published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

近年來，會計師被控簽證不實的案例層出不窮，其中雖不乏誤解會計師之簽證功能， 惟審計風險確實令會計師深感到威脅，故會計師宜如何評估和控制審計風險，此乃本 論文之研究動機。 本論文之研究目的即在探討審計風險之評估問題，暨其控制之道；並兼實證研究我國 會計師界對審計風險的認知態度，俾提出中肯的結論和建議，以有助於會計帥在現代 訴訟浪潮中尋求自保之道。 本論文之研究方法包括相關文獻之敘述性分析，以及郵寄方式之問卷調查。相關文獻 以美國學者之論著為主，用以歸納出審計風險之評估及控制過程；而實證部分則詢問 國內會計師界對審計風險的看法，及其對增進會計師重視審計風險之意見，以作為結 論和建議之依據。

The research was carried out using a participatory action research approach to develop social accounts with Jesmond Swimming Pool (JSP). The original motivation to carry out this project was to see what social accounts would look like and whether it was possible to develop them in this organisation. The experience of doing social accounts is further examined using Gray, et al., (1997) to explore whether these were either ‘ideal’ or ‘good’ social accounts for the organisation. A communitarian philosophical framework is used in order to examine the conceptualisation of ‘good’ social accounts. The first part of the thesis explores the social and environmental accounting (SEA) and accountability literature, with the second part exploring the experience of reaching initial agreement to do social accounts (SAs). The agreement to do the accounts was then followed by two years of social accounts developed with JSP. This empirical data provides a detailed account from the perspectives of insiders and other sources as to the experience of doing social accounts. This experience is then opened up to interrogation from a wider view point. The third part of the thesis examines the experience of JSP using third sector communitarian philosophy and a voluntary accountability framework in order to demonstrate that JSP could provide an example of a ‘good’ or ‘ideal’ social account. This raises the issue of whether or not ‘good’ or ‘ideal’ social accounts for third sector organisations are only possible within a communitarian paradigm. If it is possible to establish what ‘good’ social accounts entail then it may be appropriate to extend this approach to other contexts, for example, the public sector or the corporate world.

Senast den 17 juni 2016 ska Sverige ha implementerat regleringar kring obliga- torisk byrårotation i nationell rätt vilket då kommer kräva att noterade bolag och finansiella företag roterar revisionsbyrå i huvudregel var 10:e år. Målet från EU:s sida med att införa obligatorisk byrårotation i dess medlemsländer är att regleringen ska ha positiva effekter på revisorns oberoende, revisionskvali- teten och konkurrenssituationen på revisionsmarknaden. Syftet med vår studie är att ge ökad förståelse om hur revisionskvaliteten och revisorns oberoende påverkas av ett införande av obligatorisk byrårotation utifrån den forskning som finns internationellt. Eftersom studier kring obliga- torisk byrårotation ännu har kunnat genomföras i Sverige vill vi också bidra med kunskap om hur väl dessa internationella studier kan appliceras i ett svenskt sammanhang. Studien är baserad på inhämtning av sekundärdata där vi utgått från existe- rande forskning kring obligatorisk byrårotation. Val av vårt tillvägagångssätt kan motiveras med att en stor mängd forskning redan existerar och vi har velat samla in data som är så neutral som möjligt. Vår studie visar att resultaten från internationellt genomförda studier tyder på att revisionskvaliteten sjunker vid ett införande av obligatorisk byrårotation. Forskningen visar även att regleringen kan få en motsatt effekt på marknads- dynamiken än vad som önskas. Majoriteten av forskningen visar också att revi- sorns oberoende inte påverkas vid ett införande av obligatorisk byrårotation. I den del av vår studie som behandlade hur väl internationell forskning skulle kunna tillämpas i Sverige fann vi inga belägg på att skillnaderna mellan de un- dersökta länderna och Sverige skulle vara tillräckligt stora för att kunna ifråga- sätta dess applicerbarhet i ett svenskt sammanhang. / June 17, 2016, is the final date for Sweden to implement the new rules regard- ing mandatory audit firm rotation which will require listed and financial com- panies to change their current audit firm every 10 years. The aim of the intro- duction of mandatory audit firm rotation is that the regulation should have positive effects on the independence of auditors, audit quality and the compet- itive situation within the audit market. The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of how auditor in- dependence and audit quality is affected by the introduction of the regulation on the basis of the available international research. Since there isn’t any Swe- dish research on the subject, we want to contribute knowledge about how well these international studies can be applied in a Swedish context. The study is based on secondary data which is collected from already existing research on mandatory audit firm rotation. The choice of approach in the study can be justified by the fact that much research already exists on the sub- ject and we wanted the data to be as neutral as possible. Our study shows that the results from international research suggest that audit quality will decrease with the introduction of such regulation and that the regu- lation may have an adverse effect on the dynamic of the audit market. A ma- jority of the research suggests that auditor independence is not affected by the introduction of mandatory audit firm rotation. In the part of our study, which dealt with how well international research is applicable in Sweden, we found no evidence that the difference between the examined countries and Sweden would be large enough to allow us to question the research applicability in a Swedish context.

Problemformulering: För att minska beroendet i noterade bolag kommer nya reglerkring rotation införas. I onoterade bolag finns det inga reglerkring detta, kravet på revisorns oberoende är dock detsamma. Hur skulle ett införande av rotationsregel påverka beroendet och har det någon inverkan på revisorns vilja att anmäla ekonomisk brottslighet? En relation kan trots allt ändra mycket i hur man tänker och hur man agerar… Syfte: Syftet är att se hur kravet på revisorns oberoende påverkas av att det i Sverige inte finns någon rotationsregel och om detta påverkar revisorns anmälningsplikt av ekonomiskbrottslighet. Metod: Studien har genomförts genom en kvalitativ metod. För att samla in empiriska data har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Resultat: Studien kom fram till att en rotationsregel skulle minska beroendet, det skulle dock kosta mer än vad det ger och därav är det ingen bra lösning. Vidare har studien visat att en brist i revisorns oberoende påverkar viljan att anmäla ekonomisk brottslighet. Denna ovilja syns främst när hoten mot oberoendet handlar om vänskap, jäv eller intäkter. / Problem definition: In order to reduce the dependency in listed companies, new rules of rotation will be established. For unlisted companies there are no existing rules and there will not be any, however the requirement of auditor independence is the same. How would an introduction of a rotation rule affect the auditor independence and would there be any effect on the auditor’s willingness to report crimes of economic nature. After all a relationship can change the way you think and act. Purpose: The purpose is to see how the requirement of auditor independence is affected by the lack of a rotation rule in Sweden and if this has any affect on the auditors reporting obligation. Method: The study was conducted through a qualitative method. To collect the empirical data, semi-structured interviews were used. Conclusion: The study concludes that a rotation rule would reduce the dependence, however this may not be a good solution as the costs exceeds the benefits. Further the study concludes that a lack of auditor independence affects the willingness to report crimes of economic nature. This reluctance appears mainly when the independence is threated by friendship, conflict of interest or revenues from clients.

Sedan lagändringen år 2010, gällande avskaffandet av revisionsplikten för små aktiebolag, ställs numera företag inför ett val. Likt samtliga företag så krävs ett ställningstagande om vilken revisionsbyrå som väljs att anlitas. Ett litet aktiebolag antas, på grund av mindre resurser, behöva överlägga för- och nackdelar i högre grad än större företag. Vilket leder till studiens syfte som är att ta reda på vilka faktorer som påverkar små aktiebolags val av revisionsbyrå. Tidigare forskning och redovisningsteorier tyder på att det inte bara är små aktiebolags värderingar som leder till vilken revisionsbyrå som väljs, utan också företagets struktur påverkar valet. Därför är studiens avsikt att både analysera revisionsbyråers skiljande faktorer samt företagsstrukturen hos små aktiebolag. Detta görs med hjälp av en enkätundersökning som skickas ut till slumpmässigt valda företag i Sverige. Studiens resultat bekräftar en del av tidigare forskning. Det påvisas att sannolikheten att ett litet aktiebolag väljer en revisionsbyrå inom Big 4 ökar med företagets storlek samt företagets skuldsättningsgrad. Vidare tyder resultatet på att desto mindre priskänsligt företaget är och desto mer de värdesätter kvalité, personlig relation och varumärke, ju troligare är det att Big 4 väljs. Studien ämnar att ge en bättre förståelse kring revisionsvalet samtidigt som både små aktiebolag och revisionsbyråer kan fokusera på de faktorer som inverkar valet. Som framtida forskning anses revisorn som oberoende vara ett intresseväckande område att fördjupa sig mer i. / Since 2010 when the accounting laws in Sweden cha four nged, small businesses are now facing a choice whether to be audited or not. Like all businesses, this includes a choice regarding what auditing firm to hire. Small businesses must consider the pros and cons in greater extent than bigger businesses because of their overall lower resources. This leads to the purpose of the study which is to find out what factors affect the choice of selecting an auditing firm. Previous research and accounting theories suggest that, in addition to the factors of the auditing firm, the business’ corporate structure can affect their choice. Therefore, the study is aiming to analyze both the auditing firms various characteristics and the corporate structure of the business. This is performed by sending out a survey to randomly selected small businesses in Sweden and analyzing the data once received. The result of the study partly confirms the previous studies conducted in the same field. It indicates that the probability for a small business to choose an auditing firm within Big four increases with the business size and the gearing ratio. Further, the result indicates that the less price sensitive a business is. So, the higher they value auditing quality, personal relationship and that the auditing firm is well-known, the higher is the probability that they will decide to hire an auditing firm within Big firms. The research is aiming to increase the understanding regarding auditing choice and help both the auditing firms and the companies to understand what factors can affect the choice. As a topic for future research, we find that the auditors’ independence would be interesting, since this research indicates the relevance of it.

Digitalization is a fast paced phenomenon that is recognised to be of importance for the auditing profession’s future. This study has, through an innovative approach, gathered the ideas and perspectives on the perceived future role of digitalization in relation to the auditing profession. In order to ensure that these ideas and perspectives were to be practically relevant, 14 Swedish auditors were interviewed. This study was initiated through an evident need of research about the future role of digitalization, as this role is recognized as important but rather under-theorized according to both practitioners and academics.   In order to tackle the need for research within the relatively unexplored area of digitalization in relation to the auditing profession, a dialogue with practitioners led to the creation of the following research question:    -How do auditors expect digitalization to shape the future of the auditing profession?   In order to accurately answer the constructed research question, three sub-questions were established:   - How do auditors perceive past and current changes of the auditing profession? - How do auditors perceive futures changes of the auditing profession? - How do auditors perceive the future role of digitalization?   The underlying purpose of this study was to push for a unification between the academic and practice community. To achieve this, a follow-up sub-question was generated:   - How do auditors perceive the role of academic research to shape the future of the auditing profession?   And inductive research approach was adopted for this study, in line with the epistemological standpoint of interpretivism and a constructionism ontological approach. Furthermore, this thesis was a conducted qualitative exploratory research that employed semi-structured interviews. The research strategy of this study was a combination of narrative inquiry with grounded theory in order to collect data and to generate theories for building knowledge.   The results from the interviews with the auditors generated findings that were used to answer our four sub-questions, and therefore subsequently our main research question. It was concluded that academic research was not directly used by practitioners, since it was not found usable from a practical perspective. Furthermore, it was concluded through applying change theories that digitalization is, by auditors, expected to play an important role in the future of their profession and a list of driving forces was established. Moreover, discussions on how the auditing profession and digitalization will interact in the future are disclosed in this study.

There is considerable evidence of the existence of audit expectation gap between auditors and the public in Sweden. However, conflicting views exist regarding the role of audit education in narrowing this gap. This thesis, therefore, aims to investigate if the teaching of audit courses for civilekonom students contributes in narrowing the expectation gap resulting from the misunderstanding of audit regulations as contained in ISA and ABL.A survey questionnaire containing seventeen semantic differential belief statements measured using the five-point Likert scale was completed by four groups of students; first-year civilekonom students with/without an audit education background and, final-year civilekonom accounting students with/without an audit education background (n=137). The questionnaire covered topics on; auditors’ responsibilities, audit reliability, and decision usefulness.The results of the study indicate audit education partially (at α 0.05) had an impact in reducing the AEG on the responsibilities of auditors especially on issues related to; auditors’ responsibility in maintaining accounting records, management’s responsibility for preparing the annual financial statements and auditors’ judgment in selecting audit procedures. However, audit education had no impact on auditors’ responsibilities in detecting fraud, audit reliability and reliability of financial statements, and decision usefulness. Furthermore, the limited sample size, low response rate and use of convenience sampling may affect the generalizability of the results. Additionally, the Cronbach Alpha would have been more reliable if more participants were involved.This study concludes by calling on educational institutions in Sweden to update their accounting curriculum to encompass topics related to the nature, scope, and limitations of audits based on ISA and ABL. Moreover, this study recommends the audit profession and regulators to design and implement policies aimed at improving users understanding of the nature, scope, and limitations of an audit through audit education, refresher courses and other forms of audit-user communication. This study extends previous studies on the AEG by ascertaining the role of audit education in narrowing the AEG.

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / It is estimated that commercial buildings are responsible for 5.4% of worldwide Green House Gas (GHG) emissions through their construction and on-going operation. In developed countries this figure can go up to 30%. The environmental control industry is one of the large consumers of this energy. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contribute approximately 15% of South Africa's current peak electrical demand consumption according to Eskom (the South African electricity utility). The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse and evaluate methods to reduce the energy consumption of the HVAC system in a commercial office building. This encompasses careful building design to reduce heat loads and promote the circulation of fresh air; the use of energy-efficient air-conditioning systems and the incorporation of materials and technology to reduce energy consumption. This will be based upon a case study of the new SANRAL (South African National Roads Agency Limited) head office building in Val-DeGrace, Pretoria. A deductive research approach will be followed. The as-designed Actual Building is modelled with the appropriate energy modelling software and its annual energy usage is obtained. A benchmark based Notional Building complying with SANS 204:2008 criteria of the same size, shape, location and operational schedules as the Actual Building is also modelled and its energy usage results compared to that of the Actual Building. This comparison will determine how energy efficient the Actual Building's HVAC system is compared to a conventional Notional Building. Quantitative data collection is performed by empirical measurement of the energy usage of the as-built Actual Building. The raw data (power usageofthe HVAC system) is measured by Schneider Electric PM9c™ power meters located in the HVAC distribution boards of the building. This raw data are collected by Schneider Electric's ION Enterprise' power management software which has a user friendly interface from where the data can be downloaded. The power management software is connected to an ANDOVEWM Building Management System (BMS). Due to commissioning procedures and the timeframe at hand for the completion of this dissertation measurements could only be taken over a 7 month period. Operational data were measured from July 2011 to March 2012 thus accounting for summer, winter and a seasonal changeover period. The modelled energy usage results of the as-designed Actual Building are compared to the measured energy usage data obtained from the as-built Actual Building. This comparison serves to evaluate the accuracy of the software model...

M.Comm. / Business have traditionally relied on private leased lines to link remote office together so that distant workers could share information over a Wide Area Network (WAN). However, while providing a high degree of privacy, leased lines are expensive to set up and maintain. The Internet is fast becoming a requirement for supporting business operations in the global economy. The major concern in using a public network, like the Internet, for data exchange is the lack of security. The Internet was designed to be an "open" network, accessible to anyone with low or none security consideration. Virtual Private Networks (VPN) using Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) has emerged as a relatively inexpensive way to solve this problem. The primary objective of this dissertation is to evaluate validity and accuracy issues in electronic commerce using VPN as a secure medium for data communication and transport over the Internet. The inherent control features of PPTP were mapped to data communication control objectives and the control models show how these address validity, completeness and accuracy. After analysing and evaluating the inherent control features of PPTP, the overall result is that: PPTP enables a valid communication link to be established with restricted access (validity); the PPTP communication link remains private for the full time of the connection (validity); data can be sent accurately and completely over the PPTP connection and remains accurate during transmission (accuracy); and all data sent is completely received by the receiver (accuracy). By deploying a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol for virtual private networking, management can mitigate the risk of transmitting private company and business data over the Internet. The PPTP analysis and evaluation models developed intend to give the auditor a control framework to apply in practice. If the auditor needs to perform a data communication review and finds that a virtual private network has been established using PPTP, the control models can assist in providing knowledge and audit evidence regarding validity and accuracy issues. The auditor should however, not review PPTP in isolation. Validity and accuracy control features inherent to TCP/IP and PPP should also be considered as well as controls on higher levels, e.g. built-in application controls.