Aim: Earlier studies have investigated what impact the relationship between the auditor and their clients have on the auditor’s objectivity. There are different opinions about whether a close relationship harms or promote the auditors work. Furthermore there are studies that show what strategies the auditor (and client) tends to use in the negotiation between the two of them. On this basis we have chosen to study if there are any correlation between the nature of the auditor client relationship, the auditor’s negotiation strategy against the client and the auditor’s objectivity. Method: Because of our purpose to study if there is any correlation between the relationship, the negotiation strategies and the auditor´s objectivity we have chosen to implement a quantitative survey. The survey has been edited by earlier studies from Gibbins, McCracken and Salterio (2010), Fontaine (2011) and Bamber and Iyer (2007). The survey has been sent to approved and authorized auditors in Sweden and the collected data has been compiled and analyzed by statistic methods. Result & Conclusions: This study shows that there are a significant correlation between a close relationship, the auditor’s negotiation strategies and the auditor’s objectivity. With a close relationship the auditor tends to use integrative strategies, which also shows to have a negative impact on auditor objectivity. Suggestions for future research: This study shows that the relationship has impact on the auditor to use integrative strategies. On this basis it would be interesting to do a deeper study with focus on integrative strategies and auditor´s objectivity. Contribution of the thesis: This study can be useful for auditors if they want to study the relationship with their clients and the potential impact on objectivity. Key words: Auditor, objectivity, relational, transactional, integrative, distributive / Syfte: Tidigare har studerats huruvida den relation som föreligger mellan revisor och klient har en påverkan på revisorns objektivitet. Det råder skilda åsikter om huruvida en nära relation skadar eller främjar revisionsarbetet. Dessutom finns studier som visar vilka strategier revisor (och klient) tenderar att använda i förhandlingen parterna emellan. Utifrån detta har vi valt att undersöka om det finns samband mellan karaktären hos revisorns klientrelation, revisorns förhandlingsstrategi mot klienten och revisorns objektivitet. Metod: Då vi studerar om det finns något samband mellan karaktären på relationen, de förhandlingsstrategier som används och revisorns objektivitet har vi valt att genomföra en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Enkäten har utformats utifrån tidigare studier av Gibbins, McCracken och Salterio (2010), Fontaine (2011) och Bamber och Iyer (2007). Enkäten har skickats ut till godkända och auktoriserade revisorer i Sverige och insamlad data har sedan sammanställts och analyserats med hjälp av ett antal statistiska metoder. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att det finns ett signifikant samband mellan en nära relation, de förhandlingsstrategier revisorn använder och revisorns objektivitet. En nära relation visar att revisorn tenderar att använda integrativa strategier i förhandlingen med klienten, detta visar sig också ha en negativ effekt på revisorns objektivitet. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien visar att relationen har inverkan på att revisorn väljer integrativa strategier i förhandlingen med klienten. Därför vore det intressant att genomföra en vidare studie med fokus på de integrativa strategierna och revisorns objektivitet. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien kan vara till nytta för revisorer om de själva vill studera relationen med sina klienter och hur den kan påverka objektiviteten. Nyckelord: Revisor, klient, objektivitet, relationell, transaktionell, integrativ, distributiv.

Det är mycket viktigt att en revisor är oberoende, detta för att ge en opartisk och rättvis bild av finansiella rapporter. Den kommunala revisionen har de förtroendevalda revisorerna som ska granska att verksamheten sköts på ett tillförlitligt sätt enligt god revisionssed. Dock har proceduren för utnämnandet av de förtroendevalda revisorerna kritiserats i media för att vara partiskt och jävigt. Tidigare forskning lyfter fram olika hot som kan påverka en yrkesrevisors oberoende och opartiskhet i sitt arbete. Vissa av dessa hot väljs ut och undersöks. Har de utvalda hoten även en påverkan på de förtroendevalda revisorerna i Sveriges kommuner? Hot mot oberoende undersöks i form av tre undersökningsfrågor: rådgivning, kvalitetskontroller samt längden på uppdraget. Det har utformats en modell där undersökningsfrågorna ingår, giltigheten på denna testas. Insamlandet av datamaterialet har erhållits genom en sluten enkätstudie där 660 stycken kommunfullmäktige och förtroendevalda revisorer, runt om i landet, har svarat. Svaren har bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av SPSS och Minitab. Resultatet visade att två av de tre undersökningsfrågorna hade en inverkan på oberoendet hos de förtroendevalda revisorerna. Studiens slutsats påvisade att respondenternas inställning till oberoendet främst kan förklaras av rådgivning och uppdragstidens längd, men även av politik som blev en ny undersökningsdel, modellen blev därför korrigerad. / It is very important that an auditor is independent, in order to give an impartial and fair view of the financial statements. The municipal audit has auditors who are trusted to review the organization. This is managed in a reliable manner according to generally accepted auditing standards. However, the procedure for the nomination of the trusted auditors is criticized in the media for being biased. Previous research highlights the different threats that may affect the auditor's independence and objectivity in their work. Some of these threats are chosen and examined. Do these threats also have an influence on the trusted auditors in Swedish municipalities? Threats against independence are examined in terms of three study factors: counseling, quality controls and auditor tenure. A model has been designed in which survey questions are included. It´s validity is later tested. The collection of the data is obtained through a closed survey in which 660 city council and trusted auditors have responded. The responses were processed and analyzed with the help of SPSS and Minitab. The results demonstrated that two of the three study factors had an impact on the independence of the local municipal audit. The study's conclusion clarifies that respondents' attitude towards independence is mainly reflected over counseling and auditor tenure but also of politics, that in the end became a new study factor, and therefore changed the models appearance.

Background: The audit has not always been as it is today. The first law requiring auditing was legislated in the Companies Act 1895. Many events have taken place in the audit history; among them was the Krueger crash, which affected the auditing profession hard in Sweden. This led to new recommendations and laws that would save the profession. Because of the events in the past, there are many who question the audit profession and discussions have been held regarding the auditor's independence and objectivity. Nov. 1, 2010 abolished the audit requirement for certain companies. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the role of the auditor - the independence and objectivity, by perusing the number of qualified / unqualified audit reports, before and after removal of the audit requirement. Methodology: To answer the study's purpose, a quantitative study was conducted in which 400 annual reports from Stockholm and 200 annual reports outside of Stockholm, has been selected to be examined, to see how the number of qualified / unqualified audit reports has changed during the years 2008-2011. Theoretical Framework: The theories that have been applied in the study are the auditor's role, Independence & Objectivity and Profession. Framework: To complement the theoretical framework the audit significance, audit procedure, audit report and previous studies have been applied. Empirism: The data collected for this study is illustrated in diagrams showing that 2010 was a defining year where most unqualified audit reports were reported, while the remaining years showed non or few unqualified audit reports. Conclusion: Based on the empirical evidence presented, auditor's independence and objectivity has been questioned. Clear indications that the audit requirement has influenced the audit profession is illustrated in the diagrams from empirical data, however, it is too early to say if it has a positive or negative impact on profession.

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has become one of the most important accounting issues around the world. Taiwan Accounting Research and Development Foundation (TARDF) since early 2000’s gradually released or updated a number of important accounting standards to comply with IFRS. This process provides a natural experimental ground for researchers to examine the impact of accounting principle changes on companies’ choice of auditors. The adoption of new accounting standards not only influences the asset evaluation process but also affects companies’ accounting information systems. Engaging a specialist auditor can send a signal of high-quality financial reporting to outsiders, and companies may gain positive market reactions as a result. For example, as more assets and liabilities are measured at fair value under the new standards, auditors must deal with the complexities of auditing fair value measurements, and their expertise of such a process may help companies overcome the difficulties in complying with new accounting standards. That is, the implementation of complex accounting standards may increase the demand for auditors who specialize in a certain industry, transaction, or even account. Hence, this study examines how the adoption of new accounting standards influences companies’ choice of specialist auditors. By testing auditor switches around the adoption of TSFAS No. 35, No.34 and No. 36, we find that the more a company is expected to be affected by IFRS-based standards, the more likely it may choose an account specialist auditor when it adopts these new standards. The results are more significant at the individual level since an individual auditor is more likely to possess expertise than audit firms as a group, since professional judgments rely on individual auditor’s knowledge and task-specific experience. Our results also suggest that companies with higher earnings management incentives are less likely to engage industry specialist auditors, even when they are influenced by the adoption of new accounting standards. However, the influence of companies’ earnings management incentives on their choice of specialist auditors is affected by the complexities of new standards adopted.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-81). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-81). Also available on the Internet.

Aim: Auditor objectivity in the auditing process is an important part of the IASB and FASB framework as well as in the SOX act. It is unclear whether auditor’s self-efficacy through selection of negotiation strategy affect the auditor’s objectivity. The purpose of the study is to improve the understanding of what impacts auditor objectivity and as a result show new strategies on how to increase it. Method: Deductive approach with a literature review as secondary data and a web-based questionnaire carried out among 3,264 Swedish auditors as primary data. Analysis was done with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and reported in the SmartPLS and SPSS software. Result & Conclusions: Prior negative negotiation experiences have a detrimental effect on both distributive and integrative negotiation self-efficacy. Distributive negotiation self-efficacy and auditing self-efficacy increase objectivity mainly through the mediation of contending strategy. No relationship between integrative negotiation self-efficacy and negotiation strategy or auditor objectivity was found, possibly due to weak theoretical constructs. No causal claims are posed on these relations. Bandura’s four main sources of influence on self-efficacy can be considered as guides on how to shield the auditor from the detrimental effect of failures and build up self-efficacy to perform better in negotiation. Suggestions for future research: Develop stronger constructs for PNE, ISE and expanding-the-agenda-of-issues strategy. Using multiple imputation instead of mean replacement for missing data is highly recommended. Gather at least 400 responses in order to gain stronger statistical power. Introduce a prior auditing experiences construct for ASE to raise awareness of potential differences in how prior experiences affect DSE, ISE and ASE. Contribution of the thesis: This paper uniquely contributes to the literature on factors influencing auditor objectivity. Its main use to auditors, accounting legislators, researchers etc. at the moment is to add to the discussion about objectivity.

Den pågående digitaliseringsutvecklingen i dagens samhälle resulterar i stora förändringar inom ett flertal områden, däribland revisionsbranschen. De senaste decennierna har genomgripande förändringar skapat nya förutsättningar och utvecklingsmöjligheter för revisionsbyråer. Effekterna av en sådan förändringsprocess har tidigare studerats, däremot är förändringen gällande revisorns kundrelation ett relativt outforskat område. Studiens syfte är att utifrån ett revisorsperspektiv undersöka hur revisionsbranschen förändras av digitaliseringsutvecklingen och hur den i sin tur påverkar revisorns kundrelation. På så sätt kan studien belysa hur de undersökta revisionsbyråerna bemöter utvecklingen och även vad revisorerna anser vara viktigt att ta hänsyn till i kundrelationen under denna digitaliseringsomställning. Forskningsfrågan i undersökningen är således, "Hur ser digitaliseringen inom revisionsbranschen ut, och hur påverkar detta revisorns kundrelation?". Med hjälp av en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi baserad på personliga intervjuer med auktoriserade revisorer har besvarandet av forskningsfrågan framkommit. Studiens slutsatser visar att den rådande digitaliseringsutvecklingen förändrar revisionsbranschen genom dess möjligheter till ett mer digitaliserat och effektivt revisionsarbete. Tillgång till digitala verktyg i revisionsarbetet utgör ett betydelsefullt stöd för revisorn. Det möjliggör en mer heltäckande revision samt en reducering av standardiserade arbetsuppgifter, som vidare ger upphov till en ökad automatisering inom branschen. Följden av ett alltmer digitaliserat arbetssätt har vidare resulterat i förändringar i revisorns kundrelation. En ökad användning av digitala hjälpmedel möjliggör en mer öppen relation mellan revisor och kund som resulterar i en större delaktighet från kundens sida under revisionsprocessen. Tillgång till mer digitala verktyg skapar även ett mer tillförlitligt revisionsarbete och en smidigare kommunikation. Studien visar även att det under digitaliseringsutvecklingen uppvisas ett mer proaktivt förhållningssätt hos respondenterna från de större revisionsbyråerna jämfört med respondenterna från de mindre. Däremot uppvisar respondenterna från samtliga byråer ett proaktivt förhållningssätt när det gäller interaktionen med kunderna. Det är sammantaget betydande att revisorn följer med i utvecklingen och samtidigt utformar arbetssättet utefter kundens förväntningar samt preferenser. Detta för att undvika ett missnöje och därmed möjliggöra ett bevarande av goda kundrelationer. / The current digitalisation is changing our society, it is particularly changing several business areas such as the audit industry. In recent decades, radical changes of this process have created development opportunities for audit firms. The effects of digitalisation have previously been studied, however no empirical study has specifically explored the effects of a change regarding an auditor’s client relationship. The purpose of this research is to examine, from an auditor’s perspective, the audit industry’s continued digitalisation and its impact of an auditor’s client relationship. Thereby, the study can illustrate how the examined audit firms meet the digitalisation but also what the auditors consider to be important in a client relationship during this development. This study will therefore address the following research question, "How does the digitalisation appear within the audit industry, and how does it affect an auditor’s client relationship?". This qualitative study is based on personal interviews with authorized auditors, to validate the results of the study’s research question. The findings of this study show that the current digitalisation is changing the audit industry, due to its possibilities to achieve a more efficient and higher quality audit. Access to digital technologies make a significant contribution and facilitates the work of the auditor. It also enables a comprehensive audit as well as the reduction of certain tasks, which leads to more automation. The results of a more digitised work have moreover caused changes in the client relationship of an auditor. An increased use of digital technologies enables an open relationship between an auditor and a client, which results in a greater participation from the client during the audit process. The implementation of digital technologies also creates a more reliable audit and improved communication. It is also found that larger audit firms are more proactive in comparison to smaller audit firms when it comes to keeping pace with the digitalisation. However, both large and small audit firms are proactive in their interaction with clients. Overall, an auditor must follow the digitalisation and simultaneously adjust the work procedure after the client’s expectations and preferences. The auditor is expected to consider a client’s requirements to avoid dissatisfaction so that a relationship can be maintained.

Using a game theoretical setting, this paper studies how a multinational company's (MNC) choice of using one set (OSB) or two sets of books (TSB) is affected by a strategically acting tax auditor (TA). First, a divisionalized MNC with a producing division in a low tax country and a selling division in a high tax country chooses either OSB or TSB. With OSB, the unique transfer price coordinates the quantity decision and determines the tax payments. With TSB, two transfer prices are used for both tasks. Second, a TA may audit the MNC's transfer prices. It turns out that the TA's bargaining power and his personal audit costs critically influence the MNC's transfer pricing decision. For a low bargaining power and low audit costs, the MNC keeps OSB with positive probability. When the TA's bargaining power is high, the negotiation benefits from using a single transfer price are outweighed by the costs of a reduced flexibility. Then, the MNC keeps TSB with either tax aggressive or compliant reported transfer prices. In addition, a raise in the tax difference induces less tax aggressive behavior. Intuitively, tax aggressiveness should be even more attractive in this case. This intuition is not true in our setting since the TA's audit probability increases and, thus, makes profit shifting less attractive. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

Bakgrund: Styrelsen anses vara en viktig mekanism inom bolagetsstyrningen. Ett syfte med styrelsen är att övervaka den operativa ledningen. Revisorns syfte är att reducera de agentkostnader som uppstår vid separationen mellan ledning och ägande, vilket sker i stor omfattning inom noterade bolag. Det är därför relevant att studera hur styrelsens sammansättning påverkar revisionskvaliteten. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förklara hur styrelsens sammansättning påverkar revisionskvaliteten. Metod: Studien har ett deduktivt angreppssätt. Teorin som används utgår från agentteorin, Corporate Governance Strategy och stewardship-teorin. En kvantitativ undersökning av bolagens årsredovisningar och databaser har utförts. Datamaterialet är hänförbart till räkenskapsåret som avslutats under 2016 samt 2017. Slutsats: Utifrån studien kan det konstateras att det finns samband mellan styrelsens sammansättning och revisionskvaliteten hos bolag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen. / Background: The board of directors is considered being an important part of corporate governance. One purpose of the board is to monitor the managers. When there is a separation between managing and ownership of a company, agency costs occure. This happens when companies are listed. The auditors purpose is to reduce the agency costs. Because of this, it is relevant to study how board characteristics affect audit quality. Purpose: This paper aims to explain how board characteristics affect audit quality. Method: This study is based on a deductive approach. Theories used in this study are agency theory, Corporate Governance Strategy and stewardship theory. A quantitative study of annual reports and databases have been done. The empirical datasets are collected from the years 2016 and 2017. Conclusion: The results from this study show that board characteristics affect audit quality at companies listed at Nasdaq Stockholm.