M.Sc. (Med.) (Child Health Neurodevelopment Option), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Two public sector hospitals in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Edendale and Grey‟s have specialist clinics for children with epilepsy. Children with suspected epilepsy are referred to Edendale and Grey‟s hospital Paediatric Outpatient Department for their assessment from primary health care clinics, level 1 and level 2 hospitals. Health care workers managing children with suspected epilepsy do not adhere to childhood epilepsy guidelines and protocols and therefore find epilepsy a difficult condition to manage. The purpose of this clinical audit was to assess the quality of care of children referred to Edendale and Grey‟s hospital with suspected epilepsy. Information obtained from this audit will be used to improve the quality and consistency of patient care and therefore reduce childhood morbidity and mortality from the complications of epilepsy among children in Area 2, KwaZulu-Natal. Materials and Methods The Paediatric Outpatient Department registers at Edendale and Grey‟s hospital were used to identify children referred with suspected epilepsy, and their case notes were retrieved. Children who met the inclusion criteria for the study were: i) those referred to the Paediatric Outpatient Department, Neurodevelopment or Epilepsy clinics for their first assessment with a diagnosis of suspected epilepsy and ii) children aged 14 years at Grey‟s hospital and 10 years at Edendale hospital. Children excluded from the study were those i) with febrile convulsions; ii) who had repeat visits and iii) not referred with suspected epilepsy. MN Madekurozwa v Letters from referring hospitals and patient case notes were reviewed and this information was used to fill in the audit forms. A modified British Paediatric Neurology Association audit tool was used for the study. The study period covered was from January 1st 2004 to January 31st 2006. Results From the two-site audit, 232 folders were retrieved and of these 119 case notes met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed, 83 from Edendale and 36 from Grey‟s hospital. The median age of the patients at Edendale hospital was 4-years (age range 2-months to 10-years) at Grey‟s hospital the median age was 3-years (age range 8-months to 12-years). Sixty-six patients were male and fifty-three were female. At Edendale hospital, the majority of patients, 88% were seen within a week of referral, with only 2% seen more than a month later. Of these patients, 37% were assessed by interns and 16% by paediatricians. At Grey‟s hospital the majority of patients were seen more than a month after booking for their first assessment and were assessed by registrars (35%), paediatricians (28%) and senior medical officers (14%), none of the patients were assessed by interns. From reviewing the history, examination, diagnosis, treatment, communication and future care it was found that the overall care of children presenting with suspected epilepsy to both hospitals was poor. Conclusion This was a retrospective study that relied on the availability and review of patient case notes and adequate documentation by the assessing health care workers. The findings from this audit suggest that the quality of care of children presenting with suspected epilepsy to Edendale and Grey‟s hospital is inadequate, with a lack of adherence to guidelines as shown by the lack of adequate statements from history taking, diagnosis, inappropriate use of investigations and inadequate counselling on treatment and future patient care. To improve the management of children referred with suspected epilepsy there should be an improvement in health care worker training to ensure that epilepsy guidelines are adhered to. There should also be an improvement in caregiver and child counselling and education; and strengthening of systems - record keeping, research, and audit with a regular review of epilepsy guidelines.

The aim of this thesis is to provide insights into what the concept of audit quality means for a number of parties who have responsibilities for delivering, commissioning or evaluating audit quality in practice - auditors, AC members and quality inspectors concerning. It explores the influence of internal and external factors in the auditing setting on the construction of meaning of audit quality and how meaning is symbolised in practice. This research is based on an interpretive approach employing research methods of document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire. Drawing on a symbolic interactionist framework, the research illustrates the process of giving meaning to audit quality in practice. The study identifies various constructs that give meaning to audit quality in practice - auditors' characteristics, firm's characteristics, compliance obligations, the content and control of audit procedures, financial statement quality and client service orientation. It also identifies acts such as asking challenging questions, professional appearance, the quality of interaction between auditor and AC, consultation and training, and objects such as documents and records as fundamental in symbolising audit quality in practice. The study also highlights the existence of possible conflicts between some of these constructs of audit quality and the potential for problems in audit quality in practice.The research reports that the audit practitioners predominantly framed their conceptions of the meaning of audit quality around four important constructs: client service, compliance obligations, the technical audit process or content, and individual auditors' characteristics. Client service is found to have a particular importance for the practitioners' meaning of audit quality. Their construction of the meaning for audit quality is influenced by interactions with other audit market constituents as well as by economic and societal forces in the auditing environment. Auditors perceptions of what quality means in practice are underpinned by factors such as the need to legitimise the conduct of the auditor, to restore trust and confidence in the public at large about the quality of audit services, to maintain profitability and the survival of the audit firm given the competitive and commercial pressures in the audit market, and to legitimise firm methodology and the resulting audit process to outside constituents.Amongst the AC members interviewed, the meaning of audit quality appears to be associated with the characteristics of individual auditors, in particular, auditors' interpersonal and behavioural skills, attributes of the audit firm (size and industry specialisation) and financial statement quality. The findings show that AC members perceptions of audit quality significantly depend on the 'relational' rather than the technical attributes of individual auditors. The quality of the financial statements also dominates the AC members' perceptions of audit quality rather than a technical interpretation of the quality of the content of the audit process. The AC members' conception of meaning for audit quality is influenced by interaction and communication with the external auditors. For the quality inspectors, the meaning of audit quality is mainly constructed in relation to the conduct or content of an audit. Therefore, the level of challenge to the management of the audit, and the sufficiency of evidence and documentation are important for constructing their perceptions of audit quality. They also ascribe considerable importance to the internal compliance-quality control applied within the audit firm the notion of audit quality. Overall, the study describes the multifaceted meaning of audit quality and how this is influenced and shaped by interactions - based on role expectations, self-image, economic and social factors - and illustrates the way in which various acts and objects are used to represent practical meaning for the abstract concept of audit quality in practice. These findings have relevance for auditors, other parties to audit engagements, policy makers and regulators concerned with the contribution of auditing to the financial reporting system and for academic researchers seeking to develop a deeper understanding of how that contribution is achieved in practice.

The goal of the submitted thesis "Evolution of the audit profession" is to introduce the audit profession focused on the current situation of the audit market. The European Commission published a Green Paper "Audit Policy: Lessons from the Crisis" on the 13th of October 2010 seeking views on a range of issues related to the statutary audit. (the consultation closed on the 8th of December). The part of this work is the comparison of views of the group of respondents and the summary of all responses. It also mentions the current situation of this theme.

This diploma thesis called Quality Management In The Selected Company is focused on quality management system, its oganisation, management and development. The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyse chosen areas of implemented quality management system in the selected company, to identify bottlenecks and to suggest changes and to propose recommendations for achieving better results in this area. The analysed company is called EBAS spol. s r.o. which focuses on metal and wood production. The theoretical review is dedicated to the issue of quality management, starting with term and concept of quality and quality management, followed by identification of advantages and importance of quality management system. Certain attention is paid to quality management processes, and last but not least, costs of quality and documentation in quality management system. The practical part of the diploma thesis begins with the company in general, especially with company history, its activities, portfolio and organization structure, followed by the analysis of selected areas of current quality mangement system applied in the company. The analysis includes the analysis of processes of the quality management system, documentation of QMS, quality goals and politics, supplier rating system and at last but not least, customer satisfaction monitoring system. Based on this analysis there are several reccomendations proposed, which should lead not only to increased quality management system efficiency, but also to increased efficiency of company in general.

Text in English / This study explores the phenomenon of auditor switching. The purpose of this study is to further contribute to the auditor switching literature by examining the reasons client companies in South Africa switch auditors, where the topic has not previously been studied and following a period of rapid and significant change in the auditing profession. Using previous literature as a foundation, forty-four variables that contribute to auditor switching are presented and tested based on empirical data elicited by means of a questionnaire survey of sample companies that experienced auditor switching during the period 1 January 1998 to 30 June 1999 as obtained from Practitioners in the KwaZulu-Natal Region. The factors motivating auditor switching were based on a questionnaire response of seventy-five companies (response rate 67% ). The empirical study also tested whether or not the switch variables thus identified are statistically related to auditor switching. The findings of this study revealed that audit fees are both the most frequently cited reason for switching auditors and found to be statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance. Dissatisfaction over the overall quality of services provided by the auditor, lack of communication including the lack of responsiveness to client needs, poor working relationship with audit partner followed as switch factors but were not found to be statistically significant at 0. 05 level. The findings of this study revealed that two other variables, namely, management change and the need for group auditor rationalisation, appear to be significantly related to auditor switching at the 0.05 1evel of significance. / Auditing / M. Comm. (Auditing)

Text in English / This study explores the phenomenon of auditor switching. The purpose of this study is to further contribute to the auditor switching literature by examining the reasons client companies in South Africa switch auditors, where the topic has not previously been studied and following a period of rapid and significant change in the auditing profession. Using previous literature as a foundation, forty-four variables that contribute to auditor switching are presented and tested based on empirical data elicited by means of a questionnaire survey of sample companies that experienced auditor switching during the period 1 January 1998 to 30 June 1999 as obtained from Practitioners in the KwaZulu-Natal Region. The factors motivating auditor switching were based on a questionnaire response of seventy-five companies (response rate 67% ). The empirical study also tested whether or not the switch variables thus identified are statistically related to auditor switching. The findings of this study revealed that audit fees are both the most frequently cited reason for switching auditors and found to be statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance. Dissatisfaction over the overall quality of services provided by the auditor, lack of communication including the lack of responsiveness to client needs, poor working relationship with audit partner followed as switch factors but were not found to be statistically significant at 0. 05 level. The findings of this study revealed that two other variables, namely, management change and the need for group auditor rationalisation, appear to be significantly related to auditor switching at the 0.05 1evel of significance. / Auditing / M. Comm. (Auditing)

In conjunction with the progress of automation and digitalisation in the audit industry, the opportunities for a continuous audit have increased. There are indications that real-time updates of the audit process are becoming more common within the audit profession, which allows auditors to continuously analyse and control the audited company. Today, a clear change can be identified within the industry in the form of a more proactive audit, increased efficiency and more frequent audit and reporting. The purpose of this study is to investigate how certified public accountants in the four leading agencies in the auditing industry are affected by a continuous audit. The investigation is quantitative with a deductive approach. To test our assumptions, a survey was sent to certified public accountants belonging to PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte. We use surveys to investigate whether implementation of a continuous audit affects the audit process, generally accepted auditing standards, risk assessment and quality in the audit as previous research shows. The results and conclusion of the study show that the quality of the audit has been positively affected by the implementation of a continuous audit. Specifically, the implementation of a continuous audit has improved the auditors' ability to identify essential errors in the client's accounting and reporting. Furthermore, the result indicates that auditors working in an agency, where a continuous audit has been implemented, ensure the quality of financial information in great extent. In addition, the results show that, the audit process and the risk assessment process become more continuous when implementing a continuous audit. A limitation of the study is that the sample only consists of certified public accountants in PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte. A suggestion for further research is to implement a similar study with a selection of small or medium-sized audit agencies, with the aim of examining differences in relation to the size of the agencies. Another suggestion for further research is to use a qualitative method to gain a deeper insight into how certified public accountants’ reason about a continuous audit. / I samband med automatiseringens och digitaliseringens framfart inom revisionsbranschen har möjligheterna för löpande revision ökat. Det föreligger indikationer på att realtidsuppdateringar av revisionsprocesser blir allt vanligare inom revisionsyrket, vilket möjliggör för revisorer att löpande följa upp och kontrollera det granskade företaget. Idag kan en tydlig förändring identifieras inom branschen i form av en mer proaktiv revision, ökad effektivitet samt en mer frekvent granskning och rapportering. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur auktoriserade revisorer i de fyra ledande byråerna inom revisionsbranschen förhåller sig till löpande revision. Studien är av kvantitativt slag med en deduktiv ansats. För att testa våra antaganden har enkäter skickats ut till auktoriserade revisorer tillhörande PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young och Deloitte. Undersökningen görs för att identifiera om implementering av löpande revision påverkar revisionsprocessen, god revisionssed, riskbedömning och kvalitet i revisionen, vilket tidigare forskning påvisar. Studiens resultat och slutsats visar att kvaliteten i revisionen påverkas positivt vid implementeringen av löpande revision. Implementeringen har förbättrat revisorernas förmåga att identifiera väsentliga felaktigheter i klientens redovisning och rapportering. Vidare indikerar resultatet på att revisorer som arbetar i en revisionsbyrå, där löpande revision implementerats, i stor utsträckning säkerställer kvaliteten i finansiell information. Resultatet visar dessutom att det framförallt är gransknings- och riskbedömningsprocessen som blir mer löpande vid implementering av löpande revision. En begränsning med studien är att urvalet endast består av auktoriserade revisorer i PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young och Deloitte. Ett alternativ till vidare forskning är att utföra en liknande studie med ett urval bestående av små eller medelstora revisionsbyråer i syfte att undersöka skillnader i förhållande till byråernas storlek. Ett annat förslag till vidare forskning är att använda en kvalitativ ansats för att få en djupare insikt i hur auktoriserade revisorer resonerar kring löpande revision.

This Master´s thesis is focused on the proposition of system HACCP as appropriate solution incurred complaint. I start from the theoretical bases and from analysis of the current state in the company Cutisin s.r.o. The particular part is included hazard analysis of single step of the process plan, critical control points in production, precautionary measures and corrective action.