As responsabilidades que envolvem a atividade do auditor é um assunto muito debatido, principalmente em episódios de fraudes e outros escândalos financeiros. Em geral, são nesses momentos que a função do auditor é questionada, e o mercado atribui determinadas responsabilidades a esses profissionais que podem não corresponder com as suas atribuições (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). Porter (1990) dividiu o AEG em dois principais componentes: (i) Gap de Desempenho e (ii) Gap de Razoabilidade. O último refere-se à diferença de expectativas sobre as quais os usuários das informações financeiras acham que os auditores devem executar determinada tarefa quando de fato eles não têm a obrigação nem o objetivo de fazê-la. Utilizando o constructo de Porter (1990), este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar a existência do AEG de razoabilidade nas decisões de litígios (acórdãos) nos quais as empresas de auditoria figuram como polo passivo. A intenção foi verificar se a diferença de expectativas com relação ao trabalho do auditor fez-se presente nos documentos de conclusão dos processos cíveis e administrativos. Para tanto, foram analisados: 11 acórdãos de processos cíveis, 19 acórdãos de processos administrativos CVM e 4 acórdãos de processos administrativos Bacen, totalizando 34 acórdãos. A metodologia empregada foi a análise documental e análise de conteúdo. Para auxiliar na organização e análise dos dados, foi utilizado o software Nvivo®. Além da análise dos acórdãos, foram realizadas entrevistas com ex-membros do Colegiado da CVM, para confirmar o entendimento de como funcionam os processos de julgamento nesse Regulador, bem como obter a perspectiva desses profissionais diretamente envolvidos em julgamentos dessa espécie. Para o total dos acórdãos analisados, foi identificada a presença de AEG de razoabilidade em 10 casos, o que representa aproximadamente 29% do total. Além da identificação AEG de razoabilidade nas argumentações dos juízes, o gap também foi identificado, de forma muito mais frequente, em diversos trechos dos documentos analisados, como, por exemplo, as argumentações da acusação e advogados envolvidos. Os achados desta pesquisa foram importantes pois a identificação da existência desse gap pôde auxiliar no endereçamento desta questão. A tomada de decisão com base em argumentos equivocados pode não apenas trazer prejuízos para as firmas de auditoria, mas também para o Sistema Financeiro Nacional e setor financeiro empresarial em geral, bem como ocasionar injustiças. Como uma das formas de endereçamento do problema, nos casos dos processos administrativos, sugere-se que a composição do Colegiado e do CRSFN seja diversificada, ou mesmo que tenha a presença de um especialista para casos de julgamentos específicos, como são os casos dos julgamentos que envolvem o auditor independente. / The responsibilities entailed in the work of the auditor are a subject of much debate, chiefly when frauds and other financial scandals occur. Frequently on these occasions the function of the auditor comes into question and the business world attributes certain responsibilities to these professionals that they may not actually have (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). The author Porter B. A. (1990) separated AEG into two main components: (i) the performance gap, and (ii) the reasonableness gap. The latter refers to the difference between the expectations of users of financial information regarding the specific tasks they believe auditors should perform and the obligations and objectives those auditors actually have. Using the construct of Porter B. A. (1990), this work has the objective of identifying the existence of the reasonableness gap in legal rulings (decisions of appellate courts) in which audit firms were the defendant. The intention was to establish if the difference in expectations regarding the work of the auditor was present in the decisions and opinions of the civil and administrative proceedings. In order to do so, an analysis was made of 11 civil appellate court decisions, 19 administrative rulings of the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários - CVM (equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA) and four administrative rulings of Brazilian Central Bank; 34 judgments in all. The methodology employed was document analysis and content analysis. To aid in the organization and analysis of data, Nvivo® software was used. In addition to analysis of the judgments, interviews were conducted with former members of the CVM board to confirm the understanding of how trial procedures function at this regulator, as well as to gain the perspective of these experts, who are directly involved in judgments of this kind. From the total of the judgments analyzed, the presence of reasonableness AEG was identified in 10 cases, which represents approximately 29% of the total. In addition to identifying reasonableness AEG in the arguments of judges, this gap was also identified, and much more frequently, in various passages of the documentation on the argumentation of attorneys involved in the cases. The findings of this study are important because identifying the existence of this gap may aid in addressing the issue. Rulings based on misguided arguments can not only harm audit firms but also damage the National Financial System and the corporate financial sector in general, as well as causing injustice. As one way of addressing the issue, in administrative cases it is suggested that the composition of the panel and the CRSFN (Council of Appeals of the National Finance System) be made more diverse, and in certain cases even include a specialist, such as when judgments involve an independent auditor.

As responsabilidades que envolvem a atividade do auditor é um assunto muito debatido, principalmente em episódios de fraudes e outros escândalos financeiros. Em geral, são nesses momentos que a função do auditor é questionada, e o mercado atribui determinadas responsabilidades a esses profissionais que podem não corresponder com as suas atribuições (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). Porter (1990) dividiu o AEG em dois principais componentes: (i) Gap de Desempenho e (ii) Gap de Razoabilidade. O último refere-se à diferença de expectativas sobre as quais os usuários das informações financeiras acham que os auditores devem executar determinada tarefa quando de fato eles não têm a obrigação nem o objetivo de fazê-la. Utilizando o constructo de Porter (1990), este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar a existência do AEG de razoabilidade nas decisões de litígios (acórdãos) nos quais as empresas de auditoria figuram como polo passivo. A intenção foi verificar se a diferença de expectativas com relação ao trabalho do auditor fez-se presente nos documentos de conclusão dos processos cíveis e administrativos. Para tanto, foram analisados: 11 acórdãos de processos cíveis, 19 acórdãos de processos administrativos CVM e 4 acórdãos de processos administrativos Bacen, totalizando 34 acórdãos. A metodologia empregada foi a análise documental e análise de conteúdo. Para auxiliar na organização e análise dos dados, foi utilizado o software Nvivo®. Além da análise dos acórdãos, foram realizadas entrevistas com ex-membros do Colegiado da CVM, para confirmar o entendimento de como funcionam os processos de julgamento nesse Regulador, bem como obter a perspectiva desses profissionais diretamente envolvidos em julgamentos dessa espécie. Para o total dos acórdãos analisados, foi identificada a presença de AEG de razoabilidade em 10 casos, o que representa aproximadamente 29% do total. Além da identificação AEG de razoabilidade nas argumentações dos juízes, o gap também foi identificado, de forma muito mais frequente, em diversos trechos dos documentos analisados, como, por exemplo, as argumentações da acusação e advogados envolvidos. Os achados desta pesquisa foram importantes pois a identificação da existência desse gap pôde auxiliar no endereçamento desta questão. A tomada de decisão com base em argumentos equivocados pode não apenas trazer prejuízos para as firmas de auditoria, mas também para o Sistema Financeiro Nacional e setor financeiro empresarial em geral, bem como ocasionar injustiças. Como uma das formas de endereçamento do problema, nos casos dos processos administrativos, sugere-se que a composição do Colegiado e do CRSFN seja diversificada, ou mesmo que tenha a presença de um especialista para casos de julgamentos específicos, como são os casos dos julgamentos que envolvem o auditor independente. / The responsibilities entailed in the work of the auditor are a subject of much debate, chiefly when frauds and other financial scandals occur. Frequently on these occasions the function of the auditor comes into question and the business world attributes certain responsibilities to these professionals that they may not actually have (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). The author Porter B. A. (1990) separated AEG into two main components: (i) the performance gap, and (ii) the reasonableness gap. The latter refers to the difference between the expectations of users of financial information regarding the specific tasks they believe auditors should perform and the obligations and objectives those auditors actually have. Using the construct of Porter B. A. (1990), this work has the objective of identifying the existence of the reasonableness gap in legal rulings (decisions of appellate courts) in which audit firms were the defendant. The intention was to establish if the difference in expectations regarding the work of the auditor was present in the decisions and opinions of the civil and administrative proceedings. In order to do so, an analysis was made of 11 civil appellate court decisions, 19 administrative rulings of the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários - CVM (equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA) and four administrative rulings of Brazilian Central Bank; 34 judgments in all. The methodology employed was document analysis and content analysis. To aid in the organization and analysis of data, Nvivo® software was used. In addition to analysis of the judgments, interviews were conducted with former members of the CVM board to confirm the understanding of how trial procedures function at this regulator, as well as to gain the perspective of these experts, who are directly involved in judgments of this kind. From the total of the judgments analyzed, the presence of reasonableness AEG was identified in 10 cases, which represents approximately 29% of the total. In addition to identifying reasonableness AEG in the arguments of judges, this gap was also identified, and much more frequently, in various passages of the documentation on the argumentation of attorneys involved in the cases. The findings of this study are important because identifying the existence of this gap may aid in addressing the issue. Rulings based on misguided arguments can not only harm audit firms but also damage the National Financial System and the corporate financial sector in general, as well as causing injustice. As one way of addressing the issue, in administrative cases it is suggested that the composition of the panel and the CRSFN (Council of Appeals of the National Finance System) be made more diverse, and in certain cases even include a specialist, such as when judgments involve an independent auditor.

The audit expectation gap, generally known as the differences between what users of financialstatements expect from the auditor and what the auditor actually provides, is present andresulting to a widespread concern. This thesis aims to investigate the level and nature of the audit expectation gap betweenauditors and commercial loan officers. In addition, this thesis also asks the question ifeducation is a mean to reduce commercial loan officers’ audit expectation gap. A questionnaire containing seven-point Likert scales with bipolar adjectival statements wassent to auditors and commercial loan officers. The respondents were asked to choose anumber from the scale which identified their level of agreement to either one of thestatements. The results revealed substantial evidence of an audit expectation gap particularly on issuesconcerning auditors’ responsibilities in fraud detection and prevention. Education oncommercial loan officers could reduce the audit expectation gap.

Det finns klienter som har vissa förväntningar på revisionen men det är inte alltid dessa förväntningar stämmer överens med revisorns. Den här skillnaden kallas för förväntningsgap. Revisorns granskning ska genomföras enligt väsentlighet och risk samtidigt som revisorn ska vara oberoende i förhållande till klienten. Syftet med denna studie är att få insikt i hur förväntningsgapet mellan revisorer och deras klienter uppfattas av auktoriserade revisorer och varför fenomenet uppkommer. Vidare syftar även studien till att förklara om revisorns oberoende ställning påverkas av förväntningsgapet. I studien används en kvalitativ metod där författarna genomför fyra stycken intervjuer med auktoriserade revisorer från två olika revisionsbyråer. Resultatet visar på att det går att identifiera olika typer av förväntningsgap och att det finns fler än en anledning till att gapen uppkommer. Den främsta anledningen till varför fenomenet uppkommer är bristen på kommunikation mellan revisor och klient. Det här gäller åt båda håll. Det framgår dessutom att de framtagna förväntningsgapen inte har någon direkt påverkan på revisorns oberoende. Ett indirekt samband skulle dock kunna existera mellan vänskapshotet och förväntningsgapet. / There are clients who have different expectations of the audit, but it is not always as theseexpectations are consistent with the auditor’s. This difference is called expectation gap. Theauditor’s review shall be conducted according to materiality and risk while the auditor should be independent of the client. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how the expectation gap between auditors and their clients is perceived by authorized auditors and why thephenomenon arises. Furthermore, the study also aims at explaining whether the auditor’sindependent position is affected by the expectation gap. The study uses a qualitative method in which the authors conduct four interviews with authorized auditors from two different audit firms. The result shows that it is possible to identify diverse types of expectations gap and that there is more than one reason for the gaps to arise. The main reason why the phenomenon arises is the lack of communication between the accountant and the client. This applies in both directions. It is also apparent that the expected expectations have no direct impact on theauditor’s independence. However, an indirect relationship could exist between the threat of friendship and the expectation gap.

Sammanfattning Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet. Författare: Fredrik Olofsson och Johannes Jacobson Handledare: Karin Jonnergård Medbedömare: Ulf Larsson Olaison Titel: Förväntningsgapet - En jämförelse mellan småföretagare och investerare Bakgrund: Fenomenet förväntningsgapet gör sig påmint vid finansiella kriser och företagsskandaler vilket placerar revisorsyrket i hetluften. Studiet av gapet är omfattande men jämförelser av gapet mellan olika grupper av allmänheten visar på ett visst tomrum. Detta tillsammans med ett resonemang att kunskap och utbildning ligger bakom skillnader i gapet utgör bakgrund för studien. Syfte: Arbetet har som syfte att undersöka om det finns skillnader i olika aktörers förväntningsgap samt jämföra dessa med varandra för att skapa förståelse ifall olika intressenter har olika förväntningsgap och vad detta beror på. Metod: Studien använder en deduktiv ansats och en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi tillsammans med en enkätstudie för att fånga småföretagarnas svar. Data för investerarna härrör från Nilssons (2016) avhandling. De bägge gruppernas svar har ställts mot varandra för att jämföra förväntningsgapet. Slutsatser: Studien finner att ett förväntningsgapet föreligger hos både småföretagare och investerare. En jämförelse av de två grupperna visar att en skillnad i gapet föreligger där småföretagare har ett statistiskt signifikant gap som är större än investerarnas. Detta resultat är i linje med flera andra studier om småföretagare och stärker antagandet om kunskap som bidragande orsak till gapets existens. Nyckelord: Förväntningsgapet, småföretagare, investerare, jämförelse / Abstract Master thesis in Business Administration, School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University. Authors: Fredrik Olofsson and Johannes Jacobson Supervisor: Karin Jonnergård Examiner: Ulf Larsson Olaison Title: The audit expectation gap - a comparison between small business owners and investors Background: The audit expectation gap makes itself known in times of financial crisis and corporate scandals which places auditors in the spotlight of critique. The study of the gap is extensive however comparisons of different groups of society reveals a gap in the literature. This together with an assumption that knowledge and education cause differences in the gap comprises the background for the study. Purpose: The study aims to examine differences in the audit expectation gap among small business owners and investors. Moreover, the study aims to compare the expectation gap of the two groups. Method: The study applies a deductive stance with a quantitative research strategy together with a questionnaire survey in order to collect data for the small businesses. Data for the investor group are drawn from Nilssons (2016) dissertation. The responses of the two groups have been put side by side to compare the gap. Conclusions: Results of the study find that an expectation gap exists among both small business owners and investors. A comparison of the two groups reveal differences in the gap where small business owners have a statistically significant gap that is greater than that of the investors. This result is in line with several other studies on small businesses and strengthens the assumption that knowledge is a contributing factor to the existence of an audit expectation gap. Keywords: Audit expectation gap, small businesses, investors, comparison

The auditor’s report has been criticised for being uninformative at least since the late nineteenth century. Despite persistent requests for detailed information in order to facilitate users’ decision-making processes, auditors have only recently started to provide entity-specific information in their reports. Against this background, two research questions are raised: (1) What were the driving forces behind the evolution of the auditor’s report? (2) How can dissatisfaction with and misperceptions of audit reporting be reduced in order to support financial statement users’ decision-making processes? As the object of study, the Swedish auditor’s report is chosen since it has, up to the present day, deviated from reports in other jurisdictions and thus enables an extension of knowledge in the field of audit reporting. The first part of this dissertation contributes to previous auditing history and auditing profession research by answering the first research question through an analysis of approximately 1,800 historical Swedish auditor’s reports and numerous related documents. Applying a critical-theory perspective, the research findings suggest that during the course of history, auditors were able to adopt an auditor’s rather than a user’s perspective despite arguing in the interest of users. The second part of the dissertation contributes to previous audit reporting and expectation gap research by answering the second research question through a vignette experiment with Swedish financial statement users. The research findings indicate that dissatisfaction with the current auditor’s report can be reduced through additional entity-specific information concerning the auditor’s independence, the audit process and the audit findings, and less general information about the auditor’s responsibilities. Overall, this dissertation connects past events concerning the auditor’s report to current challenges and indicates possible future developments. / The auditor’s report is the financial auditor’s primary means of communication with users of financial statements. It has been criticised for being an uninformative document at least since the late nineteenth century. Persistent requests for change in order to facilitate users’ decision-making processes include detailed information about the audited financial statements, the conducted audits and the auditors. Despite these requests, auditors have only recently started to provide some entity-specific information in their reports. This dissertation contributes to the topical issue of audit reporting in relation to users’ needs through two studies. The first study retraces the historical evolution of the auditor’s report in order to explain the driving forces behind this evolution and the reasons why users have had to accept uninformative reports for such a long time. The second study examines ways to reduce dissatisfaction with and misperceptions of audit reporting and evaluates the current auditor’s report with regard to financial statement users’ decision-making processes. Overall, the findings of this dissertation cast doubt on the past and current willingness of auditors to deliver reports that are aligned with users’ needs to make informed decisions.

The thesis deals with the public expectations in relation to external audit and especially the difference of these expectations from how auditors themselves percieve their role (so called expectation gap). First, it briefly outlines the origin, development and the role of external audit. The following chapters describe how the non-professional public understands audit, what are the causes of unreasonable expectations and to which areas they are most often related. Finally, the consequences arising from the existence of unreasonable expectations (or expectation gap) are reviewed and ways how to eliminate or at least reduce these expectations (expectation gap) are discussed.

Revisorer är en av grupperna som orsakar förväntningsgapet eftersom de ibland misslyckas med att identifiera sina ansvarsområden. Finansiella skandaler har på ett negativt sätt påverkat det förtroende företagens intressenter har för revisionen. Ett ökat förtroende kan bland annat resultera i en mer effektiv kapitalmarknad, som ett resultat av en ökad tillit till revisionen.  Tidigare studier har undersökt om revisionsutbildning som riktats mot allmänheten har en påverkan på förväntningsgapet. Om yrkeserfarenhet inom revision påverkar revisorernas del av förväntningsgapet, har inte studerats i en vidare omfattning. Till följd av finansiella skandaler har det visat sig att det existerar ett misslyckande bland revisorer, eftersom de till fullo inte är medvetna om sina ansvarsområden. Avsikten med studien är att undersöka om yrkeserfarenhet påverkar det här misslyckandet och därmed bidra till ett relativt outforskat område inom förväntningsgapet En kvantitativ studie genomfördes med enkäter som datainsamlingsmetod. Resultatet indikerar att svenska revisorer har en god kännedom, men inte är fullt medvetna om sina ansvarsområden. Resultatet visar dock att det med statistisk signifikans inte går att bekräfta att revisorers misslyckande påverkas av yrkeserfarenhet. / Auditors are one of the groups causing the audit expectation gap since they sometimes fail to identify their areas of responsibility. Financial scandals have negatively affected the trust that the companies’ stakeholders have for audit reports. An increased trust can, among others, result in a more effective capital market, as a result from increased trust to the audit report. Previous studies have examined whether or not audit education directed at the public has an effect on the audit expectation gap. Whether or not the work experience of auditors has an effect on the audit expectation gap have not been studied to a great extent. Following financial scandals, there have been shown to be a failure among auditors, since they are not fully aware of their areas of responsibility. The aim of the study is to examine whether or not work experience affect this failure, and thereby contribute to a relatively unexplored field, within the audit expectation gap. A quantitative study was conducted using questionnaires to collect data. The result indicates that Swedish auditors are generally knowledgeable, but not fully aware of their areas of responsibility. However, the result shows no statistical evidence that indicates that failure of the auditor is affected by work experience.

New and revised Canadian Auditing Standards for audits of companies with fiscal periods ending on or after December 15, 2018 came into effect in April 2017. This paper examines the economic effects of one of the updates: the new auditor reporting requirement to disclose the auditor’s responsibilities over other information. We investigate the relationship between the existence of the auditor’s commentary about the MD&A within the other information paragraph on the auditor’s report and the reactions of users of the financial statements, namely investors and analysts, to the MD&A. We find that both investors and analysts do not respond to the auditor’s commentary about the MD&A within the other information paragraph present on the auditor’s report. Our result indicates that although the disclosure may not be providing additional information value to users of the financial statements as the standard setters intended, it is also not creating an increase in the audit expectation gap.

Det har sedan en lång tid tillbaka fastställts att förväntningsgapet är ett existerande problem inom revisionsprofessionen. Uppkomsten till ett förväntningsgap beskrivs vara när de förväntningar en klient har inte stämmer överens med vad revisorn faktiskt levererar. Effekten av att ett gap får existera kan ge upphov till negativa effekter där revisionsprofessionen får lida och klienter känner sig otillfredsställda. Det har som ett resultat av förväntningsgapets existens vuxit fram diverse dimensioner av gapet där olika aspekter studerats närmare. En av dessa dimensioner är huruvida vilken egenskap en förväntning kan ta och vad den grundar sig i. En dimension där förväntningar delas upp i egenskap av uppfattning och önskan när de uttrycks samt där skälen bakom en förväntning bör studeras. Två aspekter som är återkommande ämnen i studier om förväntningsgapet är aspekterna om nivå av kommunikation och kunskap. Som ett resultat av denna bakgrund har därför denna uppsats behandlat den forskningslucka som finns angående förväntningsgapet där förväntningars egenskap tas i beaktande i relationen mellan revisor och mindre företag. Samtidigt som aspekterna av kommunikation och kunskap inkluderas för att studeras i samma dimension. Studiens syfte är att utröna vidden av förväntningsgapet i mindre företag och dess påverkan av förväntningar i egenskap av önskan. Vidare ska kunskap och kommunikation i relationen mellan revisor och klient studeras med avsikten att klargöra dess betydelse för gapets existens. Studien baseras på en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi tillsammans med semistrukturerade intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. Totalt genomfördes tio intervjuer med respondenter från olika revisionsbyråer samt företag baserade i olika branscher i Sverige. Respondenterna från företagen var personer som hade den yttersta kontakten med deras revisor och från byråerna intervjuades auktoriserade revisorer. Baserat på våra empiriska resultat tillsammans med inhämtad teori har vissa slutsatser kunnat dras. Förväntningar med egenskapen av önskan kan antas finnas och påverka på vilka sätt en förväntning tar hos en klient samt hur den tar form mot revisorn. En slutsats är att önskningar kan bidra till gapet då de ofta relaterar till tjänster utanför den vanliga lagstadgade revisionen. Därtill har slutsats dragits att kommunikation och kunskap har en återkommande betydelse för gapet när det gäller i egenskap av önskningar