Staff auditors often rely on team members as a source of information to determine the behaviors that are normal and acceptable. This may be one cause of the prevalence of audit quality reducing dysfunctional audit behaviors (DAB) within the profession. Social influence theory, applied in an auditing context, posits that staff auditors are influenced not only by the preferences of their superiors (i.e., compliance pressure) but also by their peers' DAB (i.e., conformity pressure). Given the importance of the work performed by staff auditors, I conduct an experiment to identify the role that a peer team member's behavior and a superior's preference plays in influencing staff auditors' behavior. I predict, and find, that staff auditors with a peer team member who engages in a DAB are more likely to engage in a DAB. I also predict, and find, that staff auditors with a superior who has a preference toward efficiency are more likely to engage in a DAB. Finally, I predict that a superior's preference toward efficiency will amplify the influence of a peer team member's involvement in a DAB. Interestingly, I find that a superior's preference amplifies the effect of a peer team member's behavior when it is toward efficiency only, not effectiveness, for a face-to-face request from the client, but not for an email request. These results suggest that peer behavior influences the effect of a superior's preference of staff auditors in the intimidating situation of having a face-to-face interaction with the client. This could be because of the cognitive dissonance staff auditors experience when their general understanding of the standards does not align with their peer's behavior. The results of this study provide insights into a potential risk introduced to the audit engagement through audit team dynamics. / Doctor of Philosophy / Financial statement audits conducted by public accounting firms are frequently performed in a team setting. Most of the audit team consists of younger, inexperienced staff auditors who perform much of the testwork that informs the final audit opinion. Staff auditors’ lack of knowledge requires them to seek information to complete their testwork, from both their peer team members and their superiors. Peer team members may engage in behaviors that reduce the quality of the audit, which shows staff auditors that these dysfunctional behaviors are acceptable. At the same time, superiors often display a preference toward effectiveness (i.e., improving audit quality) or efficiency (i.e., saving time). I perform an experiment to determine if staff auditors mimic the audit quality reducing behaviors of their peer team members, while also considering the preference of their superior. I find that staff auditors are more likely to engage in audit quality decreasing behaviors when their peer team members have done so previously. I also find that staff auditors are more likely to engage in audit quality decreasing behaviors when their superior has a preference toward efficiency. I find that a superior’s preference toward efficiency, but not effectiveness, amplifies the effect that a peer team member’s behavior has on the likelihood that a staff auditor engages in an audit quality increasing behavior of requesting information from the client in a face-to-face interaction, but not for an email request. These results suggest that peer behavior influences the effect of a superior’s preference of staff auditors in the intimidating situation of having a face-to-face interaction with the client. In general, I find that peer behavior and superior preference influence staff auditors’ chosen behaviors.

Práce porovnáva požadavky na vzdělávání externích a interních auditorů v České a Slovenské republice. U externích auditorů se práce zaměřuje na požadavky pro vstup do profese, zejména minimální požadované vzdělání, řízenou praxi a auditorskou zkoušku. Dále se věnuje vzdělávání po vstupu do profese, zejména požadavkami na kontinuální profesní vzdělávání auditorů a možnostmi jejich naplnění. U interních auditorů se práce věnuje institucím zastřešujím interní audit v ČR a SR a vzdělávacími službami, které poskytují.

<p>Auditing has long existed and it was in 1899 that the first Swedish organization for accountants SRS, Swedish Audit Society, was created and in 1923 that FAR, Association of Chartered Accountants, was formed. It was after the Kreuger crash in the 1930s that authorized auditors had their breakthrough. After the crash the accounting profession has endured fierce criticism when the audit was flawed and it was during this period that authorized auditors became more widespread, the concept was developed independently and the importance of auditor independence became evident.</p><p>We have in our paper therefore chosen to focus on auditor independence and to make that it requires the independence to relate to something. Therefore we have chosen to focus on the interaction between the auditor and the client. To explain what independence means we have used the analysis model, the expectation gap and communication, and explain what the audit entails and what tasks the auditor has. To do this, we used the qualitative method and interviewed two auditors, an auditor at KPMG and one at ÖPWC. In order to get another perspective we also interviewed two clients, Eskilstuna-Kuriren AB and Eskilstuna Energi och Miljö AB.</p><p>Auditing means that with a professional critical attitude plan, review, evaluate and comment on management, annual report and accounts. Auditor's role is simply to assure the quality of information. This requires that the auditor is independent and follows confidentiality, and assumes professional ethics and generally accepted auditing. In order to reduce the expectation gap it is important that the information and communication between auditor and the client works well.</p><p>In this paper we found that the analysis model is an important tool for examining auditor independence for each new assignment and each new year. We also found that our respondents believe that an open dialogue is important and that the auditor will act as a sounding board. Our clients do not feel that there is a gap in expectations because they have a record in the auditing profession and know what an auditor should and must do.  </p>

<p><strong>Background: </strong>The environment and the design of auditing regulation can vary significantly between countries, which can affect the form, content and quality of the audit report. The purpose of the International Standards on Auditing, ISA, is to facilitate the work for auditors on an international basis. Sweden today follows the RS 600 which is based on ISA 600, which contains standards for when an auditor use work performed by other auditor. In October 2007, came a revised and redrafted version of ISA 600 that will be enforced in Sweden in the audit of the financial year beginning on 1 January 2011. To what degree the new requirements will affect the group audit is clearly dependent on how the reporting, evaluation and instructions between the group auditor and other auditor has been carried out previously.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>The aim with this paper is to explain the reporting between the group auditor and other auditor in an international corporate group. The aim is also to study the factors that can influence the final outcome of this report and why they affect the outcome. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the report process changes that could take place between the group auditor and other auditor after the introduction of ISA 600.</p><p><strong>Definitions: </strong>This paper has a geographic delimitation to Sweden. The paper is delimited to only consider auditing of corporate groups whose parent is located in Sweden and subsidiaries are located abroad. This means that respondents are bounded to the group auditors.</p><p><strong>Completion and results: </strong>Factors affecting reporting between auditors in an international corporate group turned out primarily to be language and communication differences, differences in accounting standards and determination of the materiality level. The risks are considered minimized through documentation reviews and both internal- and external quality controls. An understanding of social and cultural differences is a key factor to be able to have successful cross cultural collaborations. Education, experience and practise are the solutions to understand this issue. This paper demonstrates that cross-cultural training is not given at the accounting firms, which are proposed to be a beneficial investment. The instructions and contact with other auditors are expected to be put earlier after the introduction of ISA 600, also that the report itself will be more detailed.</p>

<p>With the wave of crises in the early 2000 notably Enron, auditor independence was put in the spotlight which has continually threatened the integrity of the entire auditing profession. Connected to these accounting scandals, it could be realized that most of the auditors involved in the audits of these corporations had long standing relationship with these clients. In other words, the auditors had extended audit tenures. This puts the issue of audit tenure into the open that is as to how long should auditors serve a client?</p><p>The general purpose of this study is to examine whether extended audit tenures can lead to the emergence of threats to auditor independence which may impair the auditor independence. Our study is quantitative, using a self-administered web-survey to collect our data. The study provides results from a cross sectional design to examine the impact of extended audit tenures on auditor independence. This impact is compared across short and extended (long) tenures on the basis of the threats to auditor independence. Using paired samples t-test in SPSS for our sample of authorized or approved Swedish auditors; we find that extended audit tenures impact self-interest, self-review and intimidation threats that affects auditor independence. Our findings did not reveal any relationship between the advocacy and familiarity threats and the impact extended audit tenures have on them, hence we rejected the hypotheses relating to these threats. However, though the relationship was still not strong, the results for self-interest, self-review and intimidation threats proved significant and this prompted us to accept the respective hypotheses. In conclusion, our results show that there is an association of auditor independence to extended audit tenures.</p>

Auditing has long existed and it was in 1899 that the first Swedish organization for accountants SRS, Swedish Audit Society, was created and in 1923 that FAR, Association of Chartered Accountants, was formed. It was after the Kreuger crash in the 1930s that authorized auditors had their breakthrough. After the crash the accounting profession has endured fierce criticism when the audit was flawed and it was during this period that authorized auditors became more widespread, the concept was developed independently and the importance of auditor independence became evident. We have in our paper therefore chosen to focus on auditor independence and to make that it requires the independence to relate to something. Therefore we have chosen to focus on the interaction between the auditor and the client. To explain what independence means we have used the analysis model, the expectation gap and communication, and explain what the audit entails and what tasks the auditor has. To do this, we used the qualitative method and interviewed two auditors, an auditor at KPMG and one at ÖPWC. In order to get another perspective we also interviewed two clients, Eskilstuna-Kuriren AB and Eskilstuna Energi och Miljö AB. Auditing means that with a professional critical attitude plan, review, evaluate and comment on management, annual report and accounts. Auditor's role is simply to assure the quality of information. This requires that the auditor is independent and follows confidentiality, and assumes professional ethics and generally accepted auditing. In order to reduce the expectation gap it is important that the information and communication between auditor and the client works well. In this paper we found that the analysis model is an important tool for examining auditor independence for each new assignment and each new year. We also found that our respondents believe that an open dialogue is important and that the auditor will act as a sounding board. Our clients do not feel that there is a gap in expectations because they have a record in the auditing profession and know what an auditor should and must do.

ABSTRACT Titel: Påverkar revisionsbyråernas arbete med kompetensutveckling medarbetarnas resultat på revisorsexamen? Nivå: C-uppsats i företagsekonomi Författare: Gabriella Isaksson, Sofie Wallberg Handledare: Per-Arne Wikström Datum: 2013-03-21 Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva hur revisionsbyråerna kan arbeta med olika kompetensutvecklingsåtgärder för att få sina anställda att lyckas på revisorsexamen och därmed bli godkända revisorer. Metod: Vi studerade teorier om kompetensutveckling och undersökte hur revisionsbyråerna arbetade med olika kompetensutvecklingsåtgärder. Efter detta utvecklade vi en modell som var anpassad efter revisionsbyråernas arbete med kompetensutveckling. Vi genomförde sedan en enkätundersökning bestående av både öppna och slutna frågor med tentander från Big-4 byråer som skrivit revisorsexamen med godkänt resultat hösten 2011 eller våren 2012. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Det visade sig att ett flertal kompetensutvecklingsfaktorer, bland annat utbildning och uppföljning, varit betydelsefulla för tentandernas prestation på revisorsexamen. Andra åtgärder, såsom utvecklingssamtal och mentorskap, var inte betydelsefulla för själva prestationen, utan hade större betydelse i andra sammanhang. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Undersöka vilken påverkan kompetensutvecklingsåtgärderna har på prestationen "högre revisorsexamen". Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till en ökad förståelse om vilken inverkan olika kompetensutvecklingsåtgärder har på prestationen på revisorsexamen och ger därmed revisionsbyråerna en möjlighet att genom planering hjälpa sina anställda till att nå ett godkänt resultat på revisorsexamen. Nyckelord: Kompetens, oberoende, kompetensutveckling, revisorsexamen, godkänd revisor. / ABSTRACT Title: Does the auditor firms work with competence development affecton the employees results on auditor exam? Level: Final assignment for Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration Author: Gabriella Isaksson, Sofie Wallberg Supervisor: Per-Arne Wikström Date: 2013-03-21 Aim: The purpose is to describe how accountancy firms can work with competence development activities to make their employees to succeed on auditor examination and become approved auditors. Method: We studied the theories of competence development and examined how accounting firms work with competence development. We also developed a model tailored to their work and carried out a survey consisting of both openand closed questions to examinees from the Big-4 firms who wrote an accountant exam with passing grade during the autumn of 2011 or spring of 2012.  Result &amp; Conclusions: It turned out that a number of competence development factors, including education and monitoring, were significant for examinees performance on auditor examination. Other factors, such as performance reviews and coaching, was not significant for the performance but was more significant in other contexts. Suggestions for future research: Examine the impact of competence development for "higher auditor examination". Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact that the different competence development has on the performance of the auditor examination and gives accounting firms an opportunity and tools to help their employees to achieve a passing grade through planning. Key words: Competence, independence, competence development, auditor examination, approved auditor.

With the wave of crises in the early 2000 notably Enron, auditor independence was put in the spotlight which has continually threatened the integrity of the entire auditing profession. Connected to these accounting scandals, it could be realized that most of the auditors involved in the audits of these corporations had long standing relationship with these clients. In other words, the auditors had extended audit tenures. This puts the issue of audit tenure into the open that is as to how long should auditors serve a client? The general purpose of this study is to examine whether extended audit tenures can lead to the emergence of threats to auditor independence which may impair the auditor independence. Our study is quantitative, using a self-administered web-survey to collect our data. The study provides results from a cross sectional design to examine the impact of extended audit tenures on auditor independence. This impact is compared across short and extended (long) tenures on the basis of the threats to auditor independence. Using paired samples t-test in SPSS for our sample of authorized or approved Swedish auditors; we find that extended audit tenures impact self-interest, self-review and intimidation threats that affects auditor independence. Our findings did not reveal any relationship between the advocacy and familiarity threats and the impact extended audit tenures have on them, hence we rejected the hypotheses relating to these threats. However, though the relationship was still not strong, the results for self-interest, self-review and intimidation threats proved significant and this prompted us to accept the respective hypotheses. In conclusion, our results show that there is an association of auditor independence to extended audit tenures.

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och analysera erfarna revisorers uppfattning om ett strukturellt arbetssätt i form av checklistor för både erfarna och mindre erfarna revisorer. Empirisk metod: Studien bygger på en kvantitativ metod i form av en enkätstudie utskickad till alla Sveriges auktoriserade revisorer. Svarsfrekvens var 4,8 procent. Svaren analyserades genom Pearson korrelationsmatris, multipel linjär regression och t-test. Resultat: Resultatet visar en generell positivitet till checklistanvändande, dock är revisorers uppfattning att de är mer positiva till att de mindre erfarna revisorerna använder sig av checklistor. Teoretiskt perspektiv: Applicerar teori om professioner, struktur och omdöme på revisorer med olika erfarenhet. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze experienced auditors' perception of a structural working approach in the form of checklists for both experienced and less experienced auditors. Methodology: The study is based on a quantitative method in the form of a questionnaire sent to all Swedish approved auditors. The response rate was 4.8 percent. The responses were analyzed by Pearson correlation matrix, multiple linear regression and t-test. Findings: The results showed a general positivity to checklist use, however, the auditors are even more in favor of the less experienced auditors to use checklists. Theoretical perspectives: We apply theory of professions, structure and judgement at the auditors with diverse experience.

The nature of the auditor-client relationship is a complex aggregate involving a number of groups and individuals between both parties. Although auditor-client relationship is an important subject in the accounting and auditing literature, what has not been extensively studied is the complex relationship between the clients accounting staff and the external audit group at subordinate organization level. Thus, the purpose of this study is to dig deeper into the relationship between clients accounting staff and external audit team consisting of junior and senior auditors and to find out what characterizes this relationship. We also aim to look it from knowledge management and trust perspectives since these are special characteristics of both professions. In order to find empirical results we conducted a qualitative research with a case study by interviewing three accountants and one controller in the same mother company who do financial work for four subsidiaries. They all work together with several auditor groups and therefore could provide us a good comparison to our results. Our study reveals that the relationship is maintained on the subordinate level by the senior auditor who works not only as an auditor but also as a relationship manager. Furthermore, we identify the fact that lower competence of junior auditors creates problems in relationship with client’s accountants. Therefore, our accountant respondents are more likely to allocate low trust to inexperienced junior auditors, specially due to the fact that accountants are the ones teaching the junior auditors in specific accounting issues which is time consuming and often leads to irritation on the accountants side. However, accountants’ trust towards the senior auditors turns out to be high due to recognized expertise knowledge of senior auditors based on our interviews.