations retrieved from financial reports between the years of 2005-2013. Risk preference is measured as the proportion of audit fees that are under the direct control of an audit committee. Gender is measured through binary variables based on legal gender. Our moderating variable Independence is binary based on full independence. By using regression analysis, we find an association between gender and internal auditing, but we find a weak positive association between lower ratio of non-audit costs and independence. This act as an indication that an independent chairmen lead to an increased internal auditing.

Tidigare forskning har visat att tidspress återfinns inom revisionsbranschen, vilket i sin tur visat sig vara en stor källa till stress. Forskning indikerar på att stressen kan leda till skadliga konsekvenser på välbefinnandet, men med hjälp av effektiva strategier kan de skadliga konsekvenserna motverkas. Det tycks existera ett forskningsgap gällande strategier för att hantera stress inom revisionskontexten, både ur individ- och organisationsperspektiv. Studiens syfte är därmed att få en förståelse för hur revisorer och revisionsbyråer hanterar stressen som tidspress medför, i form av olika strategier med ändamål att främja välbefinnandet. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod använts, i form av intervjuer med revisorer, revisorsassistenter och HR-medarbetare. Ämnet har studerats utifrån litteratur inom följande perspektiv: tidspress inom revision, tidspressens relation till stress, stressens inverkan på välbefinnandet samt strategier för att hantera stress. Studiens resultat visar att revisorer och revisorsassistenter använder strategier som både tar itu med känslorna som kan uppstå av stress och som går direkt till källan till stressen. De identifierade strategierna på individnivå är: planering & prioritering, hjälp & stöttning, gränssättning, återhämtning samt inställning. Det framgår att revisionsbyråernas arbete med att hantera stress är av stor vikt, och de strategier som identifierats är: kapning av toppar, mentorskap & nära ledarskap, externa stöd samt flexibilitet. Studiens slutsats visar på att revisorernas, revisorsassistenternas och revisionsbyråernas strategier är av stor betydelse för att reducera de negativa effekterna av stress inom revision och på så vis främja välbefinnandet. / Previous research shows that time pressure exists in auditing, which has shown to be a major source of stress. Research indicates that stress could lead to harmful consequences on the well-being, and with effective strategies these consequences can be reduced. There seems to exist a research gap concerning strategies to handle stress in auditing, both in an individual- and organizational perspective. The aim of this study is therefore to obtain an understanding of how auditors and audit firms handle stress from time pressure, in terms of strategies aiming to foster the well-being. To fulfill the aim a qualitative research method has been used, through interviews with auditors, audit assistants and HR-workers. The subject has been studied through literature in the following perspectives: time pressure in auditing, time pressure in relation to stress, the impact of stress on well-being and strategies to handle stress. The result of the study shows that auditors and audit assistants use strategies that both tackles the emotions from stress and the source of the stress. The identified strategies on the individual level are: planning & prioritizing, help & support, boundary setting, recovery and attitude. It appears that the work of the audit firms to handle stress is of importance, and the identified strategies are: cutting peaks, mentorship & close leadership, external support and flexibility. The conclusion of the study shows that auditors, audit assistants and auditing firms strategies is of great importance to reduce negative effects of stress and thereby foster the well-being.

Tendo em vista que de acordo com o desenho institucional brasileiro TCU e Judiciário podem se ver examinando uma mesma questão envolvendo o chamado julgamento de contas (art. 71, inciso II, da Constituição). Mais que isto, tendo em vista a possibilidade de divergirem sobre essa mesma questão, o presente trabalho propõe parâmetros para o exercício do controle judicial sobre os julgamentos realizados pelo TCU. No contexto do trabalho, o termo parâmetro é tomado com a mesma conotação adotada pela Suprema Corte dos Estados Unidos da América, em 1938, no caso United States v. Carolene Products Co, isto é, diz respeito ao grau ou à intensidade do controle a ser exercido pelo Poder Judiciário. Atribuir a decisão àquele mais capacitado em uma racionalidade de escolha do tipo subideal (second-best) e evitar a assunção de posturas adversariais foram os critérios informadores dos parâmetros propostos. Para tanto, entraram em ação o argumento das capacidades institucionais e o princípio da separação de poderes. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Direito Constitucional) - Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, 2013

O tema foi escolhido devido a sua importância frente as frequentes notícias divulgadas, pela mídia em geral, de casos relacionados às diversas formas de erros, fraudes e corrupções que estão expostas às instituições financeiras. Assim, de forma a evitar e minimizar os efeitos destes atos, que, em alguns casos, podem atingir a imagem da empresa gerando descredibilidade e, em última instância, até a descontinuidade dos negócios e, com isso, sérios reflexos na sociedade, as autoridades competentes buscam minimizar os diversos riscos envolvidos através de leis e regulamentos. No Brasil, tem se estruturado e implantando metodologias de controles internos de maneira a minimizar os impactos financeiros das perdas decorrentes de riscos operacionais. Nos últimos anos, devido aos inúmeros escândalos, percebe-se uma evolução dessas legislações, o que demonstra uma constante preocupação dos órgãos reguladores. Como consequência disso, existe a necessidade de um acentuado aperfeiçoamento dos sistemas de controles pelos profissionais de auditoria, compliance e controles internos. Este estudo busca demonstrar a importância da função de compliance, como um dos pilares de governança dentro das instituições financeiras. A metodologia utilizada foi de pesquisa bibliográfica. A conclusão é que um sistema de controles adequado ao porte da instituição contribui para fortalecimento da imagem perante os stakeholders minimizando o risco de descontinuidade dos negócios. / The theme was chosen because of its importance by frequent news reports, the media in general, cases related to various forms of error, fraud and corruptions that are exposed financial institutions. Thus, in order to prevent and minimize the effects of these acts, which in some cases can reach the company's image generating discrediting and, ultimately, to the disruption of business and, with it, serious repercussions in society, the authorities seek to minimize the various risks involved through laws and regulations. In Brazil, has been structured methodologies and implementing internal controls to minimize the financial impact of losses from operational risks. In recent years, due to the numerous scandals, realizes an evolution of these laws, which shows a constant concern of regulators. As a result, there is a need for a marked improvement of control systems for professional audit, compliance and internal controls. This study seeks to demonstrate the importance of the compliance function, as one of the pillars of governance within financial institutions. The methodology used was the literature research. The conclusion is that a system of controls appropriate to the size of the institution contributes to strengthening the image with stakeholders while minimizing the risk of business interruption. / MBA (especialização em Finanças) - Ibmec Business School, Rio de Janeiro, 2013. / Bibliografia: p. 45-46.