Accounting education, and specifically audit education, has been calling for change in the teaching methodology applied by audit lecturers in higher education since the 1950s. This call for change is evident in current literature, which indicates that the approach followed in audit education has been creating a knowledge-to-application barrier. Despite the vigorous research on how to change the way audit students are taught at universities and other higher education institutions, consensus has yet to be reached on the teaching methodology that would produce competent and self-efficient young professionals entering practice after graduation. The literature review performed in this thesis indicated a gap between research and practice in accounting education and research, first, because the research seems too technical for practitioners to understand and, secondly, too many research objectives seem unrelated to the realities of practice. Based on these findings, this thesis provides the novice researcher in accounting education with some guidelines on the research methodologies that could be applied in this field. It also highlights some best practices that should be followed when conducting research in this field. It was noted from the literature that all the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment need consideration when attempting to bring change to this environment, because each variable would have an impact on transforming the current approach followed in audit pedagogy. These variables were identified as: • The audit lecturer; • The audit student; • The subject content of the audit teaching-learning environment; and Summary • The milieu of the audit teaching-learning environment. In an attempt to answer the call for change in audit education, this thesis sought to develop an audit simulation as an educational tool which takes into account all the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment and can be applied at universities and other audit training institutions around the globe. A framework for simulation design was developed based on the findings of the literature review and informed the development of the audit simulation. The simulation was, subsequently, applied and evaluated at a university accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. The newly developed audit simulation was evaluated by applying a mixed methodology research design, which had been proven to be a resourceful and trusted design in accounting education research in the past. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were administered to the respondents as part of a quasi-experimental design. The quantitative findings from these tests were supported by qualitative findings from focus group discussions. The empirical findings from the pre-test questionnaire confirmed the call for change and the room for improvement in the current teaching methodology in the audit classroom. Participants indicated lower levels in some competencies relative to other competencies, which also did not particularly score satisfactory when the competence levels were evaluated. The competencies that showed the lowest level of achievement due to the current teaching methodology, as perceived by the participants, included executing the work plan, evaluating the evidence and drawing conclusions, and drafting the report upon completion of the engagement. It was also established that the call for change was not confined to only one university in South Africa, which broadened the generalisability of the research findings, conclusions and recommendations of this study. The results of both the quantitative and qualitative analysis support the view that the newly developed audit simulation is able to assist in bringing change to audit education. The simulation had a positive effect on the audit students’ perceived competence levels in the competencies of auditing and assurance, and the various generic and pervasive skills tested in this study. Furthermore, it was established that the audit simulation had a greater effect on the audit students’ perceived broad competence levels (i.e. auditing and assurance, and generic and pervasive skills) and their understanding of the audit process as a whole, in relation to just attending normal lectures. The qualitative findings from the focus group discussions informed the quantitative findings by indicating that the audit simulation proved to be an instrument that, among other things: Summary • Gave students the opportunity to obtain a holistic view of the audit process; • Assisted students in visualising how the audit theory is applied in practice; • Actively involved the students in the learning process; and • Replicated audit practice. Finally, it was confirmed that the newly developed audit simulation takes into account the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment which need consideration if transformation is to take place in the way the audit subject is currently being taught at higher education level. Recommendations on the way forward in audit education, based on the findings in this thesis, were also provided. This study provides audit lecturers and other audit educators around the world with a newly developed, empirically evaluated audit simulation which can be applied in the audit classroom as well as assist in answering the current call for change to audit education. / PhD (Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Accounting education, and specifically audit education, has been calling for change in the teaching methodology applied by audit lecturers in higher education since the 1950s. This call for change is evident in current literature, which indicates that the approach followed in audit education has been creating a knowledge-to-application barrier. Despite the vigorous research on how to change the way audit students are taught at universities and other higher education institutions, consensus has yet to be reached on the teaching methodology that would produce competent and self-efficient young professionals entering practice after graduation. The literature review performed in this thesis indicated a gap between research and practice in accounting education and research, first, because the research seems too technical for practitioners to understand and, secondly, too many research objectives seem unrelated to the realities of practice. Based on these findings, this thesis provides the novice researcher in accounting education with some guidelines on the research methodologies that could be applied in this field. It also highlights some best practices that should be followed when conducting research in this field. It was noted from the literature that all the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment need consideration when attempting to bring change to this environment, because each variable would have an impact on transforming the current approach followed in audit pedagogy. These variables were identified as: • The audit lecturer; • The audit student; • The subject content of the audit teaching-learning environment; and Summary • The milieu of the audit teaching-learning environment. In an attempt to answer the call for change in audit education, this thesis sought to develop an audit simulation as an educational tool which takes into account all the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment and can be applied at universities and other audit training institutions around the globe. A framework for simulation design was developed based on the findings of the literature review and informed the development of the audit simulation. The simulation was, subsequently, applied and evaluated at a university accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. The newly developed audit simulation was evaluated by applying a mixed methodology research design, which had been proven to be a resourceful and trusted design in accounting education research in the past. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were administered to the respondents as part of a quasi-experimental design. The quantitative findings from these tests were supported by qualitative findings from focus group discussions. The empirical findings from the pre-test questionnaire confirmed the call for change and the room for improvement in the current teaching methodology in the audit classroom. Participants indicated lower levels in some competencies relative to other competencies, which also did not particularly score satisfactory when the competence levels were evaluated. The competencies that showed the lowest level of achievement due to the current teaching methodology, as perceived by the participants, included executing the work plan, evaluating the evidence and drawing conclusions, and drafting the report upon completion of the engagement. It was also established that the call for change was not confined to only one university in South Africa, which broadened the generalisability of the research findings, conclusions and recommendations of this study. The results of both the quantitative and qualitative analysis support the view that the newly developed audit simulation is able to assist in bringing change to audit education. The simulation had a positive effect on the audit students’ perceived competence levels in the competencies of auditing and assurance, and the various generic and pervasive skills tested in this study. Furthermore, it was established that the audit simulation had a greater effect on the audit students’ perceived broad competence levels (i.e. auditing and assurance, and generic and pervasive skills) and their understanding of the audit process as a whole, in relation to just attending normal lectures. The qualitative findings from the focus group discussions informed the quantitative findings by indicating that the audit simulation proved to be an instrument that, among other things: Summary • Gave students the opportunity to obtain a holistic view of the audit process; • Assisted students in visualising how the audit theory is applied in practice; • Actively involved the students in the learning process; and • Replicated audit practice. Finally, it was confirmed that the newly developed audit simulation takes into account the variables in the audit teaching-learning environment which need consideration if transformation is to take place in the way the audit subject is currently being taught at higher education level. Recommendations on the way forward in audit education, based on the findings in this thesis, were also provided. This study provides audit lecturers and other audit educators around the world with a newly developed, empirically evaluated audit simulation which can be applied in the audit classroom as well as assist in answering the current call for change to audit education. / PhD (Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

My dissertation starts with the overview of the history of financial control in the Czech lands. In the overview, I compare various controls having the power of the financial control with special attention paid to their mutual interference and overlapping. Performance of one type of control influenced implementation of other types of control. For many reasons, I decided to focus on the period starting in 1989. The years following the change of the regime in 1989 were very turbulent and rich in legislative initiatives. Some were successful, some less productive and I point out selected steps made in the area of control of financial activities, which lacked proper background and reasoning. On the other hand, many constructive proposals had been abolished for political reasons rather for their imperfectness. In other words - much alike the old totalitarian regime, the new authorities did not hesitate to make political decisions at the cost of the public interest. In the text of my dissertation, I examine the current financial control activities from the de lege lata point of view. Looking at the main body of relevant legislation - leaving aside the selected special laws which guide control by ways of special provisions - there are currently three acts, which guide the performance of "financial control"...

The Thesis is focused on the concepts of audit committee and audit quality, which are the basic control mechanisms for the quality of financial statements. The Thesis first presents the reasons and conditions for the appointment of audit committee, then follows with the legal rules applicable for mandatory audit of financial statements and presents some common definitions and measures of audit quality. Next, the new regulation for mandatory audit in the European Union is presented. The practical part of the Thesis starts with an analysis of the annual reports of the companies that are a part of CZECH TOP 100 for the year 2014. The analysis is focused on auditor choice, audit fees, public interest entities and their obligation to appoint an audit committee. The next part contains an empirical analysis of the association between audit committee existence, auditor choice and audit quality, which is defined as the quality of reported earnings.

Cette étude développe et teste empiriquement un modèle explicatif des comportements dysfonctionnels des auditeurs financiers. La revue de la littérature permet d'identifier les principaux facteurs ayant un impact significatif sur les dysfonctionnements (pression budgétaire et des délais...). Cette recherche propose d'étendre le périmètre des déterminants sous un angle relationnel et managérial. À cette fin, elle mobilise principalement l'approche de la relation supérieur - subordonné (LMX), mais aussi le role modeling et le style d'évaluation de la performance des auditeurs.Notre étude repose sur un questionnaire soumis aux auditeurs seniors opérant dans les grands réseaux de commissariat aux comptes constituant les principaux acteurs du marché de l'audit en France, plus précisément d'origines anglo-saxonne (Big 4) et française (Mazars).Pour tester nos hypothèses, la méthode d'estimation retenue est celle de type Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR).Les analyses soulignent que les trois dimensions du LMX, à savoir affection, loyauté et contribution ont un impact négatif et significatif sur les comportements adaptatifs (respectivement comportements non professionnels : CNP, mauvaise gestion de l’équipe d’audit : MGE et comportements réducteurs de qualité : QTB). En outre, les résultats mettent en lumière que, sous l’effet de mimétisme, les comportements managériaux adoptés par un supérieur réduisent le MGE, le QTB et le CNP. De plus, il a été observé qu’une perception favorable du soutien organisationnel et une évaluation axée sur des critères sociaux entraînent respectivement moins de QTB et de MGE. Enfin, certains résultats confirment ceux des recherches antérieures quant à l’impact du style d’évaluation basée sur des critères techniques, de l’engagement affectif, et de la pression liée au budget et aux délais sur les comportements dysfonctionnels. / This study develops and empirically tests an explanatory model in order to study the dysfunctional behaviors of financial auditors.The literature review allows to identify the main factors having a significant impact on malfunctions (budget pressure, time deadline pressure...). This research proposes extending the scope of the determinants in a relational and managerial perspective. To this end, it mobilizes mainly Leader-Member Exchange theory (LMX), but also the role modeling and the assessment style of auditors performance.Our study is based on a questionnaire which was sent to senior auditors who work in the large auditing networks which constitute the main actors of the audit market in France, specifically of Anglo-Saxon (Big 4) and French (Mazars) origins.To test our hypotheses, the estimation method of Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) was applied.The results show that the three dimensions of Leader Member-Exchange (LMX), namely affection, loyalty and contribution have a negative and significant impact on the adaptive behaviors (respectively unprofessional behaviors: CNP, mismanagement of the audit team: MGE and Quality-Threatening Behavior: QTB). Also, results highlight under the effect of mimetic, managerial behaviors adopted by a superior have been shown to reduce the MGE, but also QTB and CNP. In addition, it was revealed that a favorable perception of organizational support and an evaluation focused on social criteria result in less QTB and MGE respectively.Finally, the analyses confirm the results of previous research concerning the impact of the style assessment based on technical criteria, affective commitment, budget pressure and time deadline pressure on such types of behavior.

This study focuses on the effectiveness of audit committees in public entities, specifically schedule 3A entities, which are governed by the PFMA. It is clear that the audit committee cannot operate on its own if it wishes to be effective. Management, Internal Audit and External Audit (Auditor General of South Africa) all play significant roles in the effectiveness of the audit committee. Internal Audit and the Auditor General are assurance providers for the audit committee and therefore play an even bigger role in its effectiveness. The independence of these assurance providers is vital, as the audit committee relies on them to obtain an independent view of the effectiveness of controls within the entities. / Graduate School of Business Leadership

Bakgrund: Innan rotationskrav för revisorer har hunnit cementeras och ge utslag, har Regeringen i ett nytt betänkande lagstadgat även krav för rotation för byråer. Krav på byrårotation uppkom som en proposition efter finanskrisen 2008, som ett led i att strama åt regelverket för revisionsbyråer. Den Europeiska kommissionen skriver i sitt betänkande att även om de huvudansvariga revisorerna byts ut med jämna mellanrum kvarstår risken för en jävsituation. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur revisionsbyråer, kunder och myndigheter förhåller sig till obligatorisk byrårotation. Vi kommer även att studera hur marknaden för revision ändras, samt studera hur en revisionsbyrå ur ”The Big Four” kommer att förbereda sig inför denna lagförändring. Frågeställningar: Hur kommer byrårotation att inverka på revisionskvalitén för börsnoterade företag och finansiella företag av allmänt intresse? Hur förbereder en revisionsbyrå ur ”The Big Four” sig inför byrårotation? Vilka effekter kan byrårotation ha på marknadsstrukturen? Metod: Studien utgörs av en fallstudie där obligatorisk byrårotation studeras ur tre perspektiv. Studien baseras på ett antal befintliga teorier, varför studiens bearbetas utifrån den deduktiva ansatsen. Primärdata samlas in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer, där respondenterna har valts ut efter olika kriterier, beroende på perspektiv. Empiri: Tre myndigheter, tre kunder och en revisionsbyrå har varit föremål för våra intervjuer, där vi tematiskt redogör för deras uttalanden. Slutsats: Byrårotation kommer att leda till att revisorn blir mer oberoende, då mandatperioden inte tillåter att nära relationer bildas och på grund av vitesbeloppets omfattning. Revisionen kommer inte kosta mer, med anledning av att det kommer att bli en kamp mellan byråerna om uppdragen. Vi har identifierat tre möjliga marknadseffekter av byrårotation, där kartelliknande verksamheter är en möjlig utgång. Revisionsbyråernas verksamheter kommer att bli mer likt de internationellas, där rådgivningstjänster utgör den största delen. En viktig konsekvens av byrårotation kan vara att bolag roterar byrå vid kritiska tidpunkter, vilket kan skada bolaget ytterligare. Bolag bör kunna flagga vid sådana tidpunkter, för att kunna förlänga rotationen parallellt med den nytillträdda i början av uppdraget.

Thesis deal with problems of inventories with from two different looks, namely in light of Czech accounting recipes and International Financial Reporting Standards IAS/IFRS, including the completion of the audit inventories. Attention is devoted to the status of stocks owned enterprise, the definition of the term, the fundamental characteristics of stock, Czech legislative adjustments, and adjustments according to IAS/IFRS, inventory systems, methods and techniques of valuation, audit procedures and specific audit procedures of supplies.

Goals of this thesis are following: Explanation of audit framework in the Czech republic and practical example of verification od financial statements. The thesis explains basic definition and historical development of audit profession. The thesis explains international harmonisation of audit, mainly focused on International standards on auditing and Direction 2006/43/ES. It is also devoted to legal and professional framework mainly focused on law number 93/2009, Chamber of auditors of the Czech republic and Ethical codex. Finally, the thesis shows practicle example of verification of financial statements. The fourth phase of the audit process is demonstrated on the ABC, a.s.

Syftet med denna studie är att förklara och förstå digitaliseringens påverkan på revisionen. Revisionsbranschen är idag inne i en betydande förändringsprocess där traditionella metoder ersätts med modernare revisionstekniker. Digitaliseringen sägs vara en stark drivkraft till denna förändring, vilket har en stor påverkan på yrket. Genom att kunderna blivit mer digitala, samt att nya digitala revisionsverktyg har utvecklats, skapas möjligheten för en ny typ av revision. Tidigare forskning tyder på att yrket är på väg att automatiseras, och i framtiden tror forskare att robotisering kommer vara aktuell, även inom revisionsbranschen. Med fokus på två olika frågeställningar; digitaliseringens påverkan på revisionsmetodiken och digitaliseringens påverkan på revisionskvaliteten, har en kvalitativt inriktad studie genomförts. Studien bygger på intervjuer med tolv olika revisorer och programutvecklare. Studien visar att digitaliseringen av revisionen har haft en stor påverkan på yrket. Framförallt har digitaliseringen påverkat möjligheten att hantera en större mängd data. Bland annat har revisionen gått från att tidigare arbetat med statistiska urval, till att idag fokusera mer på att analysera data. Genom nya dataanalysverktyg har det blivit möjligt för revisorerna att gå från stickprov till att granska hela populationen av data. Granskningen kan då bättre inriktas på områden som avviker, eller områden med större risk. Studien visar att förändringen har haft en positiv påverkan på revisionskvaliteten, bland annat därför att revisionsbevisen blivit mer relevanta och tillförlitliga, samt att risken för att revisorerna gör ett felaktigt uttalande minskat. Mer fokus läggs idag på att revisorerna ska förstå kundens verksamhet och de faktorer som kan påverka denna. Förändringen har gjort att revisorernas analytiska förmåga blivit allt viktigare för att klara av yrket. Utvecklingen har möjliggjort att revisorerna kan ge bättre rådgivning, vilket skapar nya möjligheter inom branschen. / The purpose of this study is to explain and understand the influence of digitalization on the audit. The auditing industry is today in a significant process of change, where traditional methods are replaced by more modern auditing techniques. Digitalization is said to be a strong driving force for this change, which has a great impact on the profession. Because customers have become more digital and that new digital audit tools have been developed, the possibility of a new type of audit is created. Previous studies show that the profession is about to be automated, and in the future, researchers believe that robotization will be relevant also in the auditing industry. Focusing on two different issues; the impact of digitization on the audit methodology, and the impact of digitization on audit quality, a qualitatively oriented study has been conducted. The study is based on interviews with twelve different auditors and program developers. The study shows that the digitization of the audit has had a major impact on the profession. In particular, digitization has affected the ability to handle a larger amount of data. Among other things, the audit has gone from having previously worked with a large number of samples to today instead focusing on analyzing data. Through new data analysis tools, it has become possible for the auditors to switch from sampling to reviewing the entire population of data. The audit can then focus on areas that deviate or areas with greater risk. The study shows that the change has had a positive impact on the audit quality, since the audit evidence has become both more relevant and reliable, and that the risk that the auditors make an incorrect statement has decreased. More focus is now being placed on the auditors being able to understand the customer's business and the things that can affect this. The change has meant that the auditors' analytical ability has become increasingly important in order to cope with the profession. The development has made it possible for the auditors to provide better advice, which creates new opportunities in the industry.