Este estudo teve por objetivo caracterizar a accountability da administração pública evidenciada nas práticas do Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (TCE-RS) no acompanhamento da implementação do Fundeb no Rio Grande do Sul, no período de 2007 a 2009. Abrange diretrizes e mecanismos de accountability da administração pública, com base na investigação de orientações e procedimentos exercidos pelo TCE-RS em relação a administrações públicas municipais no estado. Foi adotada uma abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, sendo estudadas, principalmente, normas vigentes relativas ao tema, de âmbito nacional e estadual, e documentos do TCE. Elementos da análise de conteúdo serviram de referência no tratamento e no exame de dados e informações, organizando-os em categorias de análise. A fundamentação teórica envolveu os conceitos e as dimensões dos mecanismos (instrumentos institucionais) de controle externo na perspectiva da accountability política. O propósito foi discutir conceitos, dimensões e implicações da accountability na consolidação das novas democracias, buscando uma aproximação para o caso brasileiro, com vistas a situar o TCE-RS como órgão responsável pela fiscalização da administração pública na perspectiva da accountability. Nesta perspectiva, foi empreendida uma incursão pelas diversas concepções e interpretações para a expressão accountability, em especial por conceitos e dimensões abordadas por O’Donnell. Tratou, ainda, do aparato legal para o financiamento da educação e da administração pública brasileira, assim como da estrutura e do funcionamento do TCE-RS enquanto órgão auxiliar fiscalizador da administração pública, por meio da abordagem de suas práticas e procedimentos. Dentre os resultados do estudo foi possível identificar que, mesmo com o aparato de procedimentos, orientações e práticas exercidas pelo TCE-RS na fiscalização da aplicação dos recursos da educação, que criam condições para a promoção da accountability, o resultado do rito processual de prestação de contas apresenta limites, materializados especialmente na falta de acompanhamento do cumprimento das sanções imputadas aos gestores e na fragilidade do funcionamento dos sistemas de controle interno das administrações municipais. / This study aimed to characterize the accountability of public administration evidenced on the practices of the Rio Grande do Sul State Court of Auditors (TCE-RS) in monitoring the implementation of Fundeb in Rio Grande do Sul between 2007 and 2009. It covers guidelines and mechanisms of accountability in public administration, based on the investigation of conducts and procedures exercised by TCE-RS regarding municipal governments in the state. A qualitative approach of research was adopted, studying especially the rules related to the subject, in national and regional scope, and documents of TCE. Content analysis elements were used as reference to process and exam data and information, organizing them into analysis categories. The theoretical background involved the concepts and the dimensions of external control mechanisms (institutional instruments) from the perspective of political accountability. The purpose was to discuss concepts, dimensions and implications of accountability in the consolidation of new democracies, seeking an approach to the Brazilian case, in order to situate TCE-RS as an organ responsible for overseeing public administration in the perspective of accountability. In this perspective, it was undertaken a study on the various conceptions and interpretations of the term accountability, especially on concepts and dimensions dealt by O’Donnell. It was also referred the legal apparatus for the financing of education and public administration in Brazil, as well as the structure and operation of TCE-RS as an auxiliary organ of government oversight, through the approach of its practices and procedures. Among the results of the study it was found that, even with the apparatus of procedures, guidelines and practices adopted by TCE-RS in monitoring the implementation of educational resources, which create conditions for the promotion of accountability, the result of procedural rite of accountability has limits especially materialized in the absence of attending observance of the sanctions set against managers and in the fragility of internal control systems of the municipal administrations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sandra Regina Siqueira de Sena.pdf: 1581417 bytes, checksum: 429ca69c5f05c2e3fb347fdd71aa9f91 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-04 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The primary goal of this study is to verify whether there have been any changes in the reports issued by independent auditors after the adoption of Act Number 11638/2007. The sample is composed of non-financial listed companies whose shares are traded on the Bovespa (São Paulo Stock Exchange) with released Financial Statements in the period between 2006 and 2009, totaling 449 companies with 1.796 observations, whose data was extracted from the database of the CVM (Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission). The auditors reports were analyzed as divided among the Big Four auditing firms, i.e., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu;Ernst & Young; PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG, and the Non Big Four representing the other auditing firms. The conclusion was that the contents of the auditors reports maintained the same standards along the four fiscal years considering the following types of reports:unqualified; qualified; disclaimer of opinion and adverse opinion. Particular attention was given to the utilization of emphasis paragraphs which may be found in unqualified and qualified reports pointing out that the observations therein contained referred several times to uncertainties which would not have had any impact on the financial statements. It was also identified that the majority of the open capital companies chose to hire the Big Four during the period analyzed, moreover, the Non Big Four appeared to be more conservative, because they presented a significantly higher level of observations as compared with the Big Four.The collected data suggested that the Non Big Four have greater independence in the development of their auditing work, expressing their opinion in a more forceful manner, even if unfavorable to the audited company. However, we must question whether the Big Four issue almost all their opinions as unqualified because the companies hiring them are large corporations and, consequently, have more strict requirements through their audit committees with the necessary internal controls, or if the Big Four are, apparently, more dependent on their contracting companies thus suffering pressure to issue unqualified opinion reports due to agency conflicts, since the hiring company is responsible for the fees paid to the audit firms. / O presente estudo teve como objetivo principal verificar se houve alteração nos pareceres emitidos pelas auditorias independentes após adoção da Lei 11.638/2007. A amostra foi composta por companhias abertas, não financeiras, com ações negociadas na Bovespa, as quais apresentaram Demonstrações Contábeis no período de 2006 a 2009, totalizando 449 empresas geradoras de 1.796 observações, cujos dados foram extraídos do banco de dados da CVM Comissão de Valores Mobiliários. Foi realizada uma análise de conteúdo nos pareceres de auditoria, segregados entre firmas de auditoria Big Four, ou seja, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; Ernst & Young; PricewaterhouseCoopers e KPMG, e Non Big Four, que representaram as outras empresas de auditoria. Constatou-se que o conteúdo dos pareceres de auditoria manteve o mesmo padrão ao longo dos quatro exercícios analisados, considerando os tipos de pareceres: sem ressalvas; com ressalvas; com abstenção de opinião e com parecer adverso. Observou-se vasta utilização dos parágrafos de ênfase, que podem constar em pareceres com, ou sem ressalvas, destacando que as observações neles contidas se referiam muitas vezes a incertezas que não trariam impacto nas demonstrações contábeis. Identificouse,também, que a maioria das companhias abertas optou pela contratação das Big Four durante o período analisado, e, ainda, que as firmas de auditoria Non Big Four se mostraram mais conservadoras, pois apresentaram um nível de observações em seus pareceres, significativamente, superior as das Big Four. Os dados sugerem que as Non Big Four têm mais independência na realização do trabalho de auditoria, pois expressaram sua opinião de forma mais contundente ainda que desfavorável à companhia auditada. No entanto,vale questionar se as Big Four emitem quase a totalidade de seus pareceres sem ressalva,porque as companhias que as contratam são grandes corporações e, consequentemente,possuem um regime de governança mais rigoroso através da existência de comitê de auditoria com os devidos controles internos, ou se as Big Four têm, aparentemente, maior dependência das companhias que as contratam e sofrem pressão para que seus pareceres sejam emitidos sem ressalvas devido ao conflito de agência, já que a companhia contratante é responsável pelos honorários das firmas de auditoria.

Os Tribunais de Contas no Brasil possuem uma natureza jurídica sui generis. Desde a sua origem ela é controversa. São Órgãos autônomos e sobranceiros no contexto jurídico constitucional brasileiro. Não se subordinam a nenhum outro Órgão. Exercem função de “auxílio” ao Poder Legislativo no controle da gestão pública. Possuem um plexo de competências próprias e exclusivas. As decisões que proferem possuem limites à revisibilidade por parte do Poder Judiciário. Tem ampla competência de análise em matéria ambiental, podendo aferir dos órgãos submetidos ao seu controle as suas ações sob o aspecto da economicidade e legitimidade. Tem um campo de atuação, na matéria de sua competência, mais amplo do que o exame a cargo do Poder Judiciário. A sua importância de atuação antecede a própria formação do orçamento público. Através de auditorias operacionais têm a seu cargo uma importante contribuição em termos do exame da legitimidade, economicidade e do desempenho das ações administrativas. É importante o seu papel no controle e desenvolvimento de políticas públicas a cargo dos seus jurisdicionados. Possuem instrumentos de atuação preventiva, calcados nos princípios da prevenção e precaução, que possibilitam o desenvolvimento de uma cultura em termos do exercício de uma tutela inibitória, evitando ou mitigando a ocorrência de danos ao meio ambiente considerado em toda a sua amplitude, natural, artificial e cultural. Através de tomadas de contas especiais, da negativa de executoriedade de atos normativos inconstitucionais, do poder geral de cautela e do termo de adoção de providências assegurados na doutrina e jurisprudência e com previsão nas normas que fixam a sua competência é que devem atuar de forma a inibir a ocorrência de danos. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Courts of Auditors in Brazil have a sui generis legal nature. Since its origin it is controversial. They are autonomous and eminent bodies into the brasilian constitutional legal context. Are not subordinated to any other organ. Play role of "aid" to the Legislative Power in the control of public administration. Have a unique and own powers‟ plexus. The decisions that they utter have their own limits review by part of the Judiciary. Have extensive analytical competence in environmental matters, being able to assess organs submitted by the courts to their own control under the aspect of economy and legitimacy. Have a playing field, in the field of its competence, wider than the examination over the judiciary. The importance of practice predates the very own formation of the public budget. Through operational audits they are responsible for an important contribution in terms of the examination of legitimacy, economy and performance of administrative actions. It is important their role in public policy development and control over their local courts. Have preventive action instruments, based on the principles of prevention and precaution, that enable the development of a culture in terms of the exercise of inhibitory guardianship, avoiding or mitigating the occurrence of damage to the environment considered throughout it scale, natural, artificial and culturally. Through acquisition of special accounts, the negative obligation to execution of normative acts unconstitutional, the general power of caution and end-user adoption of measures provided in the doctrine and jurisprudence and predictably on the standards laying down their mission is how they must act in such a way as to inhibit the occurrence of damage.

Abstract Purpose: The primary goal of this thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of how big data affect professional judgment, audit efficiency, and perceived audit quality. It also aims to explore the effect of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on the skills and competence required by auditors to perform an audit in a big data environment. Theoretical perspectives: Theoretical concepts base on previous research and publications by practitioners and regulators on BDA, professional judgment, audit efficiency, and audit quality. Literature was used to derive the research gap and research questions. Methodology: A qualitative method base exploratory approach. A literature review was conducted to uncover areas of interest that require more research. The effect of data analytics on the audit was identified as a potential area for research; a focus on audit quality was chosen, including key factors that contribute to overall audit quality. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with auditors from big four audit firms in Sweden. Empirical foundation: Empirical evidence was generated through an interview with seven auditors at different levels of the professional hierarchy. Empirical data was analyzed using a thematic data analysis approach. Conclusions: The findings of this research show that using BDA in the audit methodology affect the required skills and competence by auditors to carry out audit engagement activities. More IT related skills and knowledge gaining prominent in the audit field. Implementing data analytics will not be efficient in the early stage but will save time as auditors become more familiar with the tools. Data analytics improve audit quality. Auditors use analytics to gain more insight into the client’s business and communicate such insights to clients. It was found that data analytics generate fact-based audit evidence. The visualization ability enables auditors to visualize and analyze audit evidence to guide their professional judgment and decision making. Key words: Big data, Data analytics, Auditors skills and competence, Audit process, Audit efficiency, Audit quality and Professional judgment.

Problembakgrund och problemdiskussion Årsredovisningslagen ställer upp storlekskrav gällande vilket regelverk företag ska tillämpa. Mindre företag har möjlighet att tillämpa K2 vilket är ett förenklat regelverk som är till för mindre företag med enklare förhållanden eller K3 som är huvudregelverket. I tidigare forskning nämns det att mindre företag kan vara för komplexa för att redovisa enligt K2 trots att de uppfyller storlekskraven som årsredovisningslagen ställer upp. Begreppet komplexitet har därför problematiserats och undersökts empirisk för att finna aspekter som kan leda till att mindre företag är att anse för komplexa för att redovisa enligt K2, att de inte längre uppvisar en rättvisande bild av företagets ekonomiska ställning, samt vad det är som gör att dessa komplexa företag ändå väljer att redovisa enligt K2. Syfte och Metod Syftet med studien är att utforska vilka aspekter som enligt revisorer gör att ett mindre företag är för komplext för att redovisa enligt K2, att de inte längre uppvisar en rättvisande bild avföretagets ekonomiska ställning, samt varför revisorer tror att företag väljer att redovisa enligt K2 trots att de är för komplexa. I studien har en kvalitativ metod använts där intervjuer med revisorer har genomförts. Analys och slutsats Studien kunde påvisa att revisorer definierar begreppet rättvisande bild på olika sätt, då samtliga revisorer som deltagit i studien har lämnat olika tolkningar av begreppet. Ett tema som funnits i samtliga tolkningar har varit att rättvisande bild innebär att företagets ekonomiska ställning ska avspegla verkligheten så bra som det går. De aspekter som framkommit i studien som gör att ett mindre företag är för komplext för att redovisa enligt K2 går att koppla mot förenklingsreglerna. Vilka är egenupparbetade immateriella tillgångar, materiella tillgångar, uppskrivning och uppskjuten skatteskuld. Att företaget ändå redovisar enligt K2 trots att de enligt revisorerna är för komplexa indikerar empirin att detta beror på kostnaden att byta regelverk, tidsbrist, okunskap inom företaget samt att företaget verkar på en begränsad marknad där det ur ett intressentperspektiv inte finns behov av mer detaljer. / Problem background and problem formulation The Annual Accounts Act sets out size requirements regarding which regulations companies should apply. Smaller companies have the opportunity to apply K2, which is a simplified set of rules that exists for smaller companies with simpler conditions, or K3, which is the main set of rules. In previous research, it is mentioned that smaller companies can be too complex to report according to K2 despite the fact that they meet the size requirements set by the Annual Accounts Act. The concept of complexity has therefore been problematized and examined empirically to find aspects that may lead to smaller companies being considered too complex to report according to K2 that they no longer present a true and fair view of the company's financial position and also why a complex company still chooses to report according to K2. Purpose and Method The purpose of the study is to explore which aspects according to auditors makes a smallercompany that reports according to K2, considered too complex to give a true and fair view of the company's financial position and also explore why auditors think that companies choose to report according to K2 even though they are too complex. A qualitative method has been used where interviews with auditors have been performed. Analysis and conclusion The study was able to show that auditors define the concept of true and fair view in different ways, as all auditors who participated in the study have given different interpretations of the concept. A theme that has been present in all interpretations has been that true and fair viewmeans that the company's financial position must reflect reality as far as possible. According to the auditors, the aspects that emerged in the study, which could make a smaller company too complex to apply K2, may be linked to self-generated intangible assets, tangible assets, revaluation and deferred tax liabilities. The fact that the company still reports according to K2 despite the fact that they are too complex according to the auditors, the empirical evidence indicates that this is due to the cost of changing regulations, lack of time, ignorance within the company and that the company operates in a limited market where there is no need for more details.

The study examines the potential threat to an auditor’s independence in fact which may result from the extraordinarily favorable personal reputation (superstar status) of an audit client’s CEO This potential threat to an auditors’ independence is the result of a halo effect bias which can distort an individual’s judgment and behavior Accounting firms use a business risk audit approach which involves conducting a strategic risk assessment which assesses the overall threats to the business model of an audit client Prior research has demonstrated that the strategic risk assessment can bias the judgment of auditors pertaining to financial account level risk assessments For example, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme demonstrated how an extraordinarily well respected individual with superstar status can distort the judgment of knowledgeable and normally skeptical individuals An experiment was conducted to examine the potential threat of a superstar CEO on an auditor’s independence as demonstrated by the ability to distort the judgment of the auditor during the performance of the strategic risk assessment In addition, the experiment was designed to examine whether the halo cognitive bias can lessen the impact that an auditor’s professional skepticism has on his or her judgment and behavior during the audit of a client’s financial statement Unlike other studies which have sought only to demonstrate that a cognitive bias exist which impairs auditor judgment; the study also examined whether the influence of a halo effect bias can be mitigated by the formal rating of audit evidence in a similar manner that was used by Embu and Finley (1977) to successfully mitigate a framing effect The experiment did not support the main hypothesis of the study that auditors assess the strategic risk at a lower risk level for firms that employ a superstar CEO than for those whom employ a non-superstar CEO This result may primarily be due to the inability of the scenario used in the experiment to sufficiently differentiate the characteristics of the superstar and non-superstar CEO Without establishing that the participants’ judgment was being distorted by a superstar CEO; the other hypotheses which involved testing a debiasing method to mitigate the halo effect caused by a superstar CEO and investigating whether a halo effect reduces the impact that auditors’ trait skepticism level has on their judgment could not be properly tested / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

I show that auditors experience cognitive dissonance when they fail to take appropriate professionally skeptical (hereafter PS) action in line with high PS judgment I specifically show that cognitive dissonance leads auditors to revise their attitudes on low ranking audit actions upward and lower their risk assessments, consequently, lower overall professional skepticism I also find that auditor cognitive dissonance leads to exaggerated ex-post auditor self-assessments professional skepticism Professional skepticism is fundamental to performing an audit according to auditing standards and critical to audit quality Extant research that investigates treatments to enhance professional skepticism predominantly treats both skeptical judgment and skeptical action as analogous outcomes of professional skepticism If, however, there is a breakdown between PS judgment and PS action, the overall benefits of these treatments will be trivial I show that cognitive dissonance due to the incongruence between PS judgments and PS actions leads to an unforeseeable corollary of lower overall professional skepticism I also demonstrate a specific mechanism of how auditor incentives lead to lower professional skepticism, hence, lower audit quality Both researchers and practitioners can benefit from this study by better understating the intricacies in the critical link between PS judgment and action Additionally, I provide an empirical investigation of the components in Nelson’s (2009) model of professional skepticism and extend the model to reflect the intricacies between PS judgment and PS action I test my hypotheses via a three-group research design with attitude change as a proxy measure of cognitive dissonance / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Dysfunctional auditor behavior has transformed into one of the biggest challenges for audit quality. The purpose of this study is to analyze the culture to the ethical decision process in the Swedish context. The study uses a self- administered questioner with 75 junior and senior auditors employed in Mid-East Sweden including Stockholm. The study finds that ethical firm culture has an important relationship to the decision-making process. Furthermore, the study shows that the components of the decision-making model; recognition, judgment, intention and RAQA reacts differently to ethical firm culture. Finally, the study finds a relationship when the data is grouped separately as big 4 and non-big 4 auditing firms. Big 4 firms show a negative relationship between ethical firm culture and RAQA, while non-big 4 firms show a positive relationship between ethical firm culture, intention and, recognition.

Bakgrund: Lekmannarevisorer som utför granskning av kommunala aktiebolag är förtroendevalda personer från politiska partier som utses av kommunfullmäktige. Granskningen som lekmannarevisorerna har i uppdrag sker med stöd från sakkunniga, ekonomiansvariga och övriga i verksamheten för att säkerställa att revisionen är demokratiskt förankrad och professionellt genomförd. Lekmannarevisorer behöver inte vara utbildade ekonomer, vilket skapat kritik över åren. Det har framkommit att det finns stora utvecklingsbehov hos lekmannarevisorer i kommunala aktiebolag och att det dels beror på bristfällig kunskap om hur lekmannarevisionen ska fungera i bolaget. Problemformulering & syfte: För att få förståelse för vad som sker i lekmannarevisionen valde vi att utföra vår studie med fokus på lekmannarevisorer i kommunala aktiebolag. Detta har gjorts genom att besvara följande frågeställningar: Hur ser lekmannarevisorernas arbetsprocess ut? och vilken mening skapar lekmannarevisorerna för revision i kommunala aktiebolag? Studiens syfte är att få en fördjupad förståelse för lekmannarevisorernas arbetsprocess och vad de skapar för mening för revisionen i kommunala aktiebolag. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där åtta lekmannarevisorer och en ordförande för förtroenderevisionen semistrukturerat intervjuats från stora och små kommuner runt om i Sverige. Det empiriska materialet har därefter analyserats utifrån vår egen analysmodell för att besvara studiens problemformulering och syfte. Slutsats: Lekmannarevisorer utformar granskningen av kommunala aktiebolag genom att först göra en riskanalys. Under året sker uppföljning av internkontroll. Sedan skrivs en granskningsrapport för att slutligen presentera granskningsrapporten i årsredovisningen. Lekmannarevisorerna i de stora kommunerna för dialog med främst sakkunniga medan lekmannarevisorerna i de små kommunerna även har en nära kontakt med VD, styrelse och auktoriserade revisorer. Lekmannarevisorer skapar mening enligt egenskaperna identitet, sociala relationer och ledtrådar som är viktigast för revisionen i kommunala aktiebolag. Dessa tre egenskaper skapar mest mening, vilket skapar och leder till legitima handlingar. Retrospektivt, medskapande och rimlighet skapar mening men inte i lika stor utsträckning förrevisionen i kommunala aktiebolag. / Background: Local government auditors who perform audits of municipal corporations are elected persons from political parties who are appointed by the municipal council. Local government auditors review with the help of special advisers, financial managers and others in the business to ensure that the audit is democratically anchored and professionally carried out. Local government auditors do not need to have any business education, which has created criticism over the years. It has emerged that there are major development needs for local government auditors in municipal corporations and that this is partly due to insufficient knowledge of how the local government audit should function in the company.  Problem definition & purpose: In order to gain an understanding of what occurs in the local government audit, we chose to perform our study with a focus on local government auditors in municipal corporations. This has been done by answering the following questions: What does the work process of local government auditors look like? and what meaning do the local government auditors create for auditing in municipal corporations? The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the local government auditors work process and what meaning they create for the audit in municipal corporations.  Method: The study is based on a qualitative research method where eight local government auditors and a chairman of the fiduciary audit from large and small municipalities around Sweden were interviewed in a semi-structured way. The empirical material has then been analyzed based on our own analysis model to answer the study’s problem definition and purpose.  Conclusions: Local government auditors begin the audit process by first conducting a risk analysis of the municipal corporations. Internal control is followed up during the year. An audit report is eventually written to get included in the annual report. The local government auditors in large municipalities mainly have a dialogue with experts, while the local government auditors in small municipalities have close contact with the CEO, board and authorized auditors. The local government auditors create meaning according to the characteristics of identity, social relations and clues that are important for the audit of municipal corporations. These three characteristics create the most meaning, which leads to legitimate actions. Retrospective, enactive of sensible environments and plausibility create meaning, but not to the same extent for the audit in municipal corporations.

Following the collapse of Arthur Andersen in the Enron debacle, whistle-blowing within audit firms has taken on greater importance. Given the profession's requirements to be confidential, independent and to act in the public's interest, there is a need for a model that addresses auditors' whistle-blowing intentions. This thesis presents a conceptual model on whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors, where individual-led antecedents influence whistle-blowing intentions, but are moderated by isomorphic and issue-specific factors. Survey questionnaires were administered to 226 external auditors, and 18 individual interviews as well as 2 focus groups were conducted in Barbados. Results indicated that individual antecedents (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting, and personal cost of reporting) were significantly related to internal whistle-blowing, but only perceived behavioural control was significantly related to external whistle-blowing. Partial support was found for the moderating effects of perceived organizational support, moral intensity, team norms and group cohesion on the relationships between the majority of the independent variables (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting and personal cost of reporting) and internal whistle-blowing. However, partial support was found for the moderating effects of perceived organizational support, moral intensity, team norms iii and group cohesion on the relationships between fewer independent variables and external whistle-blowing. Overall, respondents preferred anonymous internal channels of reporting, and showed a general reluctance to report externally. The presence of an open-door policy, ethics partners, hotline, on-going training and clearly defined policies could encourage whistle-blowing. Further implications for research and practice are discussed. / University of the West Indies