Background: 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. Aim: 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. Definitions: 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. Completion and results: 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.

Cette recherche contribue à la compréhension des interactions auditeur-audité, et plus particulièrement à la compréhension des conflits pouvant opposer ces deux acteurs. S’inscrivant dans une démarche interprétative, elle repose sur l’analyse d’entretiens menés auprès d’auditeurs (29), d’audités (20), de présidents de comités d’audit (3), ainsi que d’un ancien président de l’AMF (1). Un intérêt est porté aux dimensions cognitives et affectives du conflit et une taxinomie des conflits pouvant perturber la coopération auditeur-audité est intentée. La dimension comportementale du conflit (sa manifestation), abordée à travers les zones de sa survenance et des acteurs y impliqués, rend compte des proportions que peut prendre ce dernier, ainsi que de ses implications sur la conduite de la mission. S’agissant de dépasser le conflit, les auditeurs semblent privilégier sa résolution de façon non-coercitive. La recherche de consensus, au travers de la concertation et de la négociation, est pour eux le moyen d’équilibrer les cognitions dissonantes régissant leur environnement. Au-delà des aspects destructeurs connus du conflit, le conflit auditeur-audité peut revêtir des dimensions constructives, à condition de satisfaire à certains critères. / This research is a contribution to the understanding of auditor-client interactions and conflicts. Based on an interpretive approach, it rests on interviews with auditors (29), auditees (20), audit committee chairmen (3) and an ex-chairman of AMF (French Market regulator). Particular attention is paid to cognitive and affective dimensions of conflict and taxonomy of auditor-client conflicts is attempted. Conflict behavioral dimension approached through its concerned areas and participants, shows conflicts’ impacts, particularly on the mission conduct. Auditors give priority to non-coercive approaches of conflict handling. Consensus building, mainly by dialoguing and negotiating, enables them to rebalance their cognitions. When managed with respect to precise criteria, auditor-auditee conflicts may be constructive.

The final thesis topic focuses on the issue of internal audits and their contribution to enhancing quality of the provided care. The aim of the final thesis was to find out how the nurses working shifts and head nurses assess internal audits. Next, the aim was to research nurses? opinions on further enhancing quality of the provided care. Another goal of the thesis was to explore internal auditors? professional qualifications and find out their opinion on the issue of internal audits. In the empirical part of the diploma thesis, I have chosen a quantitative and a qualitative research method. The quantitative research was carried out in the form of an anonymous questionnaire for non-medical workers. In the qualitative research I have applied in-depth interviews, carried out with three quality managers and three internal auditors. Furthermore, three internal audits of nursing units and three internal audits of medical documentation have been carried out. The results of the thesis may be practically used as a source of information about quality, continual enhancement of the quality of the provided care and ensuring quality by the means of internal audits.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation aims to analyze the Program of Continuing Education in accountancy, implemented by Resolution 945/02 passed by the Federal Council of Accountants, based on the analyses of data collected from 2003 to 2005 by independent auditors working in the state of Sergipe. Although it has also considered quantitative aspects, this research is primarily qualitative, having adopted a historical-critical focus, according to a dialectical approach; it endeavors to understand facts globally and not in isolation, deprived of a context. Semi-structured interviews were made with the auditors and representatives of the Regional Council of Accountants of Sergipe State. With the results, it was possible to delineate the profile of the members of this profession as well as his/her views on the Program. We found out their dissatisfaction with both the events realized in Sergipe and the possibility that the Program might be extended to the remaining accountancy sectors. It lacks structure and competence alike for its development in the State. The key point is the meager number of courses being offered by training agents, which are highly valued in the fulfillment of professional norms. / Esta dissertação teve como objetivo analisar o Programa de Educação Continuada na profissão contábil, com sua implantação a partir da Resolução nº 945/02 do Conselho Federal de Contabilidade, tomando como base uma análise dos resultados obtidos entre 2003 e 2005, pelos auditores independentes que atuam em Sergipe. A pesquisa é predominantemente qualitativa, apesar de contemplar aspectos quantitativos, e utilizou um enfoque histórico-crítico, dentro da abordagem dialética; buscando compreender os fatos de maneira articulada entre si, e não isoladamente do contexto. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os auditores e com representantes do Conselho Regional de Contabilidade de Sergipe. Através dos resultados obtidos, foi possível delinear o perfil desse profissional e a sua percepção em relação ao Programa. Verificamos que há uma insatisfação quanto aos eventos realizados em Sergipe e a possibilidade de expansão do Programa para os demais segmentos de contabilistas, falta estrutura e preparo para seu desenvolvimento em Sergipe. O determinante está na insuficiência de cursos promovidos pelas capacitadoras, que valem pontos para o cumprimento da norma profissional.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Melcher Felipe.pdf: 2329257 bytes, checksum: 54dce1296c3435dd91a1322afe4d148c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-11 / The objective of this study is to verify through the perception of independent auditors and educators in Brazilian universities which work or worked as independent auditor, the main factors that affect the auditor s ethical responsibility, based on the national and international auditor profession codes of conduct/ethical guidelines. Taking the stand of the factors that contributed to the recent financial/accounting scandals and even frauds in the world business scenario, it is imperative that the independent auditor s professional activities be performed in a more adequate manner. Therefore, the auditor should observe and maintain an ethical position and should be in compliance with the professional audit codes of conduct/ethical guidelines, therefore, mitigating audited entity s risk and protecting their image. This position also aims to prevent audit firms from embarrassment and a negative impact that generate loss of credibility and litigations, including folding up their activities as it happened to one of the biggest independent audit companies in this era, Arthur Andersen. Therefore, to guide this study, the research question is: what are the main factors that impact the auditor's ethical responsibility in the perception of independent auditors and educators? The studied population consisted of independent auditors (semi-senior/senior/supervising) from the Big Four audit firms (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young Terco and KPMG) in São Paulo Brazil, and educators in Brazilian universities which work or worked as an independent auditor. In this context, a qualitative analysis was performed, looking for characteristics that contribute to validate the objectives and the research question. The research revealed there are thirteen factors that could impact the auditor s ethic responsibility that are related to integrity, independence, technical competence, professional care and confidentiality. From these identified factors, seven are related to the independent auditors perception, two are related to the educators perception and the other four are common in both perceptions. In this context, it is suggested a deeper look into these factors for future researches, and this should go in line with deductive studies in order to ascertain the correlation between them. Furthermore, it is important to check the point of tangency between the question of ethics and technical competence of the independent auditors, since in the perceptions of the independent auditors and educators, some factors do not impact their ethical responsibility. However, evidences show that this could be related to unlikely mapping of accounting / financial problems occurred in the business scenario. And these are factors involving for instance, the adequateness of the methodology, quality of training to improvement and maintenance of professional skills and effectiveness of continuing education, which are not always the direct responsibility of a junior/assistant independent auditor. / O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de verificar por meio da percepção dos auditores independentes e dos profissionais de ensino que atuam ou atuaram como auditores independentes, quais os principais fatores que afetam a responsabilidade ética do auditor, com base nos códigos de conduta nacionais e internacionais da profissão. Em virtude dos fatores que contribuíram para os recentes escândalos contábeis/financeiros e até mesmo fraudes no mundo dos negócios, é essencial que as atividades profissionais do auditor independente sejam executadas de maneira adequada. Desta forma, o auditor deve observar e manter a postura ética e em concordância com os códigos de conduta da profissão, mitigando assim, os riscos da entidade auditada e protegendo sua imagem. Esse posicionamento também visa evitar que as empresas de auditoria tenham impactos negativos em sua credibilidade e venham a sofrer litígios, inclusive encerrando suas atividades como ocorreu com uma das maiores empresas de auditoria do mundo, a Arthur Andersen. Portanto, para guiar este estudo, o trabalho tem como questão de pesquisa: quais são os principais fatores que impactam a responsabilidade ética do auditor na percepção dos auditores independentes e dos profissionais de ensino? A população estudada foi dos auditores independentes encarregados (semi-sênior/ sênior/supervisor) nas empresas de auditoria intituladas Big Four (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young Terco e KPMG) localizadas em São Paulo e os profissionais de ensino de faculdades/universidades brasileiras que atuam ou atuaram como auditores independentes. Dentro deste contexto, realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa buscando identificar características que contribuíssem para validar o problema e os objetivos da pesquisa. A pesquisa revelou que existem treze fatores que poderiam impactar a responsabilidade ética do auditor, relacionados à: integridade, independência, competência técnica/zelo profissional e confidencialidade. Destes fatores identificados, sete são inerentes à percepção dos auditores independentes, dois são inerentes à percepção dos profissionais de ensino e os outros quatro são comuns em ambas percepções. Neste contexto, sugere-se para futuras pesquisas um aprofundamento no estudo destes fatores,incluindo a elaboração de estudos quantitativos com objetivo de identificar a correlação entre eles. Além disso, torna-se importante verificar o ponto de tangência entre a questão ética e a competência técnica do auditor, uma vez que nas percepções dos auditores independentes e profissionais de ensino alguns fatores não impactam a sua responsabilidade ética. Entretanto, evidências sugerem que poderiam ter correlação com a não identificação de alguns problemas contábeis/financeiros ocorridos no mundo dos negócios. São fatores envolvendo, por exemplo, a adequabilidade da metodologia de auditoria, qualidade dos treinamentos para aprimoramento e manutenção das competências profissionais e efetividade da educação continuada, que nem sempre são de responsabilidade direta de um auditor independente trainee/assistente.

This diploma paper is focused on the problems of internal audits. The goal of the paper is to inform readers on the profession of the internal auditor. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part background information is provided on the origin and development of the auditor profession, kinds of audit, and the relationship between external and internal audits. Next in this part is an overview of the internal audit; namely its development, requirements on the person of the internal auditor, law concerning internal audits in the Czech Republic and the procedures of internal auditing starting with risk analysis, planning and realization of the internal audit and concluding with the reporting of results and assessment of the internal audit. In the second part a case study is provided of an internal audit at the Ministry of Education. In this part I describe the history of the department, and an internal audit of the department - its position and individual results accomplished by the internal audit.

My thesis deals with auditor's documents. At first, there is written about specific work of auditor and also legislation, which concerns with work of auditor. Subsequently, thesis presents main reasons and importance for leading auditor 's file. In auditor 's file, there is gathered all probative foundations, which proves process of audit in compliance with valid legislation. Practical part of thesis shows interception of audit at real client in auditor 's file. The aim is to submit total process during documentation of audit and shows organization of file, which is followed in auditor 's company.

This thesis called "The audit from the perspective of the audited entity" is focused on the audit, but from a different point of view than most of the specialized publications about audit. It is possible to divide the thesis into two parts. In the theoretical part, there is explained the issue of audit from the historical view, which is followed up with the legislation and professional treatment. Briefly there are mentioned the International Standards On Auditing, that have gradually replaced nowadays invalid Czech Auditing Directives. At the end of the theoretical part, the whole audit procedure is processed in details. The main emphasis is put on the moments, which affected the audited entity in the meaning that it is necessary its active cooperation with auditor, for example communication with auditor during the contract for audit, providing of various background materials for audit or negotiations of management with auditors during the audit. In the second, practice, part of this thesis the theory is put into practice in the real existed entity NÁBYTEK a.s.. The main goal is to map the audit of NÁBYTEK a.s. from the perspective of the audited entity, not from the view of auditor or auditor's company.

This dissertation examines whether managers influence corporate boards of directors in their auditor selection, change, and compensation decisions. This topic is important because it addresses concerns that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is not effective in eliminating managerial influence over auditor engagement decisions and that it may provide a false sense of security to investors. These concerns are based on the implicit assumption that managers prefer weaker governance oversight and lower audit quality. However, empirical research testing associations between managerial influence and audit-related decisions post-SOX is scarce and generally guided by agency theory. Incorporating agency, stewardship, and resource dependence perspectives, I find that managerial preferences for auditor selection are not aligned. Specifically, CEOs positively influence the selection of higher quality auditors, whereas CFOs have the opposite effect. Further, CEOs who hold powerful roles as chairs of their companies' boards of directors appear to mitigate the negative influence of CFOs and inside directors on audit quality. CEOs serving in dual roles also oppose auditor turnover when lower earnings quality prompt higher demand for audit effort. Finally, my study provides some evidence that management exercises downward pressures on audit fees, suggesting that managers utilize their authority beyond the regulations established by SOX to negotiate auditor compensation.

Bakgrund: För att granska den kommunala verksamheten är det viktigaste organet den kommunala revisionen, en revisionsfunktion som består av minst fem förtroendevalda revisorer och deras sakkunniga biträde. De förtroendevalda revisorerna ska fungera som ett demokratiskt kontrollinstrument, deras sakkunniga biträde fungerar således som ett professionellt stöd till revisionsgruppen. Trovärdigheten för svensk kommunal revision har ifrågasatts med bland annat de låga kompetenskraven, olika erfarenheter och den överhängande risken för politiska inflytanden. Problemformulering och syfte: Syftet med studien är att kunna öka förståelsen för kommunal revision genom att beskriva hur de arbetar samt samspelar under revisionsprocessen för att uppnå en trovärdighet till den kommunala revisionen samt förklara vilken inverkan bakomliggande faktorer har på detta. Syftet besvaras genom att utreda följande frågor: Hur arbetar samt samspelar de förtroendevalda revisorer och deras biträdande sakkunnig under revisionsprocessen för att uppnå en trovärdighet till den kommunala revisionen? Vilken inverkan har bakomliggande faktorer på den kommunala revisionsprocessen? Metod: För att svara på studiens problemformulering har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats. Insamling av det empiriska materialet gjordes genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, respondenterna är två förtroendevalda revisorer från tre kommuners revisionsgrupper och deras biträdande sakkunnig. Analys och slutsats: De förtroendevalda samt deras biträdande sakkunnig styrs i hög grad av skriften god revisionssed. Trots det skiljde de sig åt mellan hur de olika kommunerna arbetade och samspelade under den kommunala revisionsprocessen. Gränsen mellan ett bra samspel och att hota oberoendet är subtil därför sker inte allt för mycket kommunikation mellan de två parterna under revisionsprocessen. Budgetramen har en inverkan på den kommunala revisionsprocessen genom att granskningar får skjutas upp alternativt nekas något som kan antas minska trovärdigheten. En högre ålder och längre erfarenheten ökar kompetensen hos det sakkunniga biträdet och arbetet blir mer effektivare men personen kan också uppfattas som mer auktoritär vilket skadar samspelet och således trovärdigheten för processen. / Background: To examine the municipal activities the most important organ is the municipal audit, an audit function consisting of at least five elected auditors and their expert auditor assistant. The elected auditors’ functions as a democratic control instrument, their expert auditor assistant acts as a professional support to the audit team. The credibility of Swedish municipal audit has been questioned for, among other thing, the low competence requirements, various experience, and the imminent risk of political influence. Research issue and purpose: The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of the municipal auditing by describing how they work as well as interact during the audit process to achieve credibility to the municipal audit and and explain the impact of the underlying factors on this. The purpose is answered by investigating the following questions: How do the elected auditors and their expert auditor assistant work and interact during the audit process to achieve credibility with the municipal audit? What impact do the underlying factors have on the municipal audit process? Method: To answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative method has been applied. The data has been gathered through eight semi- structured interviews, the respondents are two elected auditors from three municipality and their expert auditor assistant. Result and conclusion: The elected representatives and their expert auditor assistant are largely governed by the publication “god revisionssed”. There are differences between how the municipalities worked and interacted during the municipal audit process. The line between good interaction and independent is subtle, and therefore not too much communication take place between the two parties during the audit process. The budget framework has an impact the municipal audit process by allowing audits to be postponed or denied, which can be assumed to reduce credibility. A higher age and longer experience increase the competence of their expert auditor and the work becomes more efficient, but the expert auditor can also be perceived as more authoritarian, which damages the interaction and thus the credibility of the process.