As required by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) of the European Union, this thesis thoroughly examines the transition in corporate sustainability reporting from limited to reasonable assurance. The directive is being implemented at a crucial time as companies are progressively incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their core operating and reporting practices. The CSRD is intended to improve sustainability disclosures’ comparability, credibility and reliability. It is a legislative response to a larger movement for more corporate accountability and transparency. The study uses a qualitative technique using semi-structured interviews with professionals from leading audit firms. The purpose of these interviews is to provide many aspects of the transition with a particular emphasis on how businesses and audit firms are modifying their operations to comply with the stricter requirements of the CSRD. The study identifies the main factors behind this shift such as increased stakeholder demands for transparency and a changing regulatory environment that makes it necessary to reevaluate current assurance practices.  The study’s important conclusion is that putting reasonable assurance requirements into practice is difficult. Companies must create advanced data management systems that can handle the CSRD’s requirements for an increasing volume of information. In addition to ensuring data accuracy, these systems need to make it easier to analyse and report on the data in a way that complies with the new assurance standards.  Additionally, the shift needs a major improvement in auditor competencies. It is necessary for auditors to have a better understanding of both traditional financial auditing and the specific challenges presented by sustainability reporting. This includes having a thorough understanding of ESG factors and how they affect risk profiles and corporate performance. Hence, the CSRD acts as a catalyst for a significant shift in auditors’ professional development and training, emphasising the necessity to combine sustainability with financial auditing skills.  Strong internal controls are also important, as the research shows. Establishing and maintaining strict internal mechanisms is necessary for businesses to ensure the reliability of their sustainability reports. This involves a thorough review and a redesign of internal processes in order to meet the higher standards of reasonable assurance. These controls are essential for reducing the risks associated with sustainability reporting such errors or misrepresentations which can have a big influence on stakeholder trust and regulatory compliance.  This change has significant implications for society at large. Companies may give stakeholders more reliable and detailed disclosures about their sustainable practices by shifting toward reasonable assurance. This can have a big impact on investment choices and build stakeholder confidence. This shift promotes a more transparent and sustainable corporate environment by supporting the incorporation of ESG factors into core business strategies and by strengthening the credibility of sustainability reports.

近來陸續爆出的舞弊案件已連帶引起了社會大眾對關係人交易行為的注意。本文先探討審計品質與關係人交易之關聯性，而實證結果顯示關係人銷貨、進貨、應收款項與應付款項交易與審計品質皆呈負向關係，足見關係人交易之查核是困難的。因此本文期望透過外部審計人員的專業屬性來降低關係人交易對審計品質產生的不良影響，提升投資人對公司財務報導的信任。過去文獻針對會計師專業屬性部分，指出會計師事務所規模愈大以及產業專精程度愈高者，具備較佳的查核品質。研究結果顯示當關係人銷貨、進貨及應收款項交易係由四大會計師事務所或產業專家會計師事務所查核時，因大型會計師事務所或產業專家會計師事務所具備較佳會計師專業屬性，能抑制或減少關係人交易對審計品質之負面影響，而提升財務報表之審計品質。 / Numerous financial reporting frauds over recent years have made related party transactions the center of public attention. We first investigate the association between related party transactions and audit quality (proxied by discretionary accruals), and find that four kinds of related party transactions (including sales to related parties, purchases from related parties, accounts receivable from related parties and payable to related parties) all have negative impacts on audit quality. We posit that (1) external auditing is a monitoring mechanism to reduce audit quality decline caused by related party transactions, and (2) auditor attributes including big 4 audit firms and industry specialist audit firms can mitigate the audit quality decline thereof. Empirical results show that companies audited by big 4 or industry specialist audit firms, whose sales to related parties, purchases from related parties and accounts receivable from related parties show significantly smaller negative impacts on audit quality than companies not audited by big 4 or industry specialist audit firms.

Att ha en viss grad av personalomsättning är nödvändigt för organisationens fortsatta lönsamhet. Personalomsättningen inom revisionsbranschen beskrivs däremot som ett problem. Tidigare studier har undersökt olika aspekter av personalomsättningen på individnivå. Där har det identifierats faktorer till varför revisorsassistenter väljer att lämna revisionsbyråerna. Tidigare studier har även fokuserat på olika metoders inverkan på individernas beslut att lämna branschen. Syftet med examensarbetet är att analysera personalomsättningen utifrån revisionsbyråernas perspektiv, och därefter identifiera skillnader mellan stora och små revisionsbyråer. För att besvara examensarbetets forskningsfrågor och uppfylla syftet har både en enkätundersökning samt intervjuer utförts. Enkätundersökningen skickades ut till revisionskontor runt om i Sverige och bidrog med svar från 32 olika kontor. Sedan intervjuades fyra revisionsbyråer i Norrbotten, två små och två stora revisionsbyråer. Studien visar att revisionsbyråerna i Norrland har en låg personalomsättning, men att personal-omsättningen i branschen som helhet fortfarande anses vara för hög. Studiens huvudsakliga slutsats är att personalomsättningen varierar mellan revisionsbyråerna och att byråns storlek är en förklarande faktor. Utöver detta visar studien på att ledningen och externa faktorer har en inverkan på personalomsättningen. De externa faktorerna kan dock inte påverkas av ledningen, utan är något som ledningen istället bör anpassa sig efter för att kunna behålla sina medarbetare. / A certain level of employee turnover is necessary for the organization’s continuous profitability. However, employee turnover in the audit profession is described as a problem. Previous studies have explored different aspects of turnover at the individual level. Where factors have been identified for why associates chooses to leave audit firms. Previous studies have also focused on the influence of different methods on the individual's decision to leave the industry. The purpose of this study is to analyze employee turnover from the audit firms´ perspective, and then identify differences between large and small audit firms. To answer the research questions and fulfill the purpose, both a questionnaire and interviews have been performed. The questionnaire was sent out to audit offices around Sweden and provided answers from 32 different offices. Four auditing firms in Norrbotten were then interviewed, two small and two large auditing firms. The study shows that audit firms in Norrland have a low employee turnover, but turnover in the industry as a whole is still considered too high. The main conclusion of the study is that turnover varies between audit firms and that the size of the firm is an explanatory factor. In addition, the study shows that management and external factors have an impact on turnover. However, external factors cannot be influenced by management, but is something that management should adapt to in order to retain its employees.

Research have revealed that the accounting profession engage multi-disciplinary teams in the assurance of sustainability reports. However, how such teams are composed or the values that these teams bring to the assurance engagement process, and how reliance is established on the work performed by such teams has been left uncovered. This research sought to fill this gap, and hence, contributed to providing an understanding surrounding this issue. Semi-structured interviews with auditors from the Big Four Audit firms, engaged with performing sustainability assurance was conducted. The findings revealed that the engagement of multi-disciplinary teams, comprising both financial accountants and sustainability specialists from various disciplines, was necessary in ensuring quality assurance work performance. Firstly, the in-depth knowledge of sustainability subject matters possessed by the sustainability experts, enabled the questioning of the correctness of sustainability items reported by the clients. Secondly, sustainability experts were valuable in the planning stage of the engagement, in identifying client risk areas. Thirdly, sustainability expert involvement, enabled the winning of work contracts. Additionally, the engagement of multi-disciplinary teams was revealed to be valuable to the client firms. Firstly, the sustainability experts assisted clients in identifying the most valuable issues to report to their stakeholders. Secondly, due to the expert’s knowledge and experience, it enabled them to inform clients on high reporting levels. Finally, sustainability experts provided clients with valuable feedback that aids the improvement of the client processes, and the management of risks. The establishment of reliance on the work performed by the teams, requiring an accountant to signoff every engagement work performed by the team, as required by the applicable assurance standards, was partially supported by this study. Sustainability experts, who were non-accountants, was revealed to be engaged in this signing off ritual, hence, leaving room for the questioning of such assurance engagements signed off by sustainability experts.

Syfte: Syftet med vårt examensarbete är att försöka identifiera och analysera hur revisorer definierar revisionskvalité och hur de förvissar sig om att de genomför revision med hög kvalité Metod: För att nå fram till ett resultat har en abduktiv ansats med en kvantitativ metod använts för denna explorativa studie Teoretiskt perspektiv: Studien utgår ifrån befintlig teori och vetenskapliga studier men även resultatet av våra pilotintervjuer som använts för att urskilja faktorer som kan förklara vårt syfte. Teorier som använts är professionsteori, institutionell teori och byråkulturell teori Empiri: Det empiriska materialet grundar sig på en enkätundersökning som vänder sig till Sveriges revisorer i FARs medlemsregister. Det empiriska materialet har analyserats av statistiska tester Resultat: Analysen påvisade att de faktorer som har den största positiva påverkan på revisionskvalité är expertis tillsammans med revisorns kompetens / Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify and analyze how auditors define audit quality and how they are ascertain that they perform audit with high quality Methodology: In order to reach a result, an abductive approach with a quantitative method have been used in this exploratory study Theoretical perspective: The study is based on existing theories and scientific studies, but also the results of our pilot interviews are used to identify factors that may explain our purpose. Theories that have been used are professional theory, institutional theory and agency cultural theory Empirical foundation: The empirical material is based on a questionnaire addressed to the Swedish auditors in FARs membership list. The empirical data have been analyzed by statistical tests Conclusion: The analysis showed that the factors that are having the greatest positive impact on audit quality are expertise together with the auditor's proficiency

Background and problem: The Enron scandal is one of many audit scandals during the 21st century, which in combination with the global harmonization has led to increased demands on the audit sector and its quality. Due to this the ISQC 1 was designed, which purpose is to control and guide an internal quality control that will achieve and maintain a high level of quality. Research on audit quality has risen with the designing of ISQC 1, where focus mostly have been on how audit firms have managed the implementation of and the work with the standard. However, the research focuses on big international audit firms, which results in audit firms with a lower number of employees being left in the dark. The established field of Total Quality Management can be used to study how audit firms with a lower number of employees work with ISQC 1. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how non-Big X audit firms use ISQC 1 to assure the quality of their services. Method: This study uses a qualitative method and an inductive approach, with elements of a deductive approach. Empirical primary data has been gathered by longer semi-structured interviews with eight auditors who all works on different non-Big X audit firms. A content analysis has also been executed, which compares ISQC 1 with the cornerstones of TQM. Conclusion: This study indicates that non-Big X audit firms mostly uses meetings, teachings and audit manuals to create a quality culture and work as a basis for the audit process. Furthermore, the study implies that ISQC 1 is experienced as resource-demanding, copious and more adjusted to big international audit firms. To face these issues, this study indicates that a cooperation with audit networks can help. When it comes to audit firms assuring the quality of their services, this study points out that preventing errors is critical for the non-Big X audit firms. Ultimately this study supports that there is an expectation gap, and that customers demand different things than what ISQC 1 advocate. / Bakgrund och problem: Enronskandalen är en i raden av olika revisionsskandaler under 2000-talet, som i kombination med den globala harmoniseringen har lett till ökade krav på revisionsbranschen och dess kvalitet. Till följd av detta utformades standarden ISQC 1 vars syfte är att styra och vägleda en intern kvalitetskontroll för att på så sätt uppnå en jämn och hög nivå på kvaliteten. I och med utformningen av ISQC 1 har också forskning uppkommit där fokus har varit på hur revisionsbyråer klarat av att implementera och arbeta med standarden. Denna forskning fokuserar dock främst på stora internationella revisionsbyråer, vilket gör att revisionsbyråer med färre anställda kommer i skymundan. För att undersöka hur revisionsbyråer med färre anställda arbetar med ISQC 1 kan då det etablerade fältet total kvalitetsstyrning användas.   Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur non-Big X revisionsbyråer arbetar med ISQC 1 för att kvalitetssäkra sina tjänster i praktiken.  Metod: Denna studie använder sig av en kvalitativ metod och en induktiv ansats med inslag av deduktion. Empirisk primärdata har samlats in genom längre semi-strukturerade intervjuer med åtta revisorer som arbetar på olika non-Big X byråer. Vidare har även en innehållsanalys genomförts som jämför ISQC 1 med hörnstensmodellen. Slutsats: Studien indikerar på att non-Big X revisionsbyråer främst använder sig av möten, utbildningar och revisionshandböcker för att både skapa en kvalitetskultur och ligga till grund för revisionsprocessen. Studien ger vidare antydningar om att ISQC 1 upplevs som resurskrävande, överflödig och mer anpassad efter stora internationella byråer. För att bemöta dessa problem ges indikationer på att ett samarbete med revisionsnätverk kan underlätta. I arbetet med att kvalitetssäkra tjänster indikerar vidare denna studie på att förebyggande av fel är kritiskt för non-Big X byråer. Slutligen stärker studien att ett förväntningsgap finns, då kunderna efterfrågar annat än vad ISQC 1 förespråkar.

Inom revisionsbranschen har attraktionskraften till yrket minskat och antalet revisorer har gradvis blivit färre den senaste tiden. Revisorer har dock en lika viktig funktion i samhället idag och förväntas även ha det i framtiden. Enligt forskning är personalomsättningen inom revisionsbranschen hög, men den har främst fokuserat på de större revisionsföretagen. Det finns fyra stora revisionsföretag som idag har marknadskoncentration, men det finns även många andra revisionsföretag utöver det som också fyller en viktig funktion på marknaden. Denna studie fokuserar på medelstora revisionsföretag och ämnar att addera kunskap till tidigare forskning samt lyfta hur dessa problem hanteras i medelstora revisionsföretag. Syftet med studien är att skapa kunskap kring hur medelstora revisionsföretag arbetar med attraktionskraft och personalomsättning. Därav genomfördes en kvalitativ studie baserad på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som har högre befattningar på medelstora revisionsföretag i Sverige. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades därefter genom en tematisk analys. Ur studien framgår det att de medelstora revisionsföretagen inte upplever lika hög personalomsättning som den övriga branschen, men att attraktionskraften är ett större problem. Det har skett ett skifte och den yngre generationen attraheras inte av traditionella karriärvägen inom revision, utan prioriterar annorlunda och värderar privatlivet högre än förut. Den höga arbetsbelastningen under högsäsong är ett gemensamt problem inom revisionsbranschen där de medelstora revisionsföretagen i studien ständigt uppfattas arbeta med att hitta hållbara lösningar på detta. Studien indikerar även att de traditionella byråkratiska och hierarkiska organisationsstrukturerna inte är lika framträdande i medelstora revisionsföretag. Det framgår i studien att desto mer hierarkiskt ett företag verkar desto högre personalomsättning. Av studien uppfattas de medelstora revisionsföretagen ha hittat sitt eget sätt att organisera företagen samt agera på  personalomsättningen och därmed bibehålla en lägre personalomsättning än revisionsbranschen i stort. / Abstract Title: The attractiveness of audit firms: Are medium-sized audit firms going their own way? In the audit industry, the attractiveness of the profession has declined and the number of auditors has gradually decreased recently. However, auditors play an equally important role in society today and are expected to do so in the future. According to research, staff turnover in the audit industry is high, but it has mainly focused on the larger audit firms. There are four large audit firms that currently have market concentration, but there are also many other audit firms in addition to them that also fulfill an important function in the market. This study focuses on medium-sized audit firms and aims to add knowledge to previous research and highlight how these problems are handled in medium-sized audit firms. The purpose of the study is to create knowledge about how medium-sized audit firms work with attractiveness and staff turnover. Therefore, a qualitative study was conducted based on five semi-structured interviews with people who had senior positions in medium-sized audit firms in Sweden. The collected data material was then analyzed through a thematic analysis. The study shows that medium-sized audit firms do not experience as high staff turnover as the rest of the industry, but that attractiveness is a bigger problem. There has been a shift and the younger generation is not attracted to the traditional career path in audit, but prioritizes differently and values personal life more than before. The high workload during peak season is a common problem in the audit industry, and the medium-sized audit firms in the study are perceived to be constantly working to find sustainable solutions to this. The study also indicates that the traditional bureaucratic and hierarchical organizational structures are not as prominent in medium-sized audit firms. The study shows that the more hierarchical a firm appears to be, the higher the staff turnover. The study suggests that medium-sized audit firms have found their own way of organizing their firms and responding to staff turnover, thus maintaining a lower staff turnover than the audit industry as a whole.

This study examines which competencies, among recent graduates in accounting and auditing, audit firms versus higher education institutions consider to be important and whether there are significant differences of opinion between these two groups. The study is limited to higher education institutions that train and teach in accounting and/or auditing as well as staff at auditing firms that practice and practice in accounting and/or auditing. We used T-tests and ANOVA tests to carry out the analysis of the collected answers. The results confirm previous studies to some extent, around the fact that there is an expectation gap between practitioners and educators, as some of the competencies examined had significant differences. We found that the intellectual skills; analytical ability, problem solving and critical thinking were the most important competencies for both groups. In addition, higher education institutions valued analytical skills as the most important competence, while audit firms valued accountability as the most important. / Denna studie undersöker vilka kompetenser, hos nyutexaminerade inom redovisning och revision, revisionsbyråer kontra lärosäten anser vara av vikt och om det finns signifikanta skillnader i åsikter mellan dessa två grupper. Studien är begränsad till lärosäten som utbildar och undervisar inom redovisning- och/eller revision samt personal på revisionsbyråer som är verksamma inom redovisning- och/eller revision. För att genomföra analysen användes T-test samt ANOVA-test för att genomföra analysen på de insamlade svaren. Resultaten bekräftar till viss del tidigare studier, kring att det finns ett förväntningsgap mellan utövare och utbildare, då några av de undersökta kompetenserna hade signifikanta skillnader. Kompetensområdet för de intellektuella färdigheterna; analytiska färdigheter, problemlösning samt kritiskt tänkande var de viktigaste kompetenserna för båda grupperna. Utöver detta värderade lärosätena analytiska färdigheter som den viktigaste kompetensen medan revisionsbyråerna värderade ansvarstagande som den viktigaste.

Sammanfattning Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linneuniversitetet i Växjö, Vårtermin 2024. Författare: Elma Ibricic & Elvisa Smajic Handledare: Natalia Berg Examinator: Ola Nilsson Titel: Från små till stora revisionsbyråer: Utmaningar med hållbarhetsrevision och vägen till CSRD-efterlevnad Sökord: Revisionsbyråer, CSRD, utmaningar, förberedelser, legitimitet, institutionell teori. _______________________________________________________________________ Bakgrund & Problem: Inom en snar framtid förväntas det nya direktivet CSRD träda i kraft, vilket kommer att göra revision av hållbarhetsrapporter obligatorisk. Detta innebär att auktoriserade revisorer måste förbereda sig för att möta de nya kraven i detta direktiv. En utmaning uppstår då revisorer vanligtvis är utbildade för att granska finansiella rapporter och har bristande kompetens inom området hållbarhet. Vidare är det brist på standardiserade granskningsprocesser för hållbarhetsrevisioner och en bristfällig vägledning genom revisionsprocessen, vilket ytterligare komplicerar situationen för revisionsbranschen. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilka utmaningar och förberedelser revisionsbyråer av olika storlekar står inför när det kommer till den obligatoriska hållbarhetsrevisionen som införs i samband med implementeringen av CSRD. Metod: För att uppnå syftet har vi använt en deduktiv forskningsansats och tillämpat en kvalitativ metod. Empirisk data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med auktoriserade revisorer som har erfarenhet av revisionsyrket. Slutsats: Slutsatsen från studien är att bristande kompetens uppfattas som den främsta utmaningen för revisorer, då de saknar nödvändiga kunskaper inom hållbarhetsområdet för att effektivt granska innehållet i hållbarhetsrapporterna. Utmaningen är särskilt påtaglig för små revisionsbyråer, vilka möter större resursbegränsningar jämfört med de stora Big 4 byråerna som har tillgång till interna utbildningsprogram och expertis. Vidare noteras att förberedelserna för det nya direktivet varierar beroende på revisionsbyråns storlek, där de stora Big 4-byråerna ofta befinner sig i framkant av förberedelseprocessen. Återigen är det bristande resurser som begränsar icke Big 4-byråerna från att genomföra adekvata förberedelser inför det nya direktivet. / Abstract Master Thesis, Master of Science in Business and Economics, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Spring 2024. Authors: Elma Ibricic & Elvisa Smajic Supervisor: Natalia Berg Examiner: Ola Nilsson Title: From small to large audit firms: Challenges in sustainability auditing and the path to CSRD  compliance Keyword: Audit firms, CSRD, challenges, preparations, legitimacy, institutional Theory._____________________________________________________________________ Background & problem: In the near future, the new CSRD directive is expected to come into effect, mandating the audit of sustainability reports. This requires certified auditors to prepare for meeting the new requirements set by this directive. A challenge arises as auditors are typically trained to review financial reports and lack expertise in the field of sustainability. Additionally, there is a lack of standardized auditing processes for sustainability audits and insufficient guidance throughout the auditing process, further complicating the situation for the auditing profession. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and preparations faced by audit firms of various sizes in relation to the mandatory sustainability auditing introduced with the implementation of the CSRD. Method: To achieve this objective, we employed a deductive research approach and applied a qualitative method. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with certified auditors who have experience in the auditing profession. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study is that a lack of expertise is perceived as the primary challenge for auditors, as they lack the necessary knowledge in the field of sustainability to effectively review the content of sustainability reports. This challenge is particularly pronounced for smaller audit firms, which face greater resource constraints compared to the larger Big 4-firms that have access to internal training programs and expertise. Furthermore, it is noted that preparations for the new directive vary based on the size of the audit firm, with the larger Big 4-firms often being at the forefront of the preparation process. Once again, it is the limited resources that hinder smaller non-Big 4-firms from adequately preparing for the new directive.

本研究探討中國國務院國有資產監督管理委員會(國資委)，實施統一委託審計之規範對於中央國有企業審計品質及審計公費的影響。國資委於2004年發布有關統一委託審計的規定，要求中央國有企業的年度財務決算審計須由國資委統一委託會計師事務所進行，並規定會計師事務所的審計年限必須介於2~5年之間，本研究欲探討此規定對中央國有企業審計品質及審計公費的影響。具體而言，本研究以異常應計數作為審計品質的代理變數，並使用差異中的差異法檢驗統一委託審計的影響，研究樣本為2001~2009年中國滬深A股上市公司。實證結果顯示，就審計品質而言，實施統一委託審計後中央國有企業的審計品質有提升，但其中會計師事務所的審計年限規定並未對審計品質造成明顯影響；就審計公費而言，實施統一委託審計後中央國有企業的審計公費下降，且在市場發展程度愈低的地區效果愈明顯。 / This paper examines the effect of regulations on audit quality and audit fees in China. China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) issued some rules in 2004 to improve audit quality for state-owned enterprises controlled by the central government (CSOEs), such as SASAC Order No. 5 and SASAC Rule No. 173. Under these rules, SASAC mandatorily assign auditors for CSOEs, and CSOEs’ managers have to retain auditors for at least 2 years and at most 5 years. This paper investigates listed companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2009, and uses abnormal accruals as proxy for audit quality and a difference-in-differences design to examine the effect of these rules on audit quality and audit fees. The empirical results suggest that after the enactment of these rules, the audit quality for CSOEs relative to other companies improves and the audit fees for CSOEs relative to other companies reduce.