Bakgrund och problem: Revisionsplikten avskaffades 1 november 2010 vilket betyder att mindre aktiebolag som uppfyller vissa kriterier inte längre behöver anställa en revisor. Enligt uppgifter från Bolagsverket är det en stor majoritet av de äldre aktiebolagen som väljer att behålla sin revisor medan det hos de nyregistrerade aktiebolagen är vanligare att inte ha en revisor. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka faktorer som är avgörande för mindre aktiebolag i valet att ha en revisor. Vi ska även undersöka vilka fördelar och nackdelar de mindre aktiebolagen ser med revision och om synen varierar beroende på om det är ett bolag som registrerades innan eller efter avskaffandet av revisionsplikten. Metod: I studien används en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer. Personliga intervjuer genomfördes med sju olika mindre aktiebolag. Resultat och slutsats: Samtliga bolag är allmänt positiva till avskaffandet av revisionsplikten och menar att majoriteten av mindre aktiebolag inte har ett behov av en revisor. Majoriteten av bolagen anser att revision är en bra kvalitetsgaranti gentemot ett bolags intressenter. De aktiebolag som i dagsläget har en revisor anser att värdet revisorn ger överstiger kostnaden, medan bolag som inte har revisor anser att revision enbart innebär en betungande och onödig kostnad. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi skulle tycka att det vore intressant att undersöka avskaffandet av revisionsplikten utifrån revisorns perspektiv. Hur har revisorerna påverkats av den nya lagen och vad har den lett till för konsekvenser? / Background to problem: Auditing obligation was abolished november 1, 2010. According to Bolagsverket, the vast majority of the older companies choose to retain its auditor, while that of the newly registered companies are more likely to not have an auditor. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate which factors are crucial for small companies in the elections to be audited. We will also examine the advantages and disadvantages of the smaller companies look to the audit and whether the vision depends on whether it is a company registered before and after abolition. Methodology: The study used a qualitative method using interviews, the interviews were conducted with seven smaller companies. Conclusions: All companies are in favor of the abolition of the audit requirement and believe that the majority of smaller companies do not have a need for an auditor. The majority of companies believe that the audit is a good quality guarantee against a company's stakeholders. The companies that have an auditor believe that the value the auditor gives exceeds the expenses, while companies that do not have an auditor believe that auditing merely constitutes an unnecessary expense. Suggestions for further research: It would be interesting to investigate the removal of the audit requirement based on the auditor's perspective.

O controle interno está associado ao contexto da governança das organizações. Na administração pública brasileira, compete aos Poderes Executivo, Legislativo e Judiciário a manutenção de um sistema de controle interno integrado, conforme previsto na Constituição Federal. Os aspectos relacionados à governança são contemplados na Teoria da Agência, em que a relação entre principal e agente é marcada pela assimetria de informações e pelos conflitos de interesse. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a evidenciação de princípios de governança nos relatórios de auditoria elaborados pelo órgão de controle interno da Marinha do Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva, documental e ex post facto, conduzida pelo método de estudo de caso no Centro de Controle Interno da Marinha (CCIMAR). Devido à quantidade de material disponibilizado pelo órgão, o estudo foi limitado à investigação dos relatórios de auditoria de avaliação da gestão de 2012, tendo as unidades auditadas sido previamente selecionadas pelo Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU). Em 2012, o CCIMAR produziu seis relatórios de auditoria de avaliação da gestão, representando, portanto, a amostra de conveniência desta pesquisa. Para orientar a investigação, definiu-se um quadro de referência contemplando e integrando os princípios de governança abordados pelos seguintes estudos: Cadbury Committee (1992); Nolan Committee (1995); Ministério das Finanças da Holanda Timmers (2000); IFAC (2001); ANAO (2003); OECD (2004); e IBGC (2009). Os princípios finalmente selecionados para investigação foram Accountability, Equidade, Integridade e Transparência, associados, respectivamente, às palavras-chave prestação (ões) de contas / prestar contas, tratamento justo, confiabilidade / fidedignidade das informações / dos dados e disponibilidade / divulgação das informações / dos dados, definidas pelos contextos dos significados destacados no quadro de referência. Sendo assim, os princípios e as palavras-chave formaram o referencial de análise para investigar os relatórios de auditoria e receberam tratamento quanti-qualitativo. Após exame das ocorrências dos princípios e das palavras-chave nos relatórios compulsados, os resultados indicaram que: (1) o princípio da Accountability estava associado ao cumprimento de prazos e formalidades legais requeridas nos processos de prestação de contas públicas; (2) o princípio da Equidade foi evidenciado, essencialmente, na perspectiva interna das unidades auditadas, sendo percebido nas recomendações que contemplavam a atuação mais consistente e efetiva dos respectivos conselhos de gestão no gerenciamento das organizações; (3) o princípio da Integridade foi abordado nos relatórios tanto como atributo pessoal (integridade moral) dos agentes públicos, quanto como característica necessária das informações reportadas nos documentos emitidos pelos órgãos públicos; e (4) a Transparência foi mencionada como o princípio que proporciona a diminuição da assimetria informacional entre os stakeholders, permitindo que tenham acesso às informações relevantes, tais como a aplicação dos recursos públicos destinados às organizações da Marinha do Brasil. / Internal control is associated to organizational governance. In the Brazilian public administration, it is incumbent upon Executive, Legislative and Judiciary to maintain a system of integrated internal control, as stated in the Federal Constitution. Control issues relating to governance are grounded in Agency Theory, whereby the relationship between principal and agent is marked by asymmetric information and interest conflicts. This study aims to investigate whether governance principles are disclosed in the audit reports prepared by the Brazilian Navy internal control agency. This is a descriptive, documentary and ex post facto research, supported by the case study method in CCIMAR, the Brazilian Navy Internal Control Center. Due to the amount of material available at CCIMAR, data collection has been limited to the examination of audit reports relating to managerial assessment as of 2012; audited units were previously selected by the National Audit Court (TCU). In 2012, CCIMAR has produced six audit reports on managerial assessment, representing the empirical evidence to be treated in the present research. In order to guide the investigation, a reference framework was created that synthesized governance principles recurrent in the following studies: Cadbury Committee (1992); Nolan Committee (1995); The Netherlands Ministry of Finance Timmers (2000); IFAC (2001); ANAO (2003); OECD (2004); and IBGC (2009). Four principles were selected to be investigated, namely Accountability, Fairness, Integrity and Transparency, which were associated, respectively, to the keywords accounts presentation, fair treatment, trustworthiness of information / data and availability / disclosure of information / data, defined according to the contexts of meanings appearing in the reference framework. Those principles and keywords were taken to characterize the audit reports and were then treated via a quanti-qualitative approach. Upon checking occurrences of principles and keywords in sampled reports, findings indicated that: (1) the Accountability principle was associated to meeting deadlines and legal formalities for public accounts presentation; (2) the Fairness principle was evidenced, essentially, in the internal perspective of audited units, being perceived in recommendations contemplating the more consistent and effective acting of administration boards; (3) Integrity emerged in reports as a personal attribute (moral integrity) of public agents as well as a necessary characteristic of information reported in the documents issued by public bodies; and (4) Transparency was mentioned as the principle helping decrease informational asymmetry between stakeholders, allowing them access to relevant information, e. g. the use of public resources for Brazilian Navy organizations.

O controle interno está associado ao contexto da governança das organizações. Na administração pública brasileira, compete aos Poderes Executivo, Legislativo e Judiciário a manutenção de um sistema de controle interno integrado, conforme previsto na Constituição Federal. Os aspectos relacionados à governança são contemplados na Teoria da Agência, em que a relação entre principal e agente é marcada pela assimetria de informações e pelos conflitos de interesse. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a evidenciação de princípios de governança nos relatórios de auditoria elaborados pelo órgão de controle interno da Marinha do Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva, documental e ex post facto, conduzida pelo método de estudo de caso no Centro de Controle Interno da Marinha (CCIMAR). Devido à quantidade de material disponibilizado pelo órgão, o estudo foi limitado à investigação dos relatórios de auditoria de avaliação da gestão de 2012, tendo as unidades auditadas sido previamente selecionadas pelo Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU). Em 2012, o CCIMAR produziu seis relatórios de auditoria de avaliação da gestão, representando, portanto, a amostra de conveniência desta pesquisa. Para orientar a investigação, definiu-se um quadro de referência contemplando e integrando os princípios de governança abordados pelos seguintes estudos: Cadbury Committee (1992); Nolan Committee (1995); Ministério das Finanças da Holanda Timmers (2000); IFAC (2001); ANAO (2003); OECD (2004); e IBGC (2009). Os princípios finalmente selecionados para investigação foram Accountability, Equidade, Integridade e Transparência, associados, respectivamente, às palavras-chave prestação (ões) de contas / prestar contas, tratamento justo, confiabilidade / fidedignidade das informações / dos dados e disponibilidade / divulgação das informações / dos dados, definidas pelos contextos dos significados destacados no quadro de referência. Sendo assim, os princípios e as palavras-chave formaram o referencial de análise para investigar os relatórios de auditoria e receberam tratamento quanti-qualitativo. Após exame das ocorrências dos princípios e das palavras-chave nos relatórios compulsados, os resultados indicaram que: (1) o princípio da Accountability estava associado ao cumprimento de prazos e formalidades legais requeridas nos processos de prestação de contas públicas; (2) o princípio da Equidade foi evidenciado, essencialmente, na perspectiva interna das unidades auditadas, sendo percebido nas recomendações que contemplavam a atuação mais consistente e efetiva dos respectivos conselhos de gestão no gerenciamento das organizações; (3) o princípio da Integridade foi abordado nos relatórios tanto como atributo pessoal (integridade moral) dos agentes públicos, quanto como característica necessária das informações reportadas nos documentos emitidos pelos órgãos públicos; e (4) a Transparência foi mencionada como o princípio que proporciona a diminuição da assimetria informacional entre os stakeholders, permitindo que tenham acesso às informações relevantes, tais como a aplicação dos recursos públicos destinados às organizações da Marinha do Brasil. / Internal control is associated to organizational governance. In the Brazilian public administration, it is incumbent upon Executive, Legislative and Judiciary to maintain a system of integrated internal control, as stated in the Federal Constitution. Control issues relating to governance are grounded in Agency Theory, whereby the relationship between principal and agent is marked by asymmetric information and interest conflicts. This study aims to investigate whether governance principles are disclosed in the audit reports prepared by the Brazilian Navy internal control agency. This is a descriptive, documentary and ex post facto research, supported by the case study method in CCIMAR, the Brazilian Navy Internal Control Center. Due to the amount of material available at CCIMAR, data collection has been limited to the examination of audit reports relating to managerial assessment as of 2012; audited units were previously selected by the National Audit Court (TCU). In 2012, CCIMAR has produced six audit reports on managerial assessment, representing the empirical evidence to be treated in the present research. In order to guide the investigation, a reference framework was created that synthesized governance principles recurrent in the following studies: Cadbury Committee (1992); Nolan Committee (1995); The Netherlands Ministry of Finance Timmers (2000); IFAC (2001); ANAO (2003); OECD (2004); and IBGC (2009). Four principles were selected to be investigated, namely Accountability, Fairness, Integrity and Transparency, which were associated, respectively, to the keywords accounts presentation, fair treatment, trustworthiness of information / data and availability / disclosure of information / data, defined according to the contexts of meanings appearing in the reference framework. Those principles and keywords were taken to characterize the audit reports and were then treated via a quanti-qualitative approach. Upon checking occurrences of principles and keywords in sampled reports, findings indicated that: (1) the Accountability principle was associated to meeting deadlines and legal formalities for public accounts presentation; (2) the Fairness principle was evidenced, essentially, in the internal perspective of audited units, being perceived in recommendations contemplating the more consistent and effective acting of administration boards; (3) Integrity emerged in reports as a personal attribute (moral integrity) of public agents as well as a necessary characteristic of information reported in the documents issued by public bodies; and (4) Transparency was mentioned as the principle helping decrease informational asymmetry between stakeholders, allowing them access to relevant information, e. g. the use of public resources for Brazilian Navy organizations.

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.

The purpose of this study was to critically analyse the evidence-based revelations from the South African Office of the Auditor-General on the records management challenges being encountered in the local government sector. The aim of the study was the analysis of available evidence and the proposal of solutions for collaborative planning and implementation. The lack of strategic planning in ensuring the accessibility of authentic information sources required during auditing remains unchallenged by the South African public archivists and records managers. These audit reports are required to demonstrate governance, transparency and accountability. This information held in the records of local government is also required to satisfy service delivery and plan development ventures. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nations formulated an ambitious agenda to eradicate world poverty by 2025. Eight millennium development goals were identified that would provide impoverished communities with better access to basic services and conditions spurring sustainable development. Governance-based criteria were identified as barometers to gauge transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law and citizens’ rights. Consolidated audited reports from 2000 to 2013 were scrutinised to unravel the conundrums relating to governance, transparency and the management of public sector information sources. According to the 2013 report, only 5% of the local government sector managed to attain clean audits. Related evidence revealed in the unclean audit reports and media narratives related to service delivery and community protests. The approach used for the study was the qualitative methodology, regarded as an appropriate method for the archival discipline. This research method allowed for the incorporation of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of interest. The case study method design enabled the focus of the study to be on local governments and six selected community development ventures in different areas of South Africa. The latter method enabled information collection from records officials and persons involved with socio-economic development projects. Sound interventions are needed to ensure evidence-based governance. This, in turn, would create favourable conditions for development endeavours in post-apartheid South Africa. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

The purpose of this study was to critically analyse the evidence-based revelations from the South African Office of the Auditor-General on the records management challenges being encountered in the local government sector. The aim of the study was the analysis of available evidence and the proposal of solutions for collaborative planning and implementation. The lack of strategic planning in ensuring the accessibility of authentic information sources required during auditing remains unchallenged by the South African public archivists and records managers. These audit reports are required to demonstrate governance, transparency and accountability. This information held in the records of local government is also required to satisfy service delivery and plan development ventures. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nations formulated an ambitious agenda to eradicate world poverty by 2025. Eight millennium development goals were identified that would provide impoverished communities with better access to basic services and conditions spurring sustainable development. Governance-based criteria were identified as barometers to gauge transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law and citizens’ rights. Consolidated audited reports from 2000 to 2013 were scrutinised to unravel the conundrums relating to governance, transparency and the management of public sector information sources. According to the 2013 report, only 5% of the local government sector managed to attain clean audits. Related evidence revealed in the unclean audit reports and media narratives related to service delivery and community protests. The approach used for the study was the qualitative methodology, regarded as an appropriate method for the archival discipline. This research method allowed for the incorporation of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of interest. The case study method design enabled the focus of the study to be on local governments and six selected community development ventures in different areas of South Africa. The latter method enabled information collection from records officials and persons involved with socio-economic development projects. Sound interventions are needed to ensure evidence-based governance. This, in turn, would create favourable conditions for development endeavours in post-apartheid South Africa. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)