This dissertation deals with methods of creative accounting linked with an auditor risk. In the theory part, there is creative accounting defined together with its methods and demonstrations. The auditor risk is then defined as the risk of an inappropriate statement to final accounts issued by the auditor. It refers to the auditor's respond to a possible risk with the aim to reveal the important (material) inaccuracy in the accounting accounts. The practical part demonstrates the possibility of the important (material) inaccuracy made either intentionally or with neglect. The aim of the work is to demonstrate the potential occurance of the practices of the creative accounting in the final accounts and the auditor's possible response to this situation. The conclusion of this dissertation deals with the possible auditor's statements linked with the revealed important (material) inaccuracies in final accounts.

Antalet auktoriserade revisorer förväntas inte möta den framtida efterfrågan av dem vilket innebär att behovet av auktoriserade revisorer kommer att öka. Den reglerade auktorisationstiden uppgår idag till åtta år medan den genomsnittligen vanligtvis är tio år, vilket kan upplevas som en lång och komplex process. Vi vill undersöka hur organisationerna kan agera för att minska den genomsnittliga auktorisationstiden, genom att studera den praktiska auktorisationstiden, och därmed göra yrket mer attraktivt. Därav är syftet med studien att förklara vilka organisatoriska faktorer som påverkar revisorers praktiska auktorisationstid. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats och genom ett deduktivt angreppssätt har hypoteser utvecklats. En enkätundersökning utfördes på auktoriserade revisorer fördelade på revisionsbyråer runt om i Sverige för att pröva hypoteserna. De organisatoriska faktorerna som undersöktes i studien är mentorskap, byråspecifik utbildning och managementmetoden up-or-out. Utöver de organisatoriska faktorerna kan det finnas faktorer som påverkar auktorisationstiden, därför testades även ytterligare faktorers påverkan. Dessa faktorer var genus, ålder vid auktorisation, byrå vid auktorisation, antal skrivna auktorisationsprov, tidigare arbetserfarenheter, högskola/universitet, examensnivå och tjänstledighet. Studien resulterade inte i några signifikanta samband mellan revisorers praktiska auktorisationstid och de tre oberoende variablerna som inkluderades i studien. Därav kan slutsatsen dras att revisionsbyråerna inte antas ha en stor påverkan på revisorernas praktiska auktorisationstid. Då studien innehåller brister och att inga signifikanta samband kunde påvisas, finns där ett behov och en möjlighet för vidare forskning kring forskningsfältet. / The number of certified auditors is not expected to meet the future demand of them, which means that the need for certified auditors will increase. Today the regulated certification time amounts to eight years, while the average certification time is ten years, which can be experienced as a long and complex process. We want to investigate how organizations can act in order to reduce the average certification time, by studying the practical certification time, and therefore make the profession more attractive. Hence, the purpose of the study is to explain what organizational factors affect the auditor’s practical certification time.   The study has a quantitative approach and through a deductive approach, hypotheses have been developed. A survey was conducted on certified auditors distributed at audit firms around Sweden to test the hypotheses. The organizational factors studied in the study are mentorship, firm specific education and the management method up-or-out. In addition to the organizational factors, there may be factors that affect the certification time. Therefore, the impact of additional factors was also tested. These factors were gender, age, firm at certification, number of written certification tests, previous work experience, college/university, degree level and leave of absence.   The study did not resulted in any significant relationship between the auditor’s practical certification time and the independent variables that were included in the study. Therefore, the conclusion of the study is that audit firms cannot be expected to have a big impact on the auditor’s practical certification time. Since the study contains deficits and no significant relationship could be demonstrated, there is need and opportunity for further research on the field of research.

Fin 2001, début 2002, les États-Unis ont été frappés par un nombre élevé de scandales financiers. Plusieurs affaires ont été révélées par les médias, singulièrement le cas Enron. La reformulation de la profession d'audit en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit après le scandale Enron a cherché à garantir la crédibilité des états financiers. L'objectif de ce travail est de tester l'effet de la nouvelle formulation de la profession d'audit, notamment en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit, précisément sur la question de la crédibilité des états financiers. Trois objectifs opérationnels ont été traités dans le cadre de cette étude. Premièrement, nous avons analysé les effets de l’affaire Enron sur la réaction des marchés financiers, le choix des commissaires aux comptes et l’affermissement du conservatisme des auditeurs, dans le contexte français. Deuxièmement, nous avons étudié l’impact de l’institution du Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Finalement, nous avons étudié l’influence du Comité d’audit sur la crédibilité des états financiers après le rapport Bouton de 2002. Les résultats empiriques s’attachent à montrer que la présence d’un co-commissaire aux comptes Non-Big a minimisé l’effet négatif de la réaction du marché financier français lors de l’annonce du scandale Enron. Par contre, le scandale Enron n’a pas influencé significativement la perception des investisseurs institutionnels étrangers envers les services des grands cabinets d’audit. Ces derniers n’ont pas justifié la production d’une bonne qualité d’audit par rapport aux Non-Big. Pour rétablir la confiance sur les marchés financiers, le législateur français est intervenu via la création d’un organisme de supervision publique de la profession comptable intitulé le H3C. Les résultats empiriques montrent que la création du H3C a renforcé l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre, l’annonce du lancement des activités disciplinaires de ce nouvel organisme après 2005 n’a pas d’effet significatif sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre l’apparition du rapport Bouton en 2002, et la nouvelle dimension accordée au contrôle interne, montre que ce dernier dépendant des caractéristiques des comités d’audit notamment l’expertise et l’indépendance de leurs membres. / At the end of 2001, the scandal series was announced in the US context. Several scandals, especially the Eron failure, were revealed in the first stage by the media. The main purpose of this research is to study the impact of the new reform, in audit after Enron scandal, on auditor independence, audit comity and financial statement credibility. Three operational objectives have been treated in this study. First, we have analyzed the effects of Enron scandal on financial market reaction, auditor choice and auditor conservatism in the French context. Second, we have investigated the impact of the new reform on the auditor independence. Finally, we have examined the effect of audit committee on financial statement credibility after the adoption of the Bouton Report in 2002.The empirical results have shown that the presence of the Non-Big4 members in the legal audit process have minimized the negative effect of the reaction of the SBF 250. However, the perception of the foreign institutional investors has not changed significantly for the Big4 audit services. This auditor group (Big4) does not justify the production of the audit quality compared to other auditors in France. To restore confidence in the financial market, the French legislative authority has created the H3C. The empirical results have revealed that the establishment of the H3C has ameliorated the auditor independence. Hence, the announcement of the launch of H3C disciplinary activity after 2005 has not had a significant effect on auditor independence. In contrast, the appearance of the Bouton Report in 2002 and the reform related to the internal control depend on the audit committee characteristics (expertise and independence audit committee members).

Esta dissertação analisa certas relações de poder na Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB), uma das burocracias públicas mais bem estruturadas do país. Buscou-se compreender como são as relações de poder entre a Administração da RFB (dirigentes) e os Auditores-Fiscais da Receita Federal do Brasil (AFRFB). A hipótese diretriz procurou evidenciar se nas relações de poder entre os dirigentes da RFB e os Auditores-Fiscais predomina a interferência política dos dirigentes sobre as decisões técnicas do Auditor-Fiscal. Os aportes teóricos foram Weber (1974, 2004), Crozier (1981), Crozier; Friedberg (1981) e Wilson (1989). A pesquisa referiu-se a um Estudo de Caso. Para a coleta dos dados foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com Auditores-Fiscais, dirigentes e não dirigentes, no período de maio à julho de 2010. A análise foi dividida em duas dimensões: em primeiro lugar, detalharam-se as atribuições do Auditor-Fiscal, tanto sob o ponto de vista do próprio Auditor-Fiscal, quanto Auditor-Fiscal dirigente. O objetivo foi identificar pontos conflitantes na definição das atribuições que podem gerar conflito. A segunda dimensão abordada se refere às atribuições dos dirigentes. Levou-se em conta a percepção do grupo envolvido, também com o objetivo de estabelecer contrastes. Por último, examinou-se o que ocorre quando o poder de decidão do Auditor-Fiscal não é aceito pela direção. Quais as consequências destas relações de poder, quais tipos de casos podem gerar conflito e como esses conflitos são resolvidos? O estudo possibilitou a compreensão de que nos procedimentos relacionados à coordenação, organização e gerenciamento de recursos humanos as relações de poder ocorrem nos padrões estabelecidos por Weber. Já nas rotinas relacionadas às decisões técnicas há o predomínio da hipótese formulada para o estudo, pelo fato de o “poder de decidir tecnicamente sobre o caso concreto” estar atribuído, de fato, ao dirigente e não ao Auditor-Fiscal, o que reflete as estratégias utilizadas pelos atores no jogo do poder. As relações de poder na RFB manifestam-se de diferentes formas, muitas vezes camufladas, impedindo, de certa maneira, a percepção daqueles que perdem nesse jogo. / This dissertation analyzes some power relations in Brazil's Federal Revenue (RFB), one of the best structured public departments in the country. The aim is to understand how the relationships of power between the administrators of RFB and the Tax Auditors of Brazil‟s Internal Revenue Service (AFRFB). The hypothetical guidelines observed if in the relations between the leaders of the RFB and the Tax Auditors, there is a predominant political interference of such leaders over the technical decisions of Tax Auditors. The theoretical contributions were Weber (1974, 2004), Crozier (1981), Crozier and Friedberg (1981) and Wilson (1989). This research is a Case Study with semi-structured interviews applied to auditors and directors to collect data from May to July in 2010. The investigation was divided into two dimensions: first, the duties of the Tax Auditors were detailed, both from the standpoint of the Tax Auditors themselves as well as from the Tax Auditors as leaders. The objective was to identify disagreeing points of such missions that could generate conflict. The second dimension approached the responsibilities of those in charge. The perception of the group involved in this research was taken into account. It also aimed to establish contrasts. Finally, what happens when the Tax Auditor‟s decision power is not accepted by superiors was also examined. The questions raised regarded the consequences of these relations of power: the kinds of cases that can generate conflict, and how such conflicts are resolved. The study proved that in the procedures related to coordination, organization and human resource management the power relations occur accordingly to the standards set by Weber. Yet, in routine technical decisions, is the predominant hypothesis for the study, once the "technical power to decide on the case" is, in fact, assigned to leaders and not Tax Auditors. This reflects the strategies used by the actors in this game. Moreover, such relations in the RFB are shown in different ways, despite the fact that they are often concealed, preventing those who lose the game from perceiving such powerful influences.

Esta dissertação analisa certas relações de poder na Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB), uma das burocracias públicas mais bem estruturadas do país. Buscou-se compreender como são as relações de poder entre a Administração da RFB (dirigentes) e os Auditores-Fiscais da Receita Federal do Brasil (AFRFB). A hipótese diretriz procurou evidenciar se nas relações de poder entre os dirigentes da RFB e os Auditores-Fiscais predomina a interferência política dos dirigentes sobre as decisões técnicas do Auditor-Fiscal. Os aportes teóricos foram Weber (1974, 2004), Crozier (1981), Crozier; Friedberg (1981) e Wilson (1989). A pesquisa referiu-se a um Estudo de Caso. Para a coleta dos dados foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com Auditores-Fiscais, dirigentes e não dirigentes, no período de maio à julho de 2010. A análise foi dividida em duas dimensões: em primeiro lugar, detalharam-se as atribuições do Auditor-Fiscal, tanto sob o ponto de vista do próprio Auditor-Fiscal, quanto Auditor-Fiscal dirigente. O objetivo foi identificar pontos conflitantes na definição das atribuições que podem gerar conflito. A segunda dimensão abordada se refere às atribuições dos dirigentes. Levou-se em conta a percepção do grupo envolvido, também com o objetivo de estabelecer contrastes. Por último, examinou-se o que ocorre quando o poder de decidão do Auditor-Fiscal não é aceito pela direção. Quais as consequências destas relações de poder, quais tipos de casos podem gerar conflito e como esses conflitos são resolvidos? O estudo possibilitou a compreensão de que nos procedimentos relacionados à coordenação, organização e gerenciamento de recursos humanos as relações de poder ocorrem nos padrões estabelecidos por Weber. Já nas rotinas relacionadas às decisões técnicas há o predomínio da hipótese formulada para o estudo, pelo fato de o “poder de decidir tecnicamente sobre o caso concreto” estar atribuído, de fato, ao dirigente e não ao Auditor-Fiscal, o que reflete as estratégias utilizadas pelos atores no jogo do poder. As relações de poder na RFB manifestam-se de diferentes formas, muitas vezes camufladas, impedindo, de certa maneira, a percepção daqueles que perdem nesse jogo. / This dissertation analyzes some power relations in Brazil's Federal Revenue (RFB), one of the best structured public departments in the country. The aim is to understand how the relationships of power between the administrators of RFB and the Tax Auditors of Brazil‟s Internal Revenue Service (AFRFB). The hypothetical guidelines observed if in the relations between the leaders of the RFB and the Tax Auditors, there is a predominant political interference of such leaders over the technical decisions of Tax Auditors. The theoretical contributions were Weber (1974, 2004), Crozier (1981), Crozier and Friedberg (1981) and Wilson (1989). This research is a Case Study with semi-structured interviews applied to auditors and directors to collect data from May to July in 2010. The investigation was divided into two dimensions: first, the duties of the Tax Auditors were detailed, both from the standpoint of the Tax Auditors themselves as well as from the Tax Auditors as leaders. The objective was to identify disagreeing points of such missions that could generate conflict. The second dimension approached the responsibilities of those in charge. The perception of the group involved in this research was taken into account. It also aimed to establish contrasts. Finally, what happens when the Tax Auditor‟s decision power is not accepted by superiors was also examined. The questions raised regarded the consequences of these relations of power: the kinds of cases that can generate conflict, and how such conflicts are resolved. The study proved that in the procedures related to coordination, organization and human resource management the power relations occur accordingly to the standards set by Weber. Yet, in routine technical decisions, is the predominant hypothesis for the study, once the "technical power to decide on the case" is, in fact, assigned to leaders and not Tax Auditors. This reflects the strategies used by the actors in this game. Moreover, such relations in the RFB are shown in different ways, despite the fact that they are often concealed, preventing those who lose the game from perceiving such powerful influences.

The diploma thesis deals with the audit of the hotel industry. At the beginning of the thesis is described the characteristics of hotel and tourism development in the Czech Republic. The second chapter deals with external audit and the audit process, the next chapter is focused on internal audit. Subsequently, both audits are compared and basic differences between them are defined. The practical part is focused on analysis of the current situation of audit in the hotel industry. One of the objectives of the analysis is to find out how many hotels in Prague must have audit the financial statements by the auditor. The final part of this chapter provides the data obtained from the questionnaire survey on the topic of internal audit in the hotel industry

Problemformulering Hela 80 % av nystartade småbolag utan revisionsplikt väljer bort revision sedan år 2010. Detta har medfört att kvaliteten på årsredovisningarna sjunkit markant. Kontrollen har tagits från revisorerna utan att ersättas av någon annan. Antalet anmälningar av ekobrott har under de senaste åren ökat, men samtidigt har antalet aktiebolag ökat. Det är en pågående debatt kring hur Ekobrottsmyndighetens rapport från år 2016, om revisionspliktens avskaffande och ekobrott, ska tolkas och många är oense. Syfte Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur Ekobrottsmyndigheten, Skatteverket, revisorer och redovisningskonsulter ser på ett eventuellt samband mellan avskaffandet av revisionsplikten och ekobrott. Metod Detta är en kvalitativ studie utifrån ett deduktivt synsätt. Den empiriska datan grundar sig på primärdata som samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats Studien resulterar i att Ekobrottsmyndigheten ser ett samband mellan oavsiktliga ekobrott och revisionspliktens avskaffande, men inte gällande avsiktliga ekobrott. Skatteverket och revisorer ser ett klart samband mellan avskaffandet av revisionsplikten och ekobrott. Redovisningskonsulterna ser däremot inget samband. / Thesis problem It is 80 % of newly established small companies without auditing obligation who discontinue audits since year 2010. As a result, the quality of annual reports has fallen significant. The control has been taken from the auditors without being replaced by another. The number of notifications of economic crime has increased in the recent years, but at the same time the companies have increased. There is an ongoing debate about how the Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureaus report from year 2016, about the abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime, should be interpreted and many disagree. Purpose The purpose is to describe how the Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureau, the Swedish Tax Agency, auditor and accounting consultants look at a possible link between abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime. Method This is a qualitative study based on a deductive approach. The empirical data is based on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews. Conclusion The study concludes that The Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureau see a link between accidental economic crime and the abolition of the auditing obligation, but not intentional economic crime. The Swedish Tax Agency and the auditors is seeing a clear link between the abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime. On the other hand the accounting consultants does not see a link.

Revisorns oberoende är en komplex fråga. Där problematiken är att revisorn själv ska bedöma huruvida denne riskerar sitt oberoende eller inte. Då det inte finns något hjälpmedel som täcker alla möjliga jävshot mot oberoendet får revisorn i många fall själv göra denna komplexa bedömning när det kommer till situationer som inte finns tydligt angivna i analysmodellen eller lagen (1999:1079). ”Gråzoner” har vi valt att kalla dessa otydliga situationer. Syftet med studien är att utifrån revisorns perspektiv, förklara gränsen för oberoende. För att undersöka gränsen för revisorns oberoende har studien använt sig utav en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats där tidigare forskning och teorier lagt grunden för studiens hypoteser. För att testa hypoteserna empiriskt har det gjorts en surveyundersökning i form utav en webbenkät som skickades ut till alla registrerade revisorer på FAR:s hemsida vilket resulterade i 196 svar. På den insamlade empirin gjordes en faktoranalys där revisorns oberoende delades in i 4 komponenter: Ytlig social interaktion, klientbekostad händelse, små gåvor och föreningstillhörighet. För att undersöka sambanden mellan komponenterna och de variabler hypoteserna bygger på (kön, erfarenhet, byråstorlek och geografi) gjordes en regressionsanalys och en hypotesprövning. Där hypotesprövningen visar att gränsen för oberoendet varierar för våra test variabler beroende på vilken typ av situation det handlar om. Resultatet visar att gränsen för oberoendet möjligtvis kan dras någonstans mellan att få en händelse bekostad av sin klient och att delta i ytliga sociala interaktioner eller att få små gåvor skänkta av sin klient. / The auditor independence is a complex matter. The problem is that the auditor should assess whether he or she risks their independence. There is no possibility to cover all threats to independence. The auditor may in many cases make this complex assessment in situations that are not clearly stated in the model of analysis or the law (1999: 1079). We have chosen to call these unclear situations “grey zones”. The purpose of the study is to explain the limit of independence from the auditor's perspective. In order to examine the limit of the independence of the auditor, the study has used a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach in which previous research and theories laid the foundation for the hypotheses. To test the hypotheses empirically, a survey has been conducted in the form of a web poll that was sent to all registered auditors on FAR's website, resulting in 196 responses. A factor analysis was made where the auditor's independence was divided into 4 components: Strong social interaction, client-driven event, small gifts and association. To investigate the relationships between components and variables, that the hypotheses are based on (gender, experience, agency size and geography), a regression analysis and a test of hypotheses were made. The test of hypotheses shows that the limit of independence variates depending on the situation. Results show that the limit of independence possibly could be drawn between getting a paid experience from a client and the participation in strong social interaction or receiving small gifts from a client.

The goal of this diploma thesis, which is related to the nature, interconnections and differences of external and internal audit, is to bring interested persons closer to the reason for inception of external and internal audit and to define their position and importance in 21st century. Approximation of both audit's contents and going, with regard to their goals, is naturally also a part of work. A piece of work is particularly devoted to external and internal auditor's personality and thus to personal and professional demands for such profession. Not forgotten is the legal adaptation of both audits and it is explain, which audit is under more strict adaptation and why. In the thesis conclusion is located an external-internal auditor comparison summary, together with practical part with examples, that are helpful for better understanding risks of auditor profession and with such disciplines and why internal audit is confused with them.

Audit firm tenure impacts the quality of audit work and the disclosure of material internal control weaknesses. Public firms are required by the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) Section 302 to disclose material internal control weaknesses. Researchers debate whether audit firm rotation is necessary for improving audit quality (Chen, Lin, & Lin, 2008). Generally, an auditor needs sufficient time to become familiar with a client's business in order to enhance effective controls and financial reporting. However, long tenure may diminish auditor independence, and in turn reduce the quality of audit work and encourage a client to violate SOX disclosure requirements. Therefore, it is expected that the disclosure of material internal control weaknesses is less likely given long audit tenure. Prior studies consider many variables that impact the disclosure of control weaknesses, except audit tenure. Further, prior studies do not address the issue of whether familiarity or independence explains non-disclosure. This dissertation investigates the role of audit firm tenure and concludes that the disclosure of material internal control weaknesses is more likely given short tenure. Further, familiarity with the client's business, which is associated with long tenure, explains non-disclosure and not the lack of independence. Therefore, audit firm rotation may not be necessary.