Titel: The Art of Balancing: The Auditor’s Integrity and Client Relationships in Focus   Level: Final Assignment for bachelor’s degree in business administration   Author: Danait Bri and Mahir Khan   Supervisor: Fredrik Hartwig   Date: 2024 – May   Aim: The study aims to create an understanding of how accountants balance in negotiation situations between maintaining good relationships with their clients while maintaining their independence and integrity.   Method: In this study, we have used a qualitative method where the data collection took place through semi-structured interviews with five authorized accountants. A deductive approach together with an interpretive perspective has been used in data collection and analysis. A thematic content analysis has been used to answer the purpose of the study.   Results and conclusions: The study shows that a long-term relationship does not lead to emotional involvement with the clients, but to a certain comfort. A higher degree of self-realization and taking an outside perspective helps the accountant resist external pressures. The auditor's independence can be threatened in long-term client relationships or by the prvision of non-audit-related services. Direct negotiations are unusual, instead there are discussions with elements of negotiation.   Contribution of the thesis: The work highlights accountants' challenges in balancing the relationship with clients. The study shows that auditors usually have discussions with elements of negotiation rather than direct negotiations. The study has contributed with a new strategy which involves lowering the clients' expectations from the start to arrive at a reasonably good solution.   Suggestions for further research: In future studies, it may be interesting to examine wheither the clients perceive that there are direct negotiations or discussions with negotiation elements that occur. / Titel: Konsten att balansera: Revisorns integritet och klientrelationer i fokus   Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Danait Bri och Mahir Khan   Handledare: Fredrik Hartwig   Datum: 2024 – maj   Syfte: Studien ämnar skapa förståelse för hur revisorer balanserar i förhandlingssituationer mellan att upprätthålla goda relationer med sina klienter samtidigt som de behåller sitt oberoende och sin integritet.    Metod: I denna studie har vi använt en kvalitativ metod där datainsamlingen skett via semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem auktoriserade revisorer. En deduktiv ansats tillsammans med tolkande perspektiv har använts vid datainsamling och analys. En tematisk innehållsanalys har använts för att besvara studiens syfte.   Resultat och slutsats: Studien visar att en långvarig relation inte leder till känslomässig inblandning med klienterna, dock till en viss bekvämlighet. Högre grad av självförverkligande och intagning av utomstående perspektiv hjälper revisorn att motstå externa påtryckningar. Revisorns oberoende kan hotas vid långvariga kundrelationer eller vid tillhandahållandet av icke-revisionsrelaterade tjänster. Direkta förhandlingar är ovanliga, istället är det diskussioner med förhandlingsinslag som förekommer.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Arbetet belyser revisorers utmaningar med att balansera relationen till klienter. Studien visar att revisorer oftast har diskussioner med förhandlingsinslag snarare än direkta förhandlingar. Studien har bidragit med en ny strategi som innebär att sänka klienternas förväntningar från början för att i slutändan kunna komma fram till en rimligt bra lösning.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: I framtida studier kan det vara intressant att undersöka om klienterna upplever att det är direkta förhandlingar eller diskussioner med förhandlingsinslag som förekommer.

SAMMANFATTNING Titel: Revisorns identifikation med klienten respektive professionen – Hur påverkas valet av förhandlingsstrategi? Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Jannicke Berghold och Vanessa Do Pilar Lemos Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2016 - Januari Syfte: Revisorers val av förhandlingsstrategi vid meningsskiljaktigheter med klienten angående rapporteringsmål, har visat sig få betydande konsekvenser på de slutliga reviderade rapporterna. Då intressenter till de reviderade företagen till stor del baserar sina investeringsbeslut på dessa rapporter är det av stor vikt att revisorn inte påverkas av den enskilda klienten vid förhandling. Social Identity Theory menar att individer identifierar sig med flertalet sociala grupper, vilka ibland besitter avsevärt skilda intressen och värderingar. Forskare menar att individen är mer eller mindre benägen att följa dessa beroende på hur stark denna identifikation är. Vidare föreslår ny forskning på området att individens beslutsfattande framförallt är beroende av vilken av dessa identiteter som är framträdande i individens sinne vid beslutsögonblicket. Vi ämnar med denna studie undersöka hur revisorns identifikation med klienten påverkar hur denne beter sig vid en förhandling med klienten, samt huruvida denna effekt förändras när professionsidentiteten är framträdande. Metod: Denna studie har genomförts genom att primärdata samlats in via en experimentell enkätundersökning. Urvalspopulationen bestod av 3600 auktoriserade och godkända revisorer i Sverige. Svarsdata har samlats in med hjälp av enkätprogrammet SUNET-survey, för att sedan sammanställas och analyseras i statistikprogrammet SPSS statistics. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visade att en stark klientidentifikation bidrog till att revisorn ansåg sig mer sannolik att använda sig av en förhandlingsstrategi som var inställsam mot klienten, gentemot när klientidentifikationen var svag. Vidare såg vi att när professionsidentiteten gjordes framträdande, så var respondenterna mindre benägen att använda sådana strategier. Vårt utfall visar att styrkan av klientidentifikation påverkar revisorns val av förhandlingsstrategi, dessutom verkar effekten av en framträdande professionsidentitet också influera revisorns val. 3 Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då det stora bortfallet i vår studie kan ha bidragit till ett missvisande resultat, så föreslår vi att framtida forskare utför en studie i likhet med denna under mer kontrollerade former. Detta för att försäkra sig om en högre svarsfrekvens och för att öka möjligheten att i större utsträckning kunna dra generaliserbara slutsatser. Ett förslag, då tidsaspekten inte utgör ett problem, vore att komplettera enkäten med ett alternativ som gör det möjligt för forskaren att mer djupgående få inblick i respondenternas svar. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår förhoppning är att vår studie kommer att lämna ett värdefullt bidrag till förhandlingslitteraturen. Detta då vi antar en ny infallsvinkel på revisorns förhandling med klienten genom att studera huruvida valet av förhandlingsstrategi skiljer sig åt beroende på vilken av revisorns multipla sociala identiteter som är mest framträdande i beslutsögonblicket. / ABSTRACT  Title: The auditor's identification with the client and the profession - How does it effect the  choice of negotiating strategy?  Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Jannicke Berghold and Vanessa Do Pilar Lemos Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2016 – January Aim: The auditor´s choice of negotiating strategy in cases of disagreement with the client regarding the reporting objectives, has proven to have a significant impact on the final statements to be presented to the public. As stakeholders of these companies largely base their investment decisions on these reports, it is very important that the individual client doesn’t influence the auditor at negotiation. Social Identity Theory predicts that individuals identify with multiple amounts of social groups, which sometimes possess significantly different interests and values. Scientists believe that the individual is more or less prone to follow these groups depending on how strong this identification is. Furthermore, new research in the field suggest that individual decision-making above all depends on which of these identities that are salient in the individual's mind at the moment of decision. With this study we intend to examine how the auditor's identification with the client influences how she choses negotiating strategy, and whether the effect changes when professional identity is made salient. Method: This study was conducted by a collection of primary data through an experimental survey. Sample population comprised 3,600 authorized and certified auditors in Sweden. Response data has been collected using questionnaires program SUNET survey, then compiled and analyzed in SPSS Statistics. Result & Conclusions: The study showed that a strong clientidentification contributed to that the auditor was likely with the use of a negotiation strategy that is slimy to the client, when the identification towards the client was weak. Furthermore, we saw that when professional identity was made salient, so respondents were less inclined to use such strategies. Our results show that the strength of client identification affect the auditor's choice of negotiating strategy, additionally appears the effect of a prominent professional identity also influence the auditor's election 5 Suggestions for future research: Since the great shortfall in our study may have contributed to a misleading result, we suggest that future researchers conducting a study like this, would do so under more controlled conditions. This to ensure a higher response rate and to increase the possibility of generalized conclusions. One proposal, when the time aspect does not present a problem, would be to complete the questionnaire with an option that allows the researcher to get more in-depth insight into the respondents' answers. Contribution of the thesis: We hope that our study will make a valuable contribution to the negotiation literature. This by our adaptation of the new approach to the auditor's negotiation with the client by studying whether the choice of negotiating strategy differs depending on which of the auditor's multiple social identities that are most prominent in the moment of decision

Due to the high rates of criminal violence and the alternative authority of Criminal Armed Groups (CAGs) in Guatemala humanitarian access faces multiple barriers in regions under CAG control, often leaving vulnerable populations without necessary humanitarian services. With limited institutional and conceptual frameworks to support negotiating for humanitarian access in these criminally violent contexts the international humanitarian system favors avoiding these contexts altogether to minimize the risk of their operations, but with the trends of violence increasing in the region not addressing the issue of negotiating for humanitarian spaces in these contexts only will result in crises worsening. Currently there are few substantive discussions regarding establishing such negotiation frameworks in crime-rich environments, those which do discuss the topic directly suggest using frameworks meant for negotiations with Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) in armed conflict. However, due to the difference in motivations between CAGs and NSAGs and drastic contextual differences there is doubt for whether the strategies are transferable between the two contexts. Recently few scholars have shifted the conversation to creating the necessary frameworks to approach negotiating humanitarian access specifically in criminally violent situations, providing guidance based on the typology of the criminal organization and the level of violence. While these new discourses have expanded the resources necessary for humanitarian organizations to negotiate access in regions with high rates of criminal violence it is still necessary to broaden topic further. Therefore, examining strategies for negotiating humanitarian access in regions with high rates of criminal violence in Guatemala seeks to understand how to ensure that affected populations in regions under criminal control continue to receive humanitarian aid despite the threat of violence. To examine this phenomenon this study utilizes the mixed qualitative methods of an extensive literature review on the themes of humanitarian access, criminal governance, and humanitarian negotiations, along with a review of the case of El Salvador’s negotiated 2012 gang truce, and semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of negotiating access. Together with considerations of the unique context of Guatemala the points of intersection between themes and responses assisted in triangulating the analysis of the appropriate strategies to consider when negotiating humanitarian access in regions prevalent criminal violence. Ultimately in regions under criminal control in Guatemala strategies which respect the CAG authority, balance the perceived threat of violence with the real threat of violence, communicate humanitarian impartiality, and are specifically crafted for the type of CAG control are potential paths negotiating humanitarian access to affected populations otherwise forgotten.

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between English instructors&rsquo / negotiation strategies to handle conflicts in the FLE classroom and personality traits. Two scales which consist of a demographic inventory, two questionnaires and a semi structured interview were developed by the researcher. The first scale consists of &ldquo / Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory II (ROCI II)&rdquo / and &ldquo / Eyesenck Personality Inventory (EPI). The results of these questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS 15.0. This data gathering instrument was implemented on 120 English instructors working at METU, TOBB ETU, &Ccedil / ankaya University, Atilim University, and Trakya University. Data gathered from 30 English instructors from the same universities were used for the piloting of the study. The data gathered from 120 English instructors in English Preparatory Schools represented the results of the main study. In analyzing the data, descriptive statistics as frequency, percent, average, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics as ANOVA was used. As the second scale of the current study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 English instructors employed at these universities. The results of the interviews were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the study revealed that there is a relationship between English instructors&rsquo / use of negotiation strategies and their gender, age, educational background, work experience and the personality traits of introversion-extroversion.

Independence Standards Board har identifierat revisorernas nära relation med klienten som ett av fem hot mot revisorns oberoende. Dock är en ingående kännedom om klienten nödvändig för att revisorn ska förstå klienten tillräckligt bra och för att kunna planera och genomföra en effektiv revision. Oavsett hur relationen mellan klienten och revisorn ser ut, uppstår situationer då parternas rapporteringsmål är väsentligt olika vilket kan försätta parterna i en situation där de tvingas förhandla med varandra. Dessa förhandlingar är en ständigt pågående process och har en stor genomslagskraft i revisionen. Vid förhandlingar blir relationen mellanrevisorn och klienten ett bekymmer eftersom revisorn riskerar att identifiera sig med sin klient och därmed bli mer benägen att kompromissa om klienternas redovisnings- och rapporteringsval. Revisorer som identifierar sig närmare sin profession är dock mindre benägna att kompromissa och ge efter för klientens önskemål. Då det saknas forskning gällande hur revisorers val av förhandlingsstrategi påverkas av revisorns identifikation med klienten eller professionen är syftet med studien att undersöka om identifikation med klienten respektive identifikation med professionen ger upphov till olika förhandlingsstrategier samt om erfarenhet av revision påverkar valet av strategi. Vidare är syftet att studera vilka av de givna förhandlingsstrategierna svenska revisorer använder när det råder meningsskiljaktigheter med klienterna. För att besvara studiens syfte skickades enkäter ut till totalt 3772 svenska kvalificerade revisorer varav 233 besvarade vår enkät. Enkäten innehöll frågor om professionen, klienten, förhandlingsstrategier samt bakgrundinformation om respondenten. Dessa utgjorde tillsammans basen för studiens analys och slutsats. Resultatet pekar på att revisorer generellt sett är neutrala till identifikation med klienten och professionen. Vidare kan vi se att den stridande strategin är den strategi som främst användsav revisorer och att den medgivande strategin används minst. Utifrån resultatet påvisas attrevisorer som identifierar sig med klienten är mer benägna att använda en medgivande och kompromissande strategi, samtidigt som identifikation med professionen innebär att revisorerna väljer att anta strategin utöka agendan för frågor. Utifrån resultatet kan vi dra slutsatsen att det finns en svag påverkan på valet av förhandlingsstrategi när revisorerna identifierar sig med antingen klienten eller professionen, samt att erfarenheten inte alls påverkar vilken förhandlingsstrategi revisorer använder sig av. Den låga svarsfrekvensen på 6,2 procent innebär dock att resultaten måste tolkas med försiktighet. / Independence Standards Board has identified the close relationship between auditors’ and their clients’ as one of five threats to auditor independence. However, knowledge about the client is necessary for the auditor in order to understand the client well enough and in order toperform an effective audit. Regardless of how the relationship between the client and the auditor looks, the parties will encounter situations when their reporting objectives are significantly different, which may force them to negotiate with each other. These negotiations are an ongoing process and have a great impact in auditing. The relationship between the auditor and the client is a concernduring negotiations because the auditor may identify with their client and therefore be more likely to compromise on clients' accounting choices. Auditors who identify themselves closer to their profession however, are less likely to compromise and adapt to their client's wishes since there is no research on how auditors' choice of negotiation strategy is affected by theauditor's identification with the client or the profession, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether identification with the client and identification with the profession gives rise to different negotiation strategies and if the experience of auditing influences the choice of strategy. The study also aims to examine which of the given negotiation strategies Swedish auditors use when there is disagreement with the clients. To answer the study's aim a total of 3772 questionnaires were sent out to qualified auditors inSweden and we received 233 responses. The questionnaires contained questions about theprofession, the client, negotiating strategies, and background information of the auditor. These questions formed the base of the study's analysis and conclusion. The results indicate that auditors are generally neutral to identification with the client and the profession. Further, we can see that the contending strategy was the strategy mostly used by auditors and that the conceding strategy was the strategy that was used the least. Based on the results it shows that the auditors who identify with the client is more likely to use a conceding and compromising approach, while identification with the profession meant that the auditors chose to adopt the strategy to expand the agenda of issues. Auditors experience proved not to be an explanation for the use of any of the specific strategies. Based on the results, we can conclude that there is a weak influence on the choice of negotiation strategy when the auditors identify with either the client or the profession, and that experience did not affect the negotiation strategy the auditors used. The low response rate of 6.2 percent means that the results must be interpreted with cautiousness.

The study examines multilateral negotiation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later in the World Trade Organization. It analyses the effectiveness of the decision-making process on the liberalization of trade in agricultural products in the Uruguay and Doha rounds of negotiations. Agriculture seems to be the most problematic and the most controversial issue on the agenda during the both rounds of negotiations. The aim of the study is to analyse the negotiation processes in selected cases and compare them to identify factors explaining the difference in the effectiveness of the decision-making process between Uruguay and Doha round. The study also attempts to clarify why it is so complicated to conclude the Doha round after more than fifteen years of negotiations. Therefore, six factors with presumed influence on the effectiveness of the decision-making process are defined in the theoretical part of the study: number of actors, leadership, inclusiveness of negotiation, agenda complexity, coalitions and strategies of actors. The degree of influence of these factors is then tested in the practical part of the study. The study assumes that the efficiency of the decision-making process is increased by the reduced number of active actors in the negotiation, the willingness of the actors...

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This thesis attempts to map out the negotiation strategies used by unskilled negotiators and among these, to identify those strategies which prevent such negotiators from achieving the most effective outcome. In highlighting such incorrect negotiating strategies, the thesis aims to steer academics away from using such strategies as part of their future teaching material on negotiation strategies. The theoretical aspect of this work describes the theory behind negotiating strategies and maps the features, styles and negotiation procedures which are used during negotiation. The practical part of the thesis interprets results gained from the research which was carried out. This research, which was conducted in the winter semester of the 2013/2014 academic year, involved the staging of bargaining games that were held over five separate sessions as part of the subject "Introductory training of social and management skills".