Syftet med vår uppsats är att kartlägga betydelsen av revisionspliktens avskaffande för små bolag utifrån tre intressentgruppers perspektiv. Vi vill bidra till en ökad helhetsförståelse för det samspel som råder mellan bankerna, små bolag och revisionsbyråer i en Boråskontext då vi anser att kvalitativ forskning kring detta samspel idag saknas. För att besvara uppsatsens syfte formulerades tre avgränsande forskningsfrågor.Uppsatsen är kvalitativ med en abduktiv ansats och ett hermeneutiskt tolkningsperspektiv. Empirinsamlingen skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med små bolag, banker och revisionsbyråer. Det empiriska materialet har satts i relation till de potentiella konsekvenserna av revisionspliktens avskaffande som regeringen angivit. Med hjälp av den vetenskapliga litteraturen har de skillnader och likheter som kunnat observeras problematiserats. Agentteorin, signalteorin och intressentteorin har använts som förklaringar till det problematiseringen resulterade i.Revisionspliktens avskaffande för små bolag har fått de små bolagen att göra mer medvetna val i deras tillvägagångssätt för att uppnå kvalitet på de finansiella rapporterna. Den frivilliga revisionen har fått de små bolagen att bli mer medvetna om vad revision faktiskt innebär samt börjat utforska olika möjligheter till att modifiera eller ersätta den. Det ändrade förhållandet till revisorn samt de små bolagens förmåga att uppnå kvalitet på deras finansiella rapporter har haft en varierande inverkan på hur bankerna ser på de små bolagens finansiella rapporter. Två av bankerna i uppsatsen har valt att lägga mindre fokus på de finansiella rapporterna medan den tredje banken har infört ett revisionskrav. Det kan konstateras att de små bolagen efter revisionspliktens avskaffande förväntar sig rådgivning i större utsträckning från deras revisorer vilket revisionsbyråerna har anpassat sig efter genom att tillämpa olika strategier. / This essay analyzes the significance of the repeal of mandatory audits from three perspectives. We hope to improve understanding of the relationships among banks, small companies and auditing firms in Borås, Sweden. We believe that there is a lack of research of this issue to address the purpose of the thesis. Three questions were formulated.The thesis was conducted by using a qualitative research method with an abductive approach and a hermeneutic perspective for interpretation. The empirical data collection was made through semi-structured interviews with small companies, banks and auditing firms. The empirical data is compared with the potential consequences of the repeal of the mandatory audit stated by the government. By using scientific literature the differences and similarities were identified and analyzed. Agency theory, signaling theory and the stakeholder theory were used as explanations for the similarities and differences that were revealed.The repeal of the mandatory audit has led to small companies making more conscious decisions regarding achieving financial statements with high quality. The repeal made small companies more aware of what an audit actually means and made them think about its’ actual use. This has also led them to explore options such as doing without audits or changing the auditors work assignment. The changing relationship between the auditors and the small companies as well as the small companies methods of achieving financial statements with high quality has had a varying effect on the banks. Two of the banks in our thesis have chosen to focus on the loan’s purpose as well as the person seeking to borrow money while the third bank has introduced an audit requirement. One of the conclusions in our thesis is that small companies after the repeal of the audit to a greater extent expect counseling from their auditors. The auditing firms presented three different strategies for how they were adapting to this new demand. The language in the thesis is in Swedish

The faith in financial reporting quality and the corresponding auditing process has suffered a lot within the last decade, due to significant accounting scandals (e.g. Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat, etc.). As an answer to these accounting scandals, the law-makers in Germany and the European Union, respectively, have strengthened audit regulations in order to improve the quality of the conducted audits. The aim of this cumulative dissertation is to provide empirical evidence on the effects of intended and already implemented regulative audit requirements in Germany. ln order to consider the wide range of different audit requirements, the dissertation is based on four different study manuscripts, highlighting various perspectives with regard to the appointment, duration, and remuneration of a statutory auditor in the German audit environment. Besides the empirical evidence for separate auditing issues, this dissertation is also aimed to provide a solid theoretical background and critical suggestions for future research.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de contribuer à la compréhension des conflits de rôles vécus par les auditrices légales. Ces conflits de rôles et leurs modes de gestion sont analysés dans un contexte professionnel et relationnel spécifique : celui des interactions avec le client. Cette thèse se présente sous la forme d’une étude de terrain qualitative combinant trois méthodes de recueil des données : observations non participantes, entretiens semi-directifs et récit de vie. L’échantillon d’étude est composé d’auditrices exerçant dans les grands cabinets anglo-saxons dits Big 4 ainsi qu’auprès de professionnelles ayant fait le choix de l’exercice en libéral, d’auditeurs et de client(e)s. Nous identifions six rôles endossés par les auditrices en situation d’interactions avec le client, dont le rôle d’objet sexuel, absent de la littérature comptable. Les interactions peuvent ré-activer des conflits de rôles déjà vécus de l’intérieur des firmes, en générer de nouveaux, inhiber ou supprimer certains conflits de rôles. Nous mettons en évidence deux conflits inter-rôles qui relèvent d’une co-construction de sens entre l’auditrice et le client. Ils induisent deux modes de gestion des conflits de rôles différents et non mutuellement exclusifs. Le premier est composé de cinq tactiques interactionnelles adaptatives qui font l’objet d’une typologie. Le second relève de questionnements de fond et d’une réinterprétation quant au rôle de professionnelle prescrit par les firmes d’audit. Il envisage la conciliation de registres d’interactions à la fois masculin et féminin avec le client. Enfin, des différences en termes de conflits de rôles et de leur gestion sont identifiées entre les auditrices exerçant en Big 4 et celles exerçant en libéral au sein de petites ou moyennes structures. / This thesis aims to help better understand role conflicts experienced by female statutory auditors. These role conflicts and the way they are managed are analysed in a specific professional and relational context: that of interactions with the client. This thesis is presented in the form of a qualitative field study combining three methods of collecting data: non participative observations, semi-directed interviews and life history. Our sample includes female auditors working in Big 4 firms and medium or small sized firms, as well as male and female clients. It reveals six roles taken on by female auditors, including that of sexual object, absent from accounting research. Interactions with clients can reactivate role conflict experienced within the firms, generate new ones, inhibit or even suppress some of them. It identifies two inter-role conflicts arising from a co-construction of meaning between the female auditor and the client. It also reveals two kinds of role conflict management which are not mutually exclusive. The first is composed of six adaptative interactional tactics which reinforce an established order of gender and where women are both victims and agents of their condition. A typology of these adaptative interactional tactics is proposed. The second, which could be qualified as radical, comes from a deep questioning of the professional role defined by audit firms. It consists of a reinterpretation of the professional role of female auditors. It envisages the reconciliation of both masculine and feminine modes of interaction with the client. Differences in termes of conflict roles and role conflict management are identified between female auditors working in Big 4 firms and female auditors working in medium or small sized firms.

The purpose of this thesis is to create a deeper and also a better understanding about how each of the professional secrecy and obligation to report are perceived from auditors and further investigate how the potential conflicts based on independence and “can be suspect” are handled by the auditors. The purpose has been achieved through interviews with four different accounting firms. The interviews were conducted with Grant Thornton, BDO Mälardalen AB, PwC and KPMG to answer the research questions. Subsequently, a hermeneutic approach was used to since the interpretation of the interviews was considered as important to obtain knowledge of the respondent’s perception about the topic. In the analyze chapter have dataset from the reference framework and empirical part been used to implement the analyze of the thesis. The study shows that the professional secrecy is important for creating a good relationship with clients and is not considered as a rule that create conflicts for auditors. The obligation to report, however, is creating conflicts because of the lack of knowledge in assessment of economic crimes. The auditors therefore decide to investigate a situation that “can be suspect” beyond what is intended. To not become dependent on the clients, there are rules and profession practices that are used and also examples like not having friends or family members as clients. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att skapa oss en djupare samt bättre förståelse om hur respektive av - samt anmälningsplikten uppfattas av revisorer och vidare undersöka hur eventuella konflikter med utgångspunkt för oberoende ställning samt vid ”kan misstänkas” situationer hanteras av revisorer. För att uppnå syftet, har intervjuer med fyra olika revisionsbyråer genomförts. Intervjuerna har genomförts med Grant Thornton, BDO Mälardalen AB, PwC samt KPMG genomförts för att kunna besvara forskningsfrågorna. Därefter har en hermeneutik synsätt använts då tolkning av intervjumaterialen ansågs viktig för att kunna få kunskap för respondenternas uppfattning kring ämnesvalet. I analysavsnittet har sedan datamaterial från referensramen samt empiridelen använts för att kunna genomföra en analys av uppsatsen. Denna studie visar tystnadsplikten är viktig för att kunna skapa en bra relation med klienterna och anses inte skapa konflikter för revisorer i någon stor bemärkning. Anmälningsplikten skapar dock problem på grund av bristen på kunskap inom bedömning av brott hos revisorer. Revisorerna väljer därför att utreda en situation vid brottsmisstanke längre än vad som avses. För att inte bli beroende av sina klienter finns regler och praxis inom yrket som används samt genom att till exempel inte ha vänner och bekanta som klienter menar respondenterna.

本研究以我國1994年至2003年由四大會計師事務所查核簽證之上市上櫃公司為研究對象，探討會計師之產業專精與任期及其交互作用對於查核品質之影響，其中以裁決性應計數作為查核品質之代理變數，並同時採用會計師事務所及合夥會計師在特定產業之市場佔有率，作為產業專家之衡量指標。實證結果發現，產業專家可以限制受查客戶透過裁決性應計數從事盈餘管理，而以合夥會計師為基礎所計算之市場佔有率較會計師事務所為基礎所計算之市場佔有率，更能解釋審計品質的差異。在任期方面，研究結果顯示，會計師任期愈長愈能限制盈餘管理，而任期對於裁決性應計數絕對値之影響係反映於任期較長會計師之查核年資。但進一步檢測會計師對管理當局操弄盈餘向上或向下的態度是否隨著任期之增長而有所不同時，本研究發現，當管理當局操弄盈餘使其降低時，會計師任期增長愈能抑制管理當局向下操弄盈餘以預留未來盈餘空間；而在管理當局操弄盈餘使其增加時，會計師任期增長則沒有理由支持具查核品質。此外，在產業專家與任期之交互作用對查核品質影響方面，實證結果發現，產業專家會計師抑制盈餘管理的能力較非產業專家好，所以較不須要透過任期的增加來提升其偵測盈餘管理的能力。 / This study uses the sample comprised of listed and OTC firms in Taiwan during 1994-2003 and examines the effects of auditor industry specialization, auditor tenure and the interaction on audit quality. I use discretionary accruals as proxies for audit quality and industry specialization is measured in terms of both audit firm market share in an industry and auditor market share in an industry. My empirical results provide evidence that industry specialist auditors can restrict accruals-based earnings management and explain the differentiation of audit quality more than industry specialist audit firms. About auditor tenure, I find that absolute discretionary accruals decline with auditor tenure and tenure traced at the longer auditor tenure is superior to shorter auditor tenure. The results show that longer auditor tenure enhances audit quality. In addition, a further analysis shows that the clients have motivations on income-decreasing earnings management, auditors can limit management’s ability to create reserve to manage future earnings. But the clients have motivations on income-increasing earnings management, the study did not provide sufficient evidences to explain that audit quality is improved with tenure. Besides, the result of empirical analysis support my estimation about the interaction between auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure. The industry specialist auditors mitigate earnings management more than nonspecialist auditors and don’t enhance audit quality through extending auditor tenure.

本研究旨在探討導入國際財務報導準則對內部控制的影響，主要以台灣2013年全面採用國際財務報導準則之企業為研究對象，瞭解在導入前後，內部控制目標與組成要素是否因問卷別、資本市場別與產業別而有所差異。本研究深入分析前項差異，藉以瞭解我國導入國際財務報導準則對內部控制的影響。本研究發現： 1. 導入IFRSs對業務流程及內部控制之影響程度，在內控目標與要素均有顯著差異，「導入後」之影響程度均顯著高於「導入前」。 2. 「IFRSs專案小組負責人」與「內部稽核單位」之看法，在內控目標與要素間並沒有顯著差異。 3. 內控三大目標與五大組成要素之影響程度，在不同資本市場別與產業別之顯著差異程度不盡相同。整體而言不論在導入前後，上市與上櫃公司在不同產業間存在較顯著之差異，金融業之影響程度顯著高於電子業與其他。 / The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards on internal controls. The main subjects of this research are the companies which will adopt IFRSs in 2013 in Taiwan. This research wants to know whether the effects of IFRSs on objectives and elements of internal control show significant differences under different subjects, capital markets and industries. This research analyzes the above effects to understand the effect of adopting IFRSs on internal controls. The main results of this study are as follows. 1. The effects of IFRSs on business processes, on the aspect of objectives, and elements of internal control show significant differences with the adoption of IFRSs. The impacts of three objectives and five elements of internal control after adoption are significantly higher than before adoption. 2. The results of the investigation on chief executives of adopting IFRSs and internal auditors do not show significant differences neither on the aspect of objectives nor on elements of internal control. 3. The impacts of IFRSs on three objectives and five elements of internal control are different under different capital markets and different industries with the adoption of IFRSs. Overall, listed and over-the-counter companies show significant differences under different industries before and after adopting IFRSs. The effect of adopting IFRSs on internal controls under financial industry is significantly higher than under electronic industry and other industry.

近年來，女權意識逐漸抬頭，女性在商業所扮演的角色也漸受重視，根據《第三期中國婦女社會地位調查主要數據報告》，中國女性的就業率及教育程度已逐年提升，女性在工作上的表現也不亞於男性。由於獨立董事與外部審計同為重要的治理機制，且在中國，獨立董事就有權對會計師事務所的聘任及審計公費的決定程序發表意見，因此，為了解性別多元化對董事會決策之影響，本研究以中國2006年-2011年的A股上市公司為研究對象，來探討女性獨立董事對會計師選擇及審計定價之影響。在控制其他變數之後，本研究發現，當公司有女性獨立董事且女性獨立董事比例越高時，越不傾向選擇國際四大或中國國內十大會計師事務所進行審計；另外，本研究也發現，女性獨立董事比例越高之公司，其審計公費越低。 / Independent director and external audit are both important corporate governance mechanisms. In China, independent directors are authorized to provide suggestions on auditor choice and the decision process of audit fees. Considering gender diversity of the board may affect the monitoring role performed by independent directors and the decision made by independent directors, we conduct a study using a sample of China A-shares over the period 2006 to 2011 to realize the relationship between female independent director and external audit, including auditor choice and audit fees. After controlling other variables, we find that corporations with female independent directors are less likely to choose Big4 and China local 10 as their audit firm than those without female independent directors. Furthermore, there is a significant negative relationship between female independent director ratio and audit fees. This may indicate that female independent directors can partly substitute the governance function of external audit and thus reduce audit fees and the possibility of choosing bigger audit firms.

Syfte: Debatten kring revisorers oberoende har pågått länge. Idag är frågan om revisorers oberoende en av de viktigaste frågorna inom redovisning vilket delvis beror på de företagsskandaler som inträffat under senare år. Tidigare studier visar att sociala identifikationer kan utvecklas vid nära relationer vilket både kan ha en positiv och en negativ påverkan på revisorers oberoende. För att utvidga tidigare studier har vi lagt till personlig identifikation för att studera detta på individnivå. Vi har även valt att lägga till en faktor, det karismatiska ledarskapet, för att undersöka om detta påverkar samtliga identifikationer. Studien syftar till att undersöka om klientidentifikation, personlig och professionell identifikation påverkas av ett karismatiskt ledarskap och om dessa identifikationer i sin tur har en påverkan på revisorers oberoende. Metod: Vi har i studien använt oss av enkäter som metod för att samla in primärdata. Data samlades in från auktoriserade och godkända revisorer runtom i Sverige. Insamlad data har sedan bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS statistics. Resultaten från de statistiska analyserna har sedan redovisats i olika tabeller. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visade att ett karismatiskt ledarskap har en påverkan på samtliga identifikationer, dock var denna påverkan relativt svag, vilket innebär att det är många andra faktorer som ökar identifikationerna. Vidare visade resultatet att personlig identifikation kan innebära ett större hot mot revisorers oberoende än klientidentifikation. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: För att få mer djup i studien och för att få fram respondenternas egna tankar och åsikter skulle en kvalitativt inriktad studie, med intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod kunna genomföras. Ytterligare förslag till forskning skulle kunna vara att undersöka andra faktorer som kan tänkas påverka olika identifikationer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Uppsatsen bidrar till fortsatt forskning inom revisorers icke-finansiella beroende, genom att vi undersöker problemet ur ett socialt identitetsperspektiv. Vidare bidrar studien med kunskap om faktorer som påverkar sociala identiteter. / Aim: The debate about the auditor independence has been going on for a long time. Today is the issue of auditor independence one of the most important in accounting which depends on several corporate scandals that have occurred in recent years. Previous studies shows that close relationships explicate social identifications which can have a positive and a negative impact on auditor independence. We have added personal identification in our study at the individual level to expand previous studies. We have also added the charismatic leadership as a factor to investigate whether this affect identifications. The study aims to investigate whether the client identification, personal and professional identification is affected by a charismatic leadership and whether these identifications has an impact on auditor independence. Method: In our study we have used surveys as a method to collect primary data. Data were collected from Swedish authorized and approved auditors. The collected data where then processed and analyzed by the statistical program SPSS statistics. The results of the statistical analyzes are then presented in different tables. Result and conclusions: The results of the study showed that charismatic leadership has an impact on all identifications, however, this effect is relatively weak, which means that there are many other factors that increase these identifications. Furthermore, the result also showed that personal identification can be a greater threat to auditor independence than client identification. Suggestions for future research: To obtain the respondents' own thoughts and opinions, a qualitative focused study with interviews as a data collection method could be implemented. Further implications could be to examine other factors that may affect different identifications. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes for further research about the auditors' non-financial dependence, in which we examine the problem from a social identity perspective. Furthermore, the study can provide knowledge of the factors that affecting social identities.

Revisorer har i uppdrag att granska företagens finansiella räkenskaper för att säkerställa attsiffrorna är rättvisande, trots att det inte är en fullständig garanti. Revisorn har ettskadeståndsansvar i de fall han eller hon vållar skada i det granskade företaget. Dennahermeneutiska studie har genomförts till följd av ett gap i forskningen gällande denriskproblematik i granskningen som kan föranleda skadestånd. Syftet med studien är attbeskriva riskproblematiken i granskningen kopplat till skadeståndsansvaret och hurproblematiken påverkar revisorns arbete, samt utveckla begreppet revisorns dilemma.Forskningsfrågan: Vilken riskproblematik i perspektiv av skadeståndsansvar finns och hurpåverkar den revisorns granskning? har med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod besvarats. Empirinär uppbyggd av tio personliga intervjuer med auktoriserade revisorer från små och storarevisionsbyråer verksamma i Västsverige. Resultatet visar att skadeståndsrisken och revisornsriskmedvetenhet har ökat de senaste åren. Risken för skadestånd är högre för större byråer,eftersom deras klientstock består av större klienter, till skillnad från mindre byråer. Revisornförhåller sig till skadeståndsansvaret, men påverkas dock inte av det i sitt dagliga arbete.Dessutom anses sanktioner från Revisorsinspektionen vara en mer betydande risk än ettskadeståndsanspråk. Många svårigheter i granskningen grundas i att de kräver en bedömningav framtida prospekter, som ibland stöds av få konkreta revisionsbevis. I granskningenbedömer revisorn poster utifrån revisionsrisken. I det fall klientens företagsledning undanhållereller förfalskar information ökar risken för att revisorn gör en felaktig bedömning. Därmedökar risken för att förskingring och annat mygel inte upptäcks. Denna farhåga stiger också dåföretagsledningen visar på hög riskbenägenhet. Slutligen kan skadestånd föranledas då revisornupplyser för mycket eller för lite i revisionsberättelsen. Både typ I- och typ II-fel utförda avrevisorn kan skada klienten och ligga till grund för ett monetärt anspråk. / The auditor has a task of reviewing a company's financial accounts to ensure that the numbersare accurate. Nevertheless, it is not an absolute guarantee of ensurance. The auditor is liablefor damages in the event of injury to the audited company. This hermeneutic study has beencarried out due to a research gap regarding the problematic risks in the audit that could lead todamages. The purpose of this study is to describe the problematic risks in the audit associatedwith the auditor’s liability of damages and how this affects the auditor's examination, as wellas to develop the concept of the auditor's dilemma. The research question: What problematicrisks in terms of liability of damages exist and how does it affect the auditor's examination?has been answered by means of a qualitative method. The empirical evidence consists of tenpersonal interviews with authorized auditors from small and large auditing firms operating inwestern Sweden. The results show that the auditor’s risk of being liable for damages, and thusthe auditor’s risk awareness, has increased in recent years. The risk of a claim for damages ishigher for larger auditing firms because their client base more often consists of larger clients,unlike smaller auditing firms. The auditor maintains an awareness for the damages liability butis, however, not affected by the liability in his or her daily work. In addition, sanctions fromthe Swedish Inspectorate of Auditors are considered to be a more significant risk than a claimfor damages. Many difficulties in the audit are based on the fact that they require an assessmentof future prospects, sometimes supported by few concrete audit evidence. In the audit, theauditor makes assessments based on the audit risk. In the event that the client's managementwithholds or falsifies information, it increases the risk that the auditor makes an incorrectassessment. This amplifies the risk of not detecting embezzlement and other manipulationsmade by the management of the client. This apprehension also enhances when the client’scorporate management exhibits high risk propensity. Finally, damages can be induced whenthe auditor remarks too much or too little in the audit report. Both Type I and Type II errorsmade by the auditor can damage the client and may form the basis for a potential monetaryclaim.

Many external parties such as investors, creditors, and regulatory agencies, use a company’s financial statements in their decision-making. In doing so, they rely on audit opinions on whether financial statements are fairly stated. However, evidence suggests that there are factors in the audit environment that influence auditor judgments. For example, nondiagnostic client information dilutes auditor judgments when compared to judgments based on diagnostic information alone, especially for less experienced auditors (Hackenbrack 1992; Hoffman and Patton 1997; Glover 1994; Shelton 1999). High time pressure conditions mitigate this effect by refocusing auditor attention toward relevant client information, therefore reducing the impact of nondiagnostic information (Glover 1994, 1997). This research study examines other common audit environment factors to determine if they too influence audit judgment results. An online questionnaire of 149 auditors, CPAs and other accounting professionals indicate that the inclusion of nondiagnostic client information results in a significant change in auditor judgments. The direction of this change follows a theorized pattern; risk assessments that were initially high are reduced, while those that were initially low are increased. Significance was not consistently found for a workload and PCAOB effect on auditor judgment. However, a comparison of the absolute value of dilution effect means across conditions reveals some trending for the proposed unwanted effect of high workload, and the beneficial effect of PCAOB guidance. These results have important implications for auditing research and practice. It extends previous archival research on workload effects and uses a unique questionnaire design to reexamine workload pressures in a behavioral setting. The results of hypothesis testing on workload pressure and PCAOB guidance, although lacking consistent statistical significance; exhibit trends that agree with proposed theoretical relationships. Tests on the effects of nondiagnostic information show strong statistical support for previous studies in the area of psychology and audit. This study’s greatest contribution suggests that audit pressures do not produce equivalent effects on auditor judgment; time pressure improves audit judgment, while workload pressure does not (Glover 1994, 1997). These results can be explained by examining the relationship between stress and audit judgment performance (Choo 1995, Yerkes and Dodson 1908). Different types and different degrees of audit pressures may correspond to different levels of audit pressure. Low to moderate levels of audit pressure, such as the level of time pressure used in Glover’s (1994, 1997) study improve audit performance. Higher audit pressures, such as high workload during an auditor’s busy season, may lower audit performance.