Auditing has evolved from the basic third party verification of business accounts to broader checks on behalf of stakeholders of the three imperatives of conduct, these being the social, environmental as well as the economic activities of organisations. Auditing is not just about accounting anymore, and may focus on completely different fields such as social and environmental management systems. In this triangulation study, experienced auditors from eight different countries were interviewed and asked to share their perspectives and some experiences from their auditing work. The auditing standards encountered in the interviews covered areas including environmental management systems, corporate social responsibility and social compliance. The interviews revealed that time issues were generally the greatest challenge to most auditors, but that there were also many other issues over and above the issues related to the three imperatives of conduct.

The present diploma thesis deals with accounting audit and it strives to analyze inner control system in a selected accounting unit focusing on long-term tangible property. The goal of the thesis is to perform an audit focusing on long-term tangible property according to international auditing standards in a selected accounting unit which is not obliged by the law to carry out an audit. The theoretical part gives a brief outline of historic roots of auditing profession supplemented with a few general definitions of audit. Furthermore, there are defined functions of audit and legal provisions of the Czech law concerning accounting audit. The law is divided into rules of law, auditing directives, and International Standards on Auditing (ISA). Also, the said part includes the notion of the Code of Ethics of the Czech Chamber of Auditors. Further on, there is a definition of inner control system in a company and auditing procedures used during the review of financial statements. The next part of the thesis includes a plan concerning an audit of long-term tangible property. Practical part is divided into several parts and it deals directly with the audit of long-term tangible property. Here, acquired theoretical knowledge is applied to an existing company. First, the company characteristics is given, then there is an analysis of the company{\crq}s inner control system with attention paid to long-term tangible property, and lastly an audit of the long-term tangible property is executed only to show it contains activities before finishing order, activities related to getting to know the customer and to actual execution of the audit.

As responsabilidades que envolvem a atividade do auditor é um assunto muito debatido, principalmente em episódios de fraudes e outros escândalos financeiros. Em geral, são nesses momentos que a função do auditor é questionada, e o mercado atribui determinadas responsabilidades a esses profissionais que podem não corresponder com as suas atribuições (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). Porter (1990) dividiu o AEG em dois principais componentes: (i) Gap de Desempenho e (ii) Gap de Razoabilidade. O último refere-se à diferença de expectativas sobre as quais os usuários das informações financeiras acham que os auditores devem executar determinada tarefa quando de fato eles não têm a obrigação nem o objetivo de fazê-la. Utilizando o constructo de Porter (1990), este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar a existência do AEG de razoabilidade nas decisões de litígios (acórdãos) nos quais as empresas de auditoria figuram como polo passivo. A intenção foi verificar se a diferença de expectativas com relação ao trabalho do auditor fez-se presente nos documentos de conclusão dos processos cíveis e administrativos. Para tanto, foram analisados: 11 acórdãos de processos cíveis, 19 acórdãos de processos administrativos CVM e 4 acórdãos de processos administrativos Bacen, totalizando 34 acórdãos. A metodologia empregada foi a análise documental e análise de conteúdo. Para auxiliar na organização e análise dos dados, foi utilizado o software Nvivo®. Além da análise dos acórdãos, foram realizadas entrevistas com ex-membros do Colegiado da CVM, para confirmar o entendimento de como funcionam os processos de julgamento nesse Regulador, bem como obter a perspectiva desses profissionais diretamente envolvidos em julgamentos dessa espécie. Para o total dos acórdãos analisados, foi identificada a presença de AEG de razoabilidade em 10 casos, o que representa aproximadamente 29% do total. Além da identificação AEG de razoabilidade nas argumentações dos juízes, o gap também foi identificado, de forma muito mais frequente, em diversos trechos dos documentos analisados, como, por exemplo, as argumentações da acusação e advogados envolvidos. Os achados desta pesquisa foram importantes pois a identificação da existência desse gap pôde auxiliar no endereçamento desta questão. A tomada de decisão com base em argumentos equivocados pode não apenas trazer prejuízos para as firmas de auditoria, mas também para o Sistema Financeiro Nacional e setor financeiro empresarial em geral, bem como ocasionar injustiças. Como uma das formas de endereçamento do problema, nos casos dos processos administrativos, sugere-se que a composição do Colegiado e do CRSFN seja diversificada, ou mesmo que tenha a presença de um especialista para casos de julgamentos específicos, como são os casos dos julgamentos que envolvem o auditor independente. / The responsibilities entailed in the work of the auditor are a subject of much debate, chiefly when frauds and other financial scandals occur. Frequently on these occasions the function of the auditor comes into question and the business world attributes certain responsibilities to these professionals that they may not actually have (Audit Expectation Gap - AEG). The author Porter B. A. (1990) separated AEG into two main components: (i) the performance gap, and (ii) the reasonableness gap. The latter refers to the difference between the expectations of users of financial information regarding the specific tasks they believe auditors should perform and the obligations and objectives those auditors actually have. Using the construct of Porter B. A. (1990), this work has the objective of identifying the existence of the reasonableness gap in legal rulings (decisions of appellate courts) in which audit firms were the defendant. The intention was to establish if the difference in expectations regarding the work of the auditor was present in the decisions and opinions of the civil and administrative proceedings. In order to do so, an analysis was made of 11 civil appellate court decisions, 19 administrative rulings of the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários - CVM (equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA) and four administrative rulings of Brazilian Central Bank; 34 judgments in all. The methodology employed was document analysis and content analysis. To aid in the organization and analysis of data, Nvivo® software was used. In addition to analysis of the judgments, interviews were conducted with former members of the CVM board to confirm the understanding of how trial procedures function at this regulator, as well as to gain the perspective of these experts, who are directly involved in judgments of this kind. From the total of the judgments analyzed, the presence of reasonableness AEG was identified in 10 cases, which represents approximately 29% of the total. In addition to identifying reasonableness AEG in the arguments of judges, this gap was also identified, and much more frequently, in various passages of the documentation on the argumentation of attorneys involved in the cases. The findings of this study are important because identifying the existence of this gap may aid in addressing the issue. Rulings based on misguided arguments can not only harm audit firms but also damage the National Financial System and the corporate financial sector in general, as well as causing injustice. As one way of addressing the issue, in administrative cases it is suggested that the composition of the panel and the CRSFN (Council of Appeals of the National Finance System) be made more diverse, and in certain cases even include a specialist, such as when judgments involve an independent auditor.

Sammanfattning Titel: Revisionens digitala transformering ställer nya krav på utförandet Författare: Johan Antonsson, Lisa Haack och Johan Paulsson Program: Ekonomprogrammet - inriktning redovisning och ekonomistyrning Handledare: Petter Boye Institution: Ekonomihögskolan på Linnéuniversitetet i Kalmar   Inledning: I många år har digitaliseringen tagit allt mer plats i samhället, både hos individen men även företagen. Arbetsmarknaden har förändrats då arbeten försvunnit, men även nya uppkommit. Inom revisionsbranschen används nya affärssystem som ska underlätta för revisorn och därmed öka produktiviteten i arbetet. De nya affärssystemen kommer dock även med risker, de kan vara svårförståeliga, tidskrävande eller öppna upp för informationsstöld.   Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att förklara hur digitaliseringen har påverkat arbetsmetodiken och på så vis hur riskerna inom revisionen förändrats. Vår förhoppning är att resultatet ska leda till att revisionsbranschen och revisionens intressenter får en ökad förståelse för ämnet.   Metod: Vi har använt en abduktiv ansats för att kunna öka förståelse för vårt ämne. För att kunna fördjupa oss i ämnet användes en kvalitativ metod där yrkessamma revisorer intervjuades för att vi skulle kunna uppfylla studiens syfte. Det motiveras även varför vi använt just de källor vi valt samt kritik mot dem.   Slutsats: Vi kom fram till att arbetsmetoden underlättas då nya analysverktyg hjälper revisorn i sitt vardagliga arbete. Det har lett fram till att revisionsriskerna sänkts då programmen kan stå för en stor del av arbetet och revisorn bara behöver lite manuell handpåläggning. Däremot förutsätter det att revisorn besitter en viss IT-kunskap för att revisionsriskerna ska säkerställas som minskade. Om IT-kunskapen inte finns förhöjs riskerna istället, vilket i framtiden kan bli ett mera aktuellt problem. Vi tror att kraven för att bli auktoriserad revisor kan komma behöva förändras. / Abstract Title: The audit's digital transformation requires new demands on the execution Authors: Johan Antonsson, Lisa Haack and Johan Paulsson Program: Ekonomprogrammet - inriktning redovisning och ekonomistyrning Advisor: Petter Boye Institution: Ekonomihögskolan på Linnéuniversitetet i Kalmar   Introduction: For several years digitalization has taken increasingly more room in the society, both for the individual and for the company. The labor market has changed because work has disappeared but new jobs have also been created. Within the accounting profession new ERP systems are being used to make the work easier for the auditor and thereby increase the productivity in the work. The new ERP systems comes with new risks, they can be hard to understand, time consuming or opening up avenues for information thefts.   Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to explain how digitalization has impacted the work process of auditers and how the risks have changed in the auditing process.   Method: We have used an abductive approach to be able to increase our understanding for the subject. To deepen our understanding of the subject we used a qualitative method where auditors were interviewed. We also discuss why we have chosen the sources we chose and critique against them.   Conclusion: Our conclusion is that the work process has become easier due to new analyzing programs which helps the auditor in their daily work. This has led to a decrease in auditing risk because the programs can do a lot of the work and the auditor only need to do some of the manual work. However, this requires that the auditor possess some IT knowledge, otherwise the auditing risk can´t be ensured to be decreased. If the IT knowledge doesn´t exist the risks will increase instead, which in the future might become a more important problem. We believe that the qualifications required to become an authorized auditor may need to change for the future.

I investigate how nonprofessional investors’ confidence in the financial statements and the audit report is influenced by the firm specific details of a critical audit matter (CAM) disclosure in conjunction with the description of the audit procedures engaged to address the CAM in the audit report. Using participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk as a proxy for nonprofessional investors in a 2x2 +1 (control) between-participants experiment manipulating CAM disclosure detail (Detailed/Generic) and the description of the audit procedures engaged to address the CAM (Detail/Generic) I find that greater detail in the description of the CAM results in higher confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the financial statements than a generic description of the CAM, consistent with boundary condition of Support Theory. Further, I find that greater detail in the description of the related audit procedures engaged to address the CAM increases nonprofessional investors’ perceptions of audit quality. Evidence of an effect of CAM and audit procedure disclosure language on investment judgments is also presented. These results have implications for researchers, practitioners, and regulators to carefully consider the language used to disclose CAMs in the auditor’s report.

In my dissertation, I examine the role of the audit committee chair in the financial reporting process and test if the change in audit committee chair is associated with changes in audit fees, audit report lag, and audit quality. Motivation for this dissertation comes from the increased attention paid by legislators and regulators in recent years on the role of the audit committee in the financial reporting process. While prior studies have examined diverse issues related to the composition of the audit committee, no prior study has examined the role of the audit committee chair on the oversight of financial reporting, even though the chair of the committee has significant control over the functioning of the committee. In the first essay of my dissertation, I show that audit fees are higher in firms that have a change in the audit committee chair. In the second essay, I examine the association between changes in the audit committee chair and audit report lag. In a changes regression, I find that the change in audit committee is associated with higher audit report lag. The third essay examines the association between changes in audit committee chair and two different measures of audit quality: restatements and abnormal accruals. There is no evidence in support of the argument that changes in audit committee chair is associated with higher quality financial reporting. Overall, the results suggest that the change in audit committee chair has an important impact on the financial reporting process of public companies.

Cette recherche présente un double objectif. Dans un premier temps, elle s’intéresse à la compréhension de la perception de l’utilité du rapport d’audit (RA) suite à l’introduction de réformes cherchant à le moderniser. Dans un deuxième temps, elle est orientée vers la compréhension des facteurs qui sont à l’origine de la faible utilisation du RA.Ce rapport bien qu'il dispose d’un potentiel informationnel, demeure peu utilisé et fait l’objet d’une lecture binaire de la part des utilisateurs qui ne le consultent pas régulièrement. Partant de ces constats, et conformément aux objectifs de notre recherche, nous avons conduit des entretiens semi-directifs auprès de soixante-neuf (69) investisseurs institutionnels et analystes financiers français. Notre positionnement interprétatif et la méthodologie qualitative mise en œuvre, nous ont aidés à cerner la place qu’occupe le RA chez les utilisateurs français et le degré d’utilisation qu’ils lui réservent. Ainsi, les résultats de notre étude nous ont permis de comprendre que, malgré les réformes introduites sur le RA en France, il demeure peu utilisé et il est perçu comme un document subsidiaire. Nous classerons les facteurs qui se trouvent à l’origine de cette situation en trois familles: des facteurs liés au RA, des facteurs liés à l’auditeur et des facteurs liés aux utilisateurs. Nous concluons que la faible utilisation du RA n’est pas due uniquement à la forme et au contenu de ce document. La perception de l’image des CAC et de leur indépendance influence aussi l’utilisation du RA. Au même titre, la méconnaissance du processus d'audit renforce le décalage dans la perception du message d'audit et l'utilisation du RA. / This research sets out two aims. Firstly, it is interested in understanding the perceived usefulness of audit report (AR) by a sample of French users in the wake of recent developments of the normative framework and introduction of reforms seeking to modernize this report. Secondly, it is focused on understanding factors that are causing AR’s lack of attractiveness and use. The AR as a result of the audit process has an informational potential that allows it to be considered as a governance mechanism. However, the AR remains unattractive and poorly used. On this basis, and according to the objectives of our research, we conducted an empirical study in two phases based on semi-structured interviews with sixty-nine (69) French professionals, mainly, institutional investors and financial analysts. The interpretive epistemological position of our research and the qualitative methodology used, helped us to identify the place hold by the AR in French professionals’ decisional process.The results of our study allowed us to understand that despite reforms introduced on the French AR, it stills rarely used by professionals and perceived as an alternative document. We classify factors that are responsible of this situation into three families: factors related to the report itself, factors related to auditors, and factors related to users of AR. We conclude that the low use of AR is not due, only, to the form and the content of this document. The perception of auditors’ image and their status influences the use of AR. In the same time, the ignorance of audit process contributes to the worsening of audit expectation gap and the use of the AR.

In my dissertation, I examine factors associated with firms’ submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification and test if shareholder ratification of auditor selection is associated with the extent of price competition in the audit market (as measured by audit fees) and audit quality (as measured by clients’ earnings management). The dissertation is motivated from the recent recommendation of the U.S. Treasury’s Advisory Committee on Auditing Profession (ACAP) regarding the submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification votes. The ACAP suggests that this practice may improve the competition in the audit market; yet, there is no empirical evidence supporting the ACAP’s recommendation. My dissertation attempts to fill the gap in the literature on an issue of current interest to the auditing profession. I find that firm size, CEO-Chair duality, insider ownership and institutional ownership are associated with the submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification vote. However, I do not find an association between audit committee variables and the submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification vote. The second essay investigates the association between auditor ratification and audit fees. Audit fees are higher in firms that submit auditor selection for shareholder ratification. The finding is not consistent with the increased price competition predicted by the ACAP. The third essay of my dissertation examine whether the submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification is associated with earnings management. I find that firms that submit auditor selection for shareholder ratification are more likely to have lower level of earnings management. Overall, the results suggest that the same factors that are associated with higher quality monitoring also may be associated with the submission of auditor selection for shareholder ratification vote. The results call into question the one-size-fits-all approach recommended by the ACAP.

The objective of this research is to explore how external auditors rely on the work of internal auditors in audit firms in China. This study uses a qualitative method of semi-structured data collection interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with internal auditors and external auditors working in China. On the basis of a summary of the existing literature on internal audit, external audit, the reliance of external audits on internal audit and audit quality, this paper analyses and compares the external auditor’s reliance on internal audit and conceptualizes the results of the data analysis. Nevertheless, according to interviews, at present, small and medium- sized enterprises rarely set up an internal audit department, only large companies and government departments in China set up an internal audit, because, firstly, the cost of an internal audit, secondly , the lack of professional internal audit staff and internal audit outsourcing in China is of this kind of legal form. The study showed that the qualitative analysis has provided evidence of the dependence of external audits on internal audits continue to exist in China. In addition, the study showed that Internal auditing needs to maintain independence and objectivity, while external auditing needs to ensure professionalism, independence and authenticity. To a certain extent, external audit relies on internal audit to save time and improve efficiency in order to improve audit quality in china. However, this dependence is based on the independence of the internal audit and the external audit and cannot be entirely dependent on the authenticity that will lead to the recurrence of similar Yin Guangxia incidents.

En auktoriserad revisor har ett stort ansvar gentemot samhället och intressenter, ett ansvar att agera utifrån gällande lagar, regler och standarder. En revisor ska enligt 19-20§§ revisorslagen (SFS 2001:883) iaktta god revisorssed, utföra sitt arbete med opartiskhet och självständighet, samt vara objektiv i sin granskning. Dessa paragrafer ur revisionslagen är endast en bråkdel av vad som förväntas av en revisor. Med det ansvaret kommer också behovet av att samhället kan lita på att kraven efterföljs. I Sverige har vi revisorsinspektionen som utreder misstänkta fall där revisorer brutit mot någon eller några av dessa lagar, regler, förordningar och riktlinjer.  För att en utredning ska leda till en disciplinär åtgärd behöver ett revisionsmisstag ha begåtts. Misstagen som en revisor begår kan vara av olika allvarlig grad och revisorsinpektionens disciplinära åtgärder ska också spegla detta. Exempelvis fanns det år 2021 3025 kvalificerade revisorer i Sverige. Detta år ledde revisorsinpektionens utredningar till 45 stycket disciplinära åtgärder. Det finns tidigare studier som granskat disciplinärenden hos revisorsinpektionen men då inte fokuserat så mycket på personen bakom misstaget. Vidare saknar vi också en djupare analys av de mest förekommande revisionsmisstagen i Sverige. Syftet med denna studie blir därför att ta reda på om det finns samband mellan revisorns könstillhörighet, revisionsbyrå revisorn arbetar på och sannolikheten för att revisorn fått en disciplinär åtgärd av revisorsinspektionen. Syftet är vidare att ta reda på samband mellan revisorns könstillhörighet, revisionsbyrå, erfarenhet och sannolikheten att revisorn begår någon av de mest vanligt förekommande revisionsmisstagen. Dessutom studeras vilka de vanligaste typerna av misstag är hos de sanktionerade revisorerna.   En kvantitativ metod används vars hypoteser baseras på teori och tidigare forskning inom området. En logistisk regressionsmodell är utarbetad för att besvara hypoteserna. Urvalet baseras på information angående auktoriserade revisorer och dess eventuella disciplinärenden mellan år 2005-2022. Även en kvalitativ metod används för att besvara vilka de vanligaste revisionmisstagen är. Här används ärenden som lett till disciplinär åtgärd mellan år 2017-2022.  Resultatet av studien visar att sannolikheten för att få en disciplinär åtgärd är lägre om revisorn arbetar på en större byrå eller om denne är kvinna. De vanligaste förekomna revisionsmisstagen är “brister i granskning”, “formella fel”, “felaktigt yttrande gällande omställningsstöd” och saker som revisorn “underlåtit att göra”. För misstagen “brister i granskning” och “underlåtit att” finns inget samband mellan revisorns könstillhörighet, arbetsgivare eller erfarenhet. Vad gäller formella fel har revisorer med medellång erfarenhet en lägre sannolikhet att begå detta fel än en revisor med kort erfarenhet. För “felaktigt yttrande” gäller att revisorer med medellång erfarenhet med större sannolikhet begår detta fel än revisorer med lång erfarenhet. Orsakerna till de vanligaste revisionsmisstagen kan vara många men i denna studie blir slutsatsen att orsakerna bland annat handlar om revisorns bedömningar, hög arbetsbelastning, kompetens och tvivelaktigt oberoende.