Purpose: the purpose of the thesis is to find out how Lithuanian commercial banks position their internal audit function within their organizational structure to overcome the tension of working with the management and keeping the distance to be able to report on them at the same time; and is internal audit function considered as one of the cornerstones of corporate governance. Moreover, comparison of banks is made to inspect any patterns, differences and similarities concerning the origin of the capital. Method: to answer the research question a qualitative approach was chosen: analysis of audited financial reports in the period of 2008-2011, organizational statutes and all available public information in 7 Lithuanian commercial banks is performed. Moreover email-interviews were held with all chief internal auditors. Findings: the internal audit function in Lithuanian commercial banks is not considered as one of the cornerstones of corporate governance – the function only participates in the corporate governance through the audit committee. Threats for independence are mitigated by giving the responsibility to the audit committee to appoint and dismiss the chief internal auditor and to approve the annual audit plan; and by composing the audit committee with at least one financial expert. Moreover, there is no clear pattern or distinction between internal audit positioning in foreign-capital and Lithuanian- capital banks. Concluding remarks: the need for improved controls is a very important issue in the public debate. The position that internal auditors are put in nowadays is very challenging – internal auditors are expected to provide both assurance and consulting services and maintain their independence at the same time – and organizations handle it differently.

No description available.

Standard-setters believe high-quality internal audit functions (IAFs) serve as a key resource to audit committees for monitoring senior management. However, regulators do not enforce IAF quality or require disclosures relating to IAF quality, which is in stark contrast to regulatory requirements placed on boards, audit committees, and external auditors. Using proprietary data, I find that a composite measure of IAF quality is negatively associated with the likelihood of management misconduct even after controlling for board, audit committee, and external auditor quality. A difference-in-differences analysis suggests that misconduct firms improve IAF quality after misconduct is revealed by increasing IAF competence. Finally, IAF quality is a predictor of accounting-related management misconduct even after controlling for other observable predictors of misconduct. These findings suggest that regulators and audit committees should consider ways to improve IAF quality and that investors would benefit from disclosures relating to IAF quality. / text

To gain insight into the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) impact on audit quality, this study investigates the association between PCAOB inspection exposure (akin to the threat of a PCAOB inspection) and auditor reporting decisions. Certain foreign governments prohibit PCAOB inspections of their domestic auditors of U.S. SEC registrants citing sovereign control. This unique setting provides an opportunity to observe variation in the reach of the PCAOB inspection program and isolate its' effect on auditor reporting. I find that auditors in jurisdictions allowing PCAOB inspections are more likely to report going concern opinions and material weaknesses relative to auditors in jurisdictions barring PCAOB inspections. I find no difference in these auditor reporting propensities in the pre-PCAOB regulatory. This study provides evidence that PCAOB inspection exposure is associated with auditor reporting incentives, and ultimately audit quality, which is the fundamental purpose of the PCAOB inspection program.

Sammanfattning Studien undersöker hur revisionsansträngningen hos företag på Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholms listor, Mid cap och Small cap, påverkas under hög – respektive lågkonjunktur genom att undersöka faktorerna: Komplexiteten hos företag Risken hos företag  Revisorns erfarenhet   Studien undersöker revisionsansträngningen genom revisionsarvodet under 2007-2009. Multipla linjära regressioner har används för att nå resultatet. Resultatet av studien visade att för samtliga tre undersökningsår var komplexitet signifikant, revisorerna ansåg att utländska dotterföretag var en faktor som påverkade revisionsansträngningen hos företag på Small – och Mid Cap oavsett om Sverige befann sig i en hög- eller lågkonjunktur. Risken hos företag påverkar revisionsansträngningen i hög – respektive lågkonjunktur. Kundfodringar i relation till totala tillgångar ökade revisionsansträngningen samtliga undersökningsår och ett negativt resultat medförde en ökad revisionsansträngning i hög – och lågkonjunktur. Revisorns erfarenhet påverkade inte revisionsarvodet i varken hög – eller lågkonjunktur. Av de undersökta variablerna visade resultatet att revisorn granskar samma faktorer oberoende av hög- och lågkonjunktur och att ansträngningen har ökat mellan åren och det kan beror på konjunkturen men också av andra faktorer. Eftersom studien är kvantitativ kan vi inte yttra oss om varför revisorer agerar på ett visst sätt, och vi ser därför att ytterligare forskning behövs för att undersöka revisorernas beteende samt ytterligare studier kring hur svenska dotterföretag påverkar revisionsansträngningen, då resultatet går emot vad tidigare forskning visat.   Studien har bidragit med att ge en indikation på att revisionsansträngningen är av högre kvalitet när Sverige befinner sig i hög – som lågkonjunktur.

Bakgrund: År 2006 så initierade regeringen en utredning gällande slopandet av revisionsplikten i Sverige, som en del i att anpassa sig till EU:s direktiv. Regeländringen gick igenom år 2010 och små aktiebolag i Sverige fick möjligheten att välja bort revision. Efter slopandet av revisionen har diskussioner angående en ytterligare harmonisering mot det högre gränsvärdet i EU förts. Detta ledde in oss på forskningsfrågorna: Hur kan intressenter i Sverige påverkas av en eventuell framtida höjning av gränsvärdet? Vilka möjligheter har intressenterna att anpassa sig till effekterna av en höjning av gränsvärdet? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka de effekter en höjning av gränsvärdet för revision har för de tre signifikanta intressenterna; kreditgivare, Skatteverket och aktiebolag. Detta gör vi genom att jämföra förväntade effekter med de verkliga effekter som uppstod i EU länderna Storbritannien och Danmark. Vi ämnar att analysera tre intressenter som berörs av regeländringen. Den här studien fokuserar på hur intressenterna har påverkats i respektive land för att sedan bidra med ny kunskap om intressenters påverkan av revisionsplikt i Sverige inför en framtida höjning. De intressenter som undersöks i studien är kreditgivare, Skatteverket och aktiebolag. Metod: I vår studie har vi använt oss av kvalitativ metod och samlade in större delen av vårt data genom tidigare rapporter, utredningar och undersökningar från Sverige, Danmark och Storbritannien. Dessa har kompletterats med expertutlåtanden från två personer från Svenskt Näringsliv och Skatteverket. Slutsats: En höjning av gränsvärdet för revisionsplikten kommer att påverka vår studies intressenter på olika sätt. Ingenting i de rapporter vi tagit del av tyder på att skattebortfall kommer att öka tillsammans med en höjning. Inte heller Skatteverkets legitimitet och relationsberoende kommer påverkas nämnvärt av en höjning. Kreditgivare kommer vid förändringen uppleva en ökad osäkerhet vid kreditgivning. De kommer i högre utsträckning behöva ställa krav på de större aktiebolagen som väljer bort revision. Den direkta påverkan för aktiebolagen är att ett större antal aktiebolag kommer få möjligheten avstå från revision. En stor del av de större aktiebolagen som kommer omfattas av en höjning av gränsvärdet, kommer att fortsätta använda sig av revision trots valmöjligheten att välja bort det. Men dessa måste hitta nya metoder för att minska osäkerhet som intressenter kan känna när aktiebolagen väljer bort att revidera deras finansiella information. / Setting: In the year of 2006 the Swedish government initiated an investigation concerning the repeal of the mandatory auditing in Sweden, as a start of an adaption towards the EU directives. The repeal of the mandatory audit legislation was passed in 2010 and small companies in Sweden got the opportunity for audit exemption. After the repeal of the mandatory audit, discussions started whether Sweden should raise the threshold of the audit exemption or not. This leads us into the problem definition: How can the stakeholders in Sweden be effected by a raise of threshold of the audit exemption in the future? What opportunities does the stakeholders have to adapt to the effects of a raise of threshold? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine what effects a raise of threshold for auditing has on our community and its stakeholders. We compare the expected effects with the real outcome of effects in the EU-countries Great Britain and Denmark. We intend to analyze the three stakeholders that is among the affected of the legislation change. Our focus in this study is to find out how stakeholders are affected in each of every country listed above and contribute with new knowledge regarding stakeholders’ impact by the mandatory audit in Sweden for a future raise of threshold. The stakeholders being examined in this study is creditors, the Swedish tax authority and small companies. Method: In this study we used a qualitative method and the major part of our collected data is from earlier reports, investigations and studies from Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain. These was supplemented with statements from two experts, one of them representing Svenskt Näringsliv and the other one representing the Swedish tax authority. Conclusion: A raise of threshold for the mandatory audit will affect the stakeholders of our study in different ways. None of the reports presented in this study shows that the tax loss will increase together with a raise of threshold. Nor will the Swedish tax authority’s legitimacy- and relationship-dependence be affected substantially. Creditors will experience increased insecurity regarding lending and financing. They will in higher extent need to set demands on bigger companies that opt out auditing. The direct effect on companies will be that a greater proportion of bigger companies will be able to opt out auditing. A greater proportion of these bigger companies that will be a subject of the raise of threshold, will continue using audit although the opportunity to opt out. These will have to find new methods to decrease insecurity that stakeholders can find in the companies when they choose to opt out auditing.

Previous research noticed a conflict between audit quality and efficiency that has been discussed when applying International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) in the audit of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, there is a lack of research that concerns ISAs affect on audit quality and efficiency in the same study. Hence, the following research question was formulated: How has the implementation of International Standards on Auditing in Sweden affected audit quality and efficiency in the audit of small and medium-sized enterprises? Based on the perceptions of the interviewees, the implementation of ISAs has resulted in clearer risk assessment and increased use of analytical procedures, thereby improved audit quality. Further, ISAs have increased the hours spent on internal control, which impair audit efficiency since this activity is not judged as important when gathering audit evidence. This conflict between audit quality and efficiency is mostly explained by the shall requirements of ISAs since many of these are not applicable in the audit of SMEs. Our findings indicate a need to adapt ISAs and to allow deviations from shall requirements. The outcome would be that ISAs are closer to fulfil their aim in the audit of SMEs, which is higher audit quality without the loss of efficiency.

This study provides evidence between auditors' fees and earnings management in New Zealand. The fee measures used in this study are audit fees, non-audit fees and total fees paid by a client to the audit firm. For each of the three fee measures, I derive client importance fee measures that reflect a client’s economic importance to the auditor relative to other clients of the auditor at the city office and national levels. This study employs both performance adjusted discretionary accruals and current accruals as proxies for earnings management. Using a sample of 224 firm-years comprising firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, the results of multivariate tests indicate an adverse association between non-audit fees and earnings management. In other words, non-audit fees paid by a client relative to fees paid by other clients, at the office and national levels, appear to impair the auditor’s independence because clients generating relatively more non-audit fees report greater discretionary and current accruals. Such evidence is more pronounced for income increasing accrual proxies for earnings management. The results also show that audit fee is not related to earnings management. As the results in this study are consistent across both discretionary and current accruals, the validity of the results is strengthened. This study contributes to the literature by providing insight into how auditors’ fee metrics indicating client importance affect earnings management in a legal and institutional environment of a small economy, and where the audit market is largely saturated with little room for growth. This study raises implications for relevant regulatory bodies in New Zealand pertaining to future developments of auditor independence and financial reporting regulations.

A dosagem de gama-glutamil transpeptidase sérica (GGT) tem sido amplamente utilizada como marcador bioquímico do uso de álcool. Sua utilização no rastreamento do consumo de álcool em pacientes com doença hepática diagnosticada necessita ser melhor investigada. Neste estudo foram comparados os níveis séricos de GGT ao padrão de consumo de álcool avaliado por meio do teste de rastreamento AUDIT em 126 indivíduos hepatopatas (94 homens e 32 mulheres), com idade entre 20 a 69 anos. Vinte e dois indivíduos (17,4%) obtiveram pontuação maior ou igual a 8 no AUDIT (casos positivos para suspeição de problemas relacionados ao consumo de álcool nos últimos 12 meses). Este percentual eleva-se a 32,7% nos pacientes com diagnóstico de hepatopatia associada ao uso do álcool. A gravidade da hepatopatia foi avaliada com base na classificação de Child-Pugh: 86 pacientes foram classificados como A (68,2%) e 40 como B ou C (31,8%). Todos os pacientes com pontuação &#8805;8 no AUDIT foram do sexo masculino e 77,3% deles tiveram diagnóstico de doença hepática associada ao uso de álcool (p<0,0001). Pacientes com pontuação &#8805;8 no AUDIT apresentaram valores médios de GGT significantemente maiores quando comparados àqueles menores que 8 (526,9 U/L ± 1006,8 versus 138,7 U/L ± 123, p<0,00001). O teste de correlação de Pearson indicou uma forte associação entre a elevação dos valores de GGT em pacientes hepatopatas que fazem uso de álcool e a pontuação total no AUDIT. Pacientes hepatopatas, apesar de manifestarem valores elevados de GGT, as diferenças não estiveram relacionadas à gravidade da hepatopatia. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante em relação à pontuação &#8805;8 no AUDIT e idade, estado civil, situação de emprego, escolaridade, renda familiar, cor e religião. Nossos dados sugerem que a utilização combinada do GGT e do AUDIT pode ser útil em discriminar pacientes hepatopatas usuários de álcool, principalmente em países em desenvolvimento como o Brasil, devido ampla disponibilidade e baixo custo. / The gamma glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) has been widely employed as excessive alcohol use biochemical marker. Its utilization in screening of alcohol consumption in patients with diagnosed liver diseases must be better investigated. In this study, serum levels of GGT were compared to the pattern of alcohol consumption using the AUDIT test as alcohol screening instrument in 126 patients with liver disease (94 men and 32 women), with age ranged from 20 to 69 years old. Twenty two patients (17,4%) scored higher or equal 8 in the AUDIT (positive cases for alcohol related problems suspicion in the last 12 months). This proportion increases to 32,7% in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease. The severity of the liver damage was evaluated by the Child-Pugh classification: 86 patients were classified as A (68,2%) and 40 as B or C (31,8%). All patients who scored 8 or higher in the AUDIT were men and had mean values of GGT significantly higher when compared to those who scored less than 8 (526,9 U/L ± 1006,8 versus 138,7 U/L ± 123, p<0,00001). Among them 77,3% had alcohol-associated liver disease diagnosis (p<0,0001). The Pearson’s correlation test showed a strong association between increase of the GGT values in patients that use alcohol and total score in the AUDIT. No association between increase of GGT values and severity of liver damage was found. No statistically significance was observed also between AUDIT scores 8 or higher to age, civil status, employment situation, education, familiar earnings, race or religion. Our data suggest that the combined use of GGT and AUDIT can be useful in discriminating liver disease patients that use alcohol, particularly in developing countries like Brazil, due to their widely availability and low costs.

Seguindo a tendência de incorporar novas tecnologias nos processos de controle, fiscalização e auditoria, um sistema que tem ganhado relevância na atualidade é a Auditoria Contínua (AC). Esta tecnologia possibilita um controle sistemático, prévio e concomitante a ocorrência do fato, baseada fortemente em tecnologia de informação, capaz de fornecer uma garantia contínua sobre a qualidade e credibilidade das informações apresentadas de forma abrangente. No entanto, a implantação deste sistema de auditoria, por envolver aspectos comportamentais e tecnológicos complexos, tem sido objeto de diversas pesquisas ao redor do mundo. Entretanto, apesar da grande gama de pesquisas relacionada ao setor privado, pouco se tem estudado sobre o tema no setor público, sobretudo no contexto brasileiro. Na presente pesquisa, são examinados os fatores que afetam a decisão de um auditor em aceitar a AC, incluindo quatro fatores contextuais a nível institucional (Expectativa de Desempenho, Expectativa de Esforço, Influência Social e Condições Facilitadoras) e quatro características individuais (gênero, idade, experiência e voluntariedade de uso), sob a ótica da Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology - UTAUT, concebida por Venkatesh et al. (2003).A latência exagerada entre os atos administrativos e, se for o caso, a responsabilização do gestor público pelos desvios de conduta cometidos, decorre do fato de que os períodos de accountability serem retroativos, apesar de, em alguns casos, a auditoria se dar em lapsos temporais menores. Mas, se os sistemas do governo computam as informações em tempo real, que sentido teria auditar essas informações em ciclos amplos de tempo? Por que não fazê-las em tempo real?Assim, emerge o desafio de adoção de novos instrumentos de controle da gestão pública, como a AC. Vale ressaltar que a complexidade deste assunto é aumentada pelo fato de que dois aspectos estão interligados neste processo de uso de novas tecnologias. Em primeiro lugar é necessário compreender a intenção comportamental, ou seja, a aceitação destas novas tecnológicas (antecedentes - foco desta pesquisa) e, num segundo momento, até que ponto essa aceitação resultará em efetivo uso (atitude) destas tecnologias (consequentes). Os resultados indicam que os auditores do TCESP acreditam que a adoção da AC será facilitada pela percepção de utilidade do sistema e pelos ganhos de produtividade no trabalho. Ainda, que o seu esforço associado ao uso da tecnologia será favorável, portanto, aumentando sua intenção de uso da AC. Contrariando os resultados de pesquisas realizadas em organizações privadas, os resultados desta pesquisa sugerem que a Influência Socialnão é fator discriminante para os auditores aumentarem ou diminuírem sua intenção de usar a AC. Os resultados indicam ainda que, percepções positivas de Condições Facilitadoras aumentam a intenção dos auditores de usarem a tecnologia de AC, mas que essa percepção positiva em relação às Condições Facilitadoras não diminui sua Expectativa de Esforço. / Following the trend of incorporating new technologies in the processes of control, inspection and auditing, one system that has gained relevance at the present time is Continuous Audit (CA). This technology enables a systematic, prior and concomitant control of the occurrence of the event, based heavily on information technology, capable of providing a continuous guarantee on the quality and credibility of the information presented comprehensively. However, the implementation of this audit system, since it involves complex behavioral and technological aspects, has been the object of several surveys around the world. However, despite the wide range of research related to the private sector, little has been studied on the subject in the public sector, especially in the Brazilian context. In the present research, we examine the factors affecting an auditor\'s decision to accept CA, including four contextual factors at the institutional level (Performance Expectation, Expectation of Effort, Social Influence and Facilitating Conditions) and four individual characteristics (gender, age, experience and willingness to use), from the perspective of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), designed by Venkatesh et al. (2003). The exaggerated latency between the administrative acts and, if necessary, the accountability of the public manager for the misconduct committed stems from the fact that the periods of accountability are retroactive, although in some cases, the audit takes place in lapses time. But if government systems compute information in real time, what sense would it have to audit that information over long cycles of time? Why not do them in real time? Thus, the challenge of adopting new instruments of public management control, such as CA, emerges. It is worth emphasizing that the complexity of this subject is increased by the fact that two aspects are interconnected in this process of use of new technologies. First, it is necessary to understand the behavioral intention, that is, the acceptance of these new technologies (background - focus of this research) and, secondly, to what extent this acceptance will result in effective use (attitude) of these (consequent) technologies. The results indicate that the TCESP auditors believe that the adoption of CA will be facilitated by the perception of utility of the system and productivity gains at work. Also, that your effort associated with the use of technology will be favorable, therefore, increasing your intention to use the CA. Contrary to the results of research conducted in private organizations, the results of this research suggest that Social Influence is not a discriminating factor for auditors to increase or decrease their intention to use CA. The results also indicate that positive perceptions of Facilitating Conditions increase auditors\' intention to use CA technology, but that this positive perception of Facilitating Conditions does not diminish their Expectation of Effort