Background: There are several studies that have found an expectation gap between auditors and different stakeholders. Since 2019, there has been a sharp increase in the number of individual investors in Sweden. There is a lack of studies examining the expectation gap between auditors and individual investors. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze and explain whether Swedish auditors and individual investors have a different view regarding the auditor’s responsibility, reliability, and decision usefulness. Furthermore, the view of individual investors is analyzed with different demographic factors. Research method: This is a quantitative study with a deductive approach, where the hypotheses are developed from prior research. The empirical data comes from the answers from a mail survey and a web survey. The survey consisted of statements regarding the auditor’s responsibility, reliability, and decision usefulness. Results: The study shows that there is an expectation gap between auditors and individual investors in Sweden. The study also shows that experience from the stock market leads to a more narrow expectation gap between auditors and individual investors in Sweden. Contributions: The study contributes to a better understanding of what the expectation gap between auditors and individual investors in Sweden consists of. Additionally, it shows how individual investors in Sweden perceive the auditor’s responsibility, reliability, and decision usefulness / Bakgrund: Det finns många studier som konstaterat ett förväntansgap mellan revisorer och olika intressentgrupper. Sedan 2019 har antalet småsparare i Sverige kraftigt ökat. Det saknas studier som undersöker småspararnas förväntningar på revisorn. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera och förklara huruvida svenska revisorer och småsparare har olika uppfattningar gällande revisorns ansvar, tillförlitlighet och beslutspåverkan. Vidare analyseras även småspararnas uppfattningar utifrån olika demografiska faktorer. Metod: Studien är kvantitativ med en deduktiv ansats, där hypoteserna utvecklats med hjälp av tidigare forskning. Empirin har samlats in genom en mailenkät och en webbenkät som utgörs av påståenden om revisorns ansvar, tillförlitlighet och beslutspåverkan. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det finns ett förväntansgap mellan revisorer och småsparare i Sverige. Vidare visar resultatet att utbildningsnivå inte minskar förväntansgapet, men att mer erfarenhet på börsen leder till ett mindre förväntansgap mellan revisorer och småsparare i Sverige. Kunskapsbidrag: Studien bidrar till ökad förståelse för hur förväntansgapet mellan revisorer och småsparare i Sverige ser ut. Därtill hur revisorer och småsparare i Sverige ser på revisorns ansvar, tillförlitlighet och beslutspåverkan.

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.

Förtroende är ett mångfacetterat begrepp och har många referensramar. Det går att skilja påförtroende till text, transaktion och förtroende ur ett socialt perspektiv, som kommunikationoch ömsesidig interaktion. Revision är inte bara en granskningsprocess, utan en mänskligaktivitet som ska bygga på samspel med användare av redovisnings information, därmed blirrevisionen en etisk handling som måste bygga på förtroende. För att erhålla förtroende måsterevisorn bemöta de förväntningar som finns på dem idag. Näringslivets utveckling samtförändringar i omvärlden har skapat behov av utveckling och förändring i revisorns funktion,vilket har bidragit till förväntningar från nya intressegrupper och samhället i stort. Tidigareforskning har visat på att det finns olika uppfattningar gällande rollfördelningen mellanrevisorn och företaget, vilket i sin tur bidrar till missuppfattningar. Den globala finanskrisenoch företagsskandaler i många länder har lyft viktiga frågor om effektiviteten för finansiellrapportering och revision, där revisorsbyråer ofta får stå föremål för kritik och bemöta tryckpå att återställa förtroendet för revisionen. 2010 avskaffades revisionsplikten för mindre bolagi Sverige. Den nya lagstiftningen har i viss mån förflyttat ansvaret från revisorn tillföretagsledningen.Syftet med vår studie har varit att analysera och tolka begreppet förtroende förrevisionsarbetet. Vi har belyst begreppet förtroende i samband med avskaffandet avrevisionsplikten, samt reflekterat över hur det påverkat revisorns funktion och förtroendet irelation till användare av redovisningsinformation. För att kunna uppnå syftet ochforskningsfrågorna har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ och tolkande metod samt genomförtsamtal med kompetenta respondenter i form av revisorer, kreditgivare och småföretagare föratt få del av deras syn på begreppen.Vi har i denna studie kunnat bidra med ökad förståelse för det mångfacetterade begreppetförtroende och vilken effekt avskaffandet av revisionsplikten har haft på relationerna mellanrevisorer, småföretagare och banker, samt om förväntningarna på revisionens funktion harförändrats. Vårt resultat i denna studie bevisade att det finns brister i kommunikationenmellan de olika parterna, vilket påverkar förtroendet. Vi har kunnat identifiera ettförväntningsgap i det avseendet. Revisorerna behöver därför bli bättre på att nå ut tillsmåföretagarna om vilken roll och vilka tjänster de kan utföra. Vi har inte i vår studie kunnatse hur förtroendet har påverkats av den frivilliga revisionen. MenBolagsverket ochSkatteverket upplever att kvalitén på årsredovisningen har försämrats efter införandet avfrivillig revision, vilket visar att revisionen fortfarande har en viktig funktion förkvalitetssäkring av redovisningsinformation vilket höjer förtroendet för den.

Background and Problem: The audit expectation gap is an interesting phenomenon whereseveral academics and researchers have studied this subject in the audit environment. However,in relation to the research conducted on the audit expectation gap in the private sector, a lack ofresearch exists on the audit expectation gap in the public sector. The importance ofunderstanding and realising the audit expectation gap in the public sector relies on the threatthe gap has on the legitimacy and trust of the national audit offices and public auditors. Purpose: This research study aims to explore the audit expectation gap in the public sector.The study seeks to investigate what manifests the audit expectation gap between the SwedishNational Audit Office and the society of Sweden. In addition, the study aims to moreoverunderstand the reasons for making the audit expectation gap emerge. Method: The study includes two different research methods aimed to explore the differentperceptions of the public auditors and the society concerning the roles and responsibilities ofpublic state auditors. Semi-structured interviews with auditors from the Swedish National AuditOffice were conducted to comprehend their perception of public auditors. In comparison,content analysis on a published news article of the Swedish National Audit Office was observedto comprehend the Swedish society’s perceptions of public auditors. The two research methodswere then analysed and compared to explore if an audit expectation gap exists between thedifferent perceptions. Findings: The findings provide an understanding of different contributors causing an auditexpectation gap to emerge between the Swedish National Audit Office and Swedish society.The findings suggest that the audit expectation gap can be a consequence of the public lack ofknowledge in the office, poor performance or failure to adhere to core ethical principles byeither the individual auditor or office or the efficiency of the standard and its sufficiency toprovide with high-quality auditing. When such situations or circumstances emerge, the findingsindicate that an audit expectation gap is manifested between the Swedish National Audit Officeand the Swedish society.

Informationsteknik är ett expanderande område som utvecklas i takt med den teknologiska utvecklingen. Allt eftersom samhället blir mer digitaliserat har det en betydande påverkan på den finansiella revisorn och dess revisionsarbete. Det finns tidigare forskningar och diskussioner kring hur viktigt IT-kompetens är för den finansiella revisorn på grund av den växande IT-miljön. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om den finansiella revisorn har tillräckligt med IT-kompetens för att granska affärssystem, förstå om eller när den finansiella revisorn tar hjälp av en IT-revisor samt undersöka vilka förväntningar som finns på finansiella revisorer. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Respondenterna som deltog i undersökningen var revisorer från olika revisionsbyråer samt en VD, vilket la grunden för den empiriska data som därefter analyserades med hjälp av studiens teoretiska referensram. De centrala slutsatserna som tagits fram i studien är att den finansiella revisorn anser sig själva ha tillräckligt med IT-kompetens för att utföra deras arbetsuppgifter och för att kunna utföra granskningar av ett affärssystem. Studien påvisar att om en finansiell revisor ska kunna göra granskningar av ett affärssystem krävs det grundläggande kunskaper om hur affärssystem fungerar. Studien visar även att en finansiell revisor kan ta hjälp IT-revisorer när deras kunskaper inte är tillräckliga. Det förekommer främst vid granskning av komplexa och specialanpassade affärssystem. Till sist visar studiens resultat att förväntningarna som finns på finansiella revisorer överensstämmer med kundens förväntningar. / Information technology is an expanding area that is evolving in step with technological development. As the society becomes more digital, it has a significant impact on the financial auditor and its audit work. There is previous research and discussions about how important IT competence is for the financial auditor due to the growing IT environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the financial auditor has sufficient IT competence to audit information systems, to understand if or when the financial auditor engages the help of an IT auditor and examine the expectations that exist for the financial auditors. To answer the studies purpose and the formulated questions, a qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews was conducted. The respondents who participated in the study were auditors from various auditing firms and a CEO, they formed the empirical data which were then analyzed by using the studies theoretical framework. The key conclusions in the study are that the financial auditor considers themselves to have sufficient IT competence to perform their tasks and to be able to audit an information system. The study indicates that basic knowledge of how information systems work is required from a financial auditor to perform an audit of the system. The study also indicates that a financial auditor can engage the help of IT auditors when their knowledge is not sufficient. It appears mainly in audits of complex and special adapted information systems. Lastly the result of the study shows that the expectation of the financial auditor is in line with the customer’s expectations.

The aspect of the audit expectation gap continues to be an issue and detrimental to the auditing profession especially as auditors and the public continues to hold different beliefs about the auditors’ duties and responsibilities, and the messages conveyed by audit reports. This phenomenon has long been investigated in several Western and Asian countries with numerous studies that empirically confirmed the existence of this phenomenon between auditors and non-auditors (audit stakeholders). However, it appears paradoxical that only few studies have been conducted empirically in establishing the existence of this gap, in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the public sector. Meaning, there is a dearth of research regarding an AEG in the public sector. Besides, regarding The Gambia, it appears that no study has ever been conducted to establish the existence of an AEG.  Hence, this thesis aims to investigate the existence of AEG in The Gambia public sector from the viewpoints of public auditors and non-auditing professionals to establish the existence and nature of the audit expectations gap and how this phenomenon can be bridged to uphold the credibility of the auditing profession. A purposive sampling was used to select 13 participants with a structured interview data collection approach. The results of the study shows that the non-auditing professionals perceived ‘detection and prevention of fraud and corruption’, and ‘assurance on the effectiveness of internal controls’ to include auditors’ roles and responsibilities, and faithfully expect them to perform these tasks; and also associate absolute assurance to audit opinions, thus resulting in naive or an unreasonable expectations gap.

Financial reporting fraud is a concern for investors, regulators, external auditors, and the public. Although the responsibility for fraud detection lies upon management and those charged with governance, external auditors are likely to come under scrutiny if fraud scandals come to light. Despite the audit regulators efforts in fighting fraud, evidence from prior literature revealed that external auditors still need guidance in assessing and responding to fraud risks. Hence the current study aims at helping external auditors properly assess and respond to the risk of financial reporting fraud in an effort to increase the likelihood of detecting it. In order to achieve this, the current study sought to explore the significance of various fraud factors in assessing the risks of financial reporting fraud and examined how external auditors could assess these fraud factors. The current study also explored the likely motivations behind management fraud, the impact of management motivations on the financial statements, and how external auditors could assess the impact of management motivations. The data for the current study was collected from external auditors working at various audit firms in Egypt via the use of mixed research methods, namely through an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the current study revealed that management motives are the most significant factor in assessing the risk of financial reporting fraud. Hence the current study suggests that external audit should be viewed in terms of management motivations rather than just the audit of financial statements figures and disclosures. The current study offers detailed guidance to external auditors in this area. The findings of the current study also revealed that management integrity is a significant factor in assessing the risk of financial reporting fraud and that rationalisation of fraud should be assessed as part of management integrity rather than a separate fraud risk factor. The current study found that fraud perpetrators capabilities are equally significant to the opportunity to commit fraud factor yet it is currently ignored by the audit standards and thus should be assessed as part of opportunity to commit fraud. The current study was the first to explore financial reporting fraud and the extent by which external auditors comply with ISA 240 in the Egyptian context. The current study offered recommendations to external auditors, audit firms, audit regulators, and the Egyptian government on how to combat financial reporting fraud. Potential areas for future research were also identified by the current study.