The dissertation consists of three studies examining three different regulatory issues that affect the auditing profession. The first study has two main foci. First, the study investigates the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the Big 4 fee premium. Second, the study investigates the relationship between the size of an audit client and annual fee change. The results show that in the post-SOX environment, clients of non-Big 4 firms have experienced greater increases in audit fees than the clients of the Big 4 firms, resulting in a diminishing Big 4 premium. This is consistent with the notion that non-Big 4 clients had to make significant adjustments to meet post-SOX quality requirements by increasing their effort (and consequently audit fees). The results also show audit firms’ large clients experience the largest percentage increase in audit fees. This is consistent with the theoretical view of consumer surplus, where the large clients, with more resources, have greater levels of consumer surplus, which is being captured by the audit firms. The study contributes to our understanding of the impact of SOX on audit fee premium and the economics of audit market competition in different client segments. The second study is focused on three main areas: 1) the relationship between audit fees and audit market concentration on a country level; 2) the effect of a country’s litigation regime on the relationship between audit fees and market concentration and 3) the inter-relations between competition, fees, and quality in the market for audit services. The study is motivated by the current debate in the United States and the European Union about the possible problems associated with the current oligopolistic structure of the audit market. The contribution of this study lies in the fact that it provides a multi-national empirical investigation of the audit competition-fee relationship, and examination of how country-level fees affect the competitionquality relationship, while controlling for country level factors. Results show a negative iv relationship between country-level market concentration and audit fees but only in highly litigious countries, suggesting that the firms are able to obtain economies of scale in more concentrated markets and are willing to pass savings down to their clients. However this relationship only holds for the clients of the Big N firms. Analysis of audit quality suggests that audit quality is higher in more concentrated markets but mediation analysis did not show that the fees mediate the relationship between audit quality and market concentration. The third study addresses current regulatory debate about the responsibility of the principal auditor in the group audit environment. Current United States standards allow the principal auditor to disavow responsibility for parts of the audit which were performed by a third party auditor by referencing them in the auditor’s opinion and then indicating the part of the audit which was performed by them. This disclaimer of responsibility is prohibited under the international auditing standards, which require the principal auditor to be responsible for the entire group audit. Specifically, this study examines 1) audit quality implications related to such opinions, and 2) the relationship between having a shared opinion and audit fees. The results show that the audit quality is significantly lower for the firms whose audit opinion referenced a third party auditor. The results also provide some evidence that audit fees are lower in shared responsibility situations.

Accounting information for decision making needs to be reliable, unless the information is audited, it cannot be regarded as reliable. Therefore, although extensive research in the area of accounting in general, and auditing in particular, has been conducted in the developed countries, similar investigations within developing countries have so far been relatively limited. Moreover, global financial crises, the most recent in 2007/8, have increased the pressures for better regulations with the aim of harmonising the auditing profession globally. This study therefore aims to help fill the gap in research and to provide recommendations to the governing body of the Libyan auditing profession, in order to address the difficulties faced by the profession, and advance and improve the quality of professional auditing practice. This study is predominantly positivist in essence, but, based on the nature of the problem and research questions, a mixed methods approach to gathering data from stakeholders in the auditing profession is adopted. A questionnaire (196 respondents), and a set of semi-structured interviews (nine participants), represent the quantitative and qualitative instruments of the study respectively. The research sample for both empirical exercises is comprised of individuals from five different groups representing the Libyan auditing profession stakeholders. This wide spread of participants is selected in order to generate valid, reliable, generalizable, and meaningful data, and conclusions. The overall conclusion drawn from the analysis is that the Libyan audit profession regulations are considered inadequate by the profession itself, since they fall short of meeting international standards, as supported by the fact that many foreign companies invest in Libya, and they insist on their auditing using ISAs as a guarantee of transparent and high quality auditing. The Libyan audit profession is unwilling to implement these international standards, and this weakness needs to be addressed. Furthermore, issues relating to licensing, accounting and auditing education, examination for entry to the profession, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) must all be reviewed. In addition, a new regulatory framework, that involves government supervision, and the use of internationally-recognised standards in the performance of auditing duties, must be introduced. In terms of the most appropriate regulatory approach, the results indicated that the independent regulator model is preferred; and with respect to auditing standards, the study finds that the preferred approach is to harmonise all auditing standards used in Libya, and to adopt the ISAs with certain modifications that suit the Libyan context. Furthermore, the study sample identified six factors that impact positively on the adoption of the ISAs, and a further six factors that had negative influences. This research contributes to the body of literature by filling the gap regarding the Libyan auditing profession in general, and identifying factors that have an impact on the adoption of ISAs in particular. Recommendations are provided to the authority responsible for supervising the Libyan auditing profession that essentially require the upgrading of all professionals, and perseverance to ensure national and international development of the profession in particular, and to other countries with similar characteristics in general.

Examines the perceived occupational image of auditing among US college students and uncovers students’ attitudes towards auditing as a field of study and career. In addition, investigates background correlates of such images and attitudes. Discusses the implications of the findings for academics and practitioners.

Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att förklara hur auktoriserade revisorer upplever att de senaste förändringarna inom revisionsbranschen påverkat samhällsnyttan av revision. Metod En kvantitativ undersökning genomfördes via en elektronisk enkät som skickades ut till svenska auktoriserade revisorer, varpå en statistisk analys av 130 svar var möjlig. Resultat Resultatet visade att medlemmarna av den svenska revisorsprofessionen är enade. Revisorer identifierar sig både professionellt och organisatoriskt. Svenska revisorer upplever att rådgivning är positivt för samhällsnyttan, de upplever även att ISA har en positiv inverkan på samhällsnyttan. Äldre revisorer är dock negativa till internationella regelverk. En stark revisorsidentitet visade sig vara avgörande för uppfattningen om förändring ökar eller minskar samhällsnyttan. Praktiskt bidrag och sociala aspekter Studien har visat att professionell identitet och organisatorisk identitet kan mätas som ett samlat begrepp, kallat revisorsidentitet. Begreppet innefattar hela revisorsprofessionen med både profession och organisation. Studien bidrar även till förståelse över hur förändringar inom den svenska revisorsprofessionen uppfattas av de svenska auktoriserade revisorerna. / Purpose The aim of our study was to explain how the authorized auditors in Sweden perceive that the institutional changes have affected the public interest o auditing. Method A quantitative study was made through an electronic survey which was sent to authorized auditors in Sweden. Were 130 answers could be used in the statistical analysis. Findings The result shows that the members of the Swedish audit profession are united. Auditors identify themselves both with professional and organizational identity. Swedish auditors perceive that consulting is positive for the public interest; they also feel that ISA has a positive impact on the public interest. However; older auditors have a negative attitude towards international regulations. The auditor identity turned out to be the crucial element whether or not institutional changes perceived to increase or decrease the public interest. Practical implications and originality The study has showed that professional identity and organizational identity can be assembled as one concept, the auditor identity. The concept includes the entire audit profession, both profession and organization. The study also contributes to the understanding of how institutional changes in the Swedish audit profession is perceived by the Swedish authorized auditors

Bakgrund: Studenters uppfattning om sitt blivande yrke överensstämmer inte alltid med vad de upplever när de kommer ut i arbetslivet, det finns ett förväntnings-realitetsgap. När studenten övergår till nyanställd kan det uppstå en verklighetschock. För att få en praktisk koppling till den teoretiska utbildning som de akademiska lärosätena tillhandahåller, kan studenten genomgå en verksamhetsförlagd utbildning (VFU). I Sverige är det i dagsläget åtta lärosäten som erbjuder VFU som en del av ekonomutbildning med inriktning redovisning/revision. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utforska hur VFU påverkar redovisnings- och revisionsstudenters uppfattningar om revisorsassistenters arbetsuppgifter, roller och ansvar. Genomförande: En förstudie genomfördes där tre revisorsassistenter intervjuades för att ge oss en tydlig bild om revisorsassistenters arbetsuppgifter, roller och ansvar. Dessa intervjuer låg sedan till grund för utformningen av en enkät som skickades ut till redovisnings- och revisionsstudenter på de lärosäten som erbjuder VFU inom ramen för utbildningen. Detta för att identifiera redovisnings- och revisionsstudenternas uppfattningar om revisorsassistentens arbetsuppgifter, roller och ansvar. Slutsats: Vår slutsats är att VFU inte tycks ha någon större påverkan på redovisnings- och revisionsstudenters uppfattningar om revisorsassistentens arbetsuppgifter, roller och ansvar. Ett svagt samband har kunnat identifieras mellan VFU och revisorsassistentens arbetsuppgift kontrollera siffror. Studien antyder att det finns en skillnad på uppfattningarna mellan lärosätena. Förslag till vidare forskning: En longitudinell studie där ett antal redovisnings- och revisionsstudenters uppfattningar studeras under hela verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen för att fånga kunskaperna före och efter VFU. / Background: Students' perception of their future profession does not always correspond with what they experience when they are new employees – there’s an expectation-reality gap. When the student becomes a new employee, they may experience a reality shock. To get some practical connection to the theoretical education that the academic universities provide, the student may undergo a work integrated learning (WIL). In Sweden there are eight institutions offering WIL as part of economic studies with specialization within accounting/auditing. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore how WIL affects the accounting and auditing students' perceptions of auditor assistants' duties, roles and responsibilities. Implementation: To start with, a pilot study was conducted in which three auditor assistants were interviewed in order to get a clear picture of auditor assistants' duties, roles and responsibilities. These interviews formed the basis for the design of a questionnaire sent out to the audit and accounting students at the universities that offer WIL within the framework of the economic studies. This was done to identify accounting and auditing students' perceptions of auditor assistants' duties, roles and responsibilities. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that WIL does not seem to have any major impact on the accounting and auditing students' perceptions of auditor assistants' duties, roles and responsibilities. A weak relationship has been identified between WIL and the assistant auditor task check digits. The study suggests, however, that there is a difference of perceptions between the different educational institutions. Suggestions for further research: A longitudinal study in which a number of accounting and auditing students' perceptions are studied throughout the work integrated learning course in an attempt of capturing their perception before and after WIL.

Purpose: The aim of this bachelor thesis is to explain how advancement factors affect men and woman to advance in their careers in the accounting profession.                                  Methodology: A positivist approaches and a deductive approach, with a quantitative method was used to obtain the results of the analysis.   Theoretical perspective: The theory describes the career stages, audit assistant, approved auditor, registered auditor, manager and partner. Their responsibilities and what it takes to get there is explained. Theory section also describes the different advancement factors from a gender perspective.   Empirical: The empirical material is based on a survey conducted in respondents who represent the five career stages. The collected data is then analyzed using statistical tests.   Conclusion: The analysis shows that the identified career advancement factors that limit and stimulates the male and female auditors’ career ladder. Some advancement factors limited female auditors’ career ladder more than a generation. / Syfte: Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att förklara hur avancemangsfaktorerna påverkar män och kvinnor att avancera på karriärstegen inom revisionsbranschen. Metod: Ett positivistiskt angreppsätt och en deduktiv ansats, med en kvantitativ metod har använts för att få fram resultatet till analysen. Teori: Teorin beskriver de olika karriärstegen, revisorsassistent, godkänd revisor, auktoriserad revisor, chef och partner. Deras arbetsuppgifter samt vad som krävs för att ta sig dit förklaras. Teoridelen beskriver också de olika avancemangsfaktorerna utifrån ett könsperspektiv. Empiri: Det empiriska materialet är baserat på en enkätundersökning utförd på respondenter som representerar de fem karriärstegen. Datainsamlingen har sedan analyserats med hjälp av statistiska tester. Resultat: Analysen visar att de identifierade avancemangsfaktorerna både begränsar och stimulerar manliga och kvinnliga revisors karriärstege. Somliga avancemangsfaktorer begränsade en kvinnlig revisors karriärstege mer än en mans.

En revisor bidrar till att kvalitetssäkra den finansiella information företag lämnar ifrån sig och revision ses som en kvalitetsstämpel gentemot tredje part. När det inte längre är revisionsplikt för små bolag har konkurrensen hårdnat i revisionsbranschen. Revisionsbyråerna har därför tilltagit åtgärder så som marknadsföring för att behålla och attrahera nya klienter. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur revisorer resonerar kring relationen till klienter och hur de upplever att den påverkas av de åtgärder som krävs för att behålla och attrahera klienter. Studien har fördjupats i tre begrepp som i sin tur är kopplade till teorier. Det studeras hur revisoryrket som profession, marknadsföring och oberoende påverkar klientrelationen och dessa stöds av agentteorin, professionsteorin och institutionell teori. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod där personliga intervjuer använts för att samla empiri från sex erfarna revisorer. Revisorerna lägger stor vikt vid att relationerna till klienterna är goda. Det är viktigt dels för att klienterna ska vara nöjda och stanna kvar, men även för att det är genom ryktesspridning revisorerna får flest nya klienter. Revisoryrket är en profession och revisorerna är medvetna om hur de uppträder såväl inom arbetet som utanför. Marknadsföring strider mot professionen men är något revisorer börjat använda sig av i större utsträckning. Revisionsbyråerna använder sig av varumärkesmarknadsföring medan revisorerna främst riktar in sig på personlig marknadsföring. Enligt lag måste revisorer vara oberoende gentemot sina klienter och detta är de noga med. Inget får hota deras oberoende eftersom det kan förstöra deras rykte som revisor. Slutsatsen är att revisorer värderar klientrelationen högt. De är medvetna om vad som kan påverka och hota deras roll som revisor i relationen och vet hur de ska agera för att undvika dessa. Förslag till vidare forskning är att studera detta ut klientens perspektiv, vilket sedan kan jämföras med denna studies resultat. / An auditor contributes to assure the quality of the financial information the company hands over and auditing is seen as a quality stamp for third part. There is fierce competition in the audit industry as is no longer mandatory auditing for small companies. Audit firms use marketing and other activities to retain and attract new clients. The purpose of this study is to create an understanding for how auditors reason regarding the relationship with clients and how they perceive that activities to retain and attract clients affect the relationship. The study covers three concepts that are linked to theories. It studies how auditing as a profession, marketing and independence affect the client relationship and the Agency Theory, Professional Theory and Institutional Theory support these. The study is preformed through a qualitative approach where individual interviews are used to collect data from six different auditors. The auditors attach great importance to that the relationships with the clients are good. It is important that the clients are satisfied and stay, but also because it is through word-of-mouth auditors gain most new clients. Auditors belong to a profession and, therefore, the auditors are aware of how they behave in work and outside. Marketing is contrary to the profession but is something they have started to use more. Audit firms use brand marketing while auditors focus mainly on personal marketing. Because of laws, auditors must be independent against their clients and with this they are carful. Nothing may threaten their independence because it can destroy their reputation. The conclusion is that auditors value the client relationship highly. They are aware of what can affect and threaten their role as an auditor in the relationship. They are also aware of how to act in order to avoid these. A suggestion for further research is to study auditor-client relationship from the clients’ perspective, which can then be compared with the result of this study.

Auditing is to provide stakeholders with reliable information from the entities. However, society has different expectations and perceptions on the auditing profession which leads to an expectation gap. The existence of the expectation gap is critical and may seriously damage the auditors’ reputation and the auditing profession as a whole. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is an expectation gap between business administration students and the auditing profession. In this study, business administration students’ expectations and perceptions of the auditing profession will be investigated. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether the track that the students have chosen to specialize in, work experience, year they are attending and if their grades have an impact on their knowledge-level and in turn on their expectations and perceptions on the auditing profession. An investigation model of these four factors is presented and tested through a survey answered by business administration students. The results show that the business administration students in Kristianstad University, lacks knowledge about the auditing profession. However, the third-year students had more knowledge about the auditing profession than first and second-year students. Furthermore, the students who had chosen to specialize in accounting and auditing had more knowledge about the auditing profession than the students who were specializing in bank and finance and international marketing. Our conclusion is that there is an expectation gap between the business administration students in Kristianstad University and the auditing profession. Furthermore, the year the students are attending and their chosen track have an impact on their expectations and perceptions about the auditing profession. On the other hand, work experience and grades do not have an impact.

The auditor’s report has been criticised for being uninformative at least since the late nineteenth century. Despite persistent requests for detailed information in order to facilitate users’ decision-making processes, auditors have only recently started to provide entity-specific information in their reports. Against this background, two research questions are raised: (1) What were the driving forces behind the evolution of the auditor’s report? (2) How can dissatisfaction with and misperceptions of audit reporting be reduced in order to support financial statement users’ decision-making processes? As the object of study, the Swedish auditor’s report is chosen since it has, up to the present day, deviated from reports in other jurisdictions and thus enables an extension of knowledge in the field of audit reporting. The first part of this dissertation contributes to previous auditing history and auditing profession research by answering the first research question through an analysis of approximately 1,800 historical Swedish auditor’s reports and numerous related documents. Applying a critical-theory perspective, the research findings suggest that during the course of history, auditors were able to adopt an auditor’s rather than a user’s perspective despite arguing in the interest of users. The second part of the dissertation contributes to previous audit reporting and expectation gap research by answering the second research question through a vignette experiment with Swedish financial statement users. The research findings indicate that dissatisfaction with the current auditor’s report can be reduced through additional entity-specific information concerning the auditor’s independence, the audit process and the audit findings, and less general information about the auditor’s responsibilities. Overall, this dissertation connects past events concerning the auditor’s report to current challenges and indicates possible future developments. / The auditor’s report is the financial auditor’s primary means of communication with users of financial statements. It has been criticised for being an uninformative document at least since the late nineteenth century. Persistent requests for change in order to facilitate users’ decision-making processes include detailed information about the audited financial statements, the conducted audits and the auditors. Despite these requests, auditors have only recently started to provide some entity-specific information in their reports. This dissertation contributes to the topical issue of audit reporting in relation to users’ needs through two studies. The first study retraces the historical evolution of the auditor’s report in order to explain the driving forces behind this evolution and the reasons why users have had to accept uninformative reports for such a long time. The second study examines ways to reduce dissatisfaction with and misperceptions of audit reporting and evaluates the current auditor’s report with regard to financial statement users’ decision-making processes. Overall, the findings of this dissertation cast doubt on the past and current willingness of auditors to deliver reports that are aligned with users’ needs to make informed decisions.

The auditing profession is a popular career choice among business graduates, and the Big N firms hire large cohorts of audit assistants every year. The auditing profession is special in the way that it has a defined career ladder, as well as a high employee turnover rate. The hiring process involves contact both with the HR department and auditors from the operating business. Since the audit assistants are not expected to have great technical knowledge at the beginning of their employment, other things than the actual auditing skills must be tested during the hiring process.   In prior research, studies have been conducted from the perspective of the applicant, rather than the organizational perspective. There has been relatively little research on the recruitment of auditors, and most research has been conducted in another context than a Swedish one. The research question used for this thesis is: How do audit firms hire entry-level audit assistants, and what profile is desired by the HR department and the operating business?   The main purposes of this study are to explore the hiring process and what profile is desired, from both the HR department’s perspective and the operating business’ perspective. The study is qualitative, and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with delegates from the largest audit firms in Sweden. The sample consisted of eleven informants including seven auditors and four recruiters.  The empirical findings suggest that the Big N firms in Sweden hire through a centralized HR-department, with a standardized process that is similar among all the firms. A lot of responsibility lies with the HR-department, but the auditors make the final determination if the applicant will fit into the group. The most important characteristics desired of an audit assistant are found to be social skills, team ability, and dedication, and these are assessed at the different steps of the hiring process. Finally, the findings suggest that the HR department and the delegates from the operating business of the HR firms agree on what profile they are looking for, however, there is no formal way of evaluating the hiring process in any of the firms. The contributions of this thesis can be of use for various actors, for example audit firms when developing their hiring strategies, regulatory authorities when discussing the development of the industry and educational bodies and students when preparing for a career within auditing. From an academic perspective, this study can be used as a point of departure for future research.