Revisionsbranschen står inför en förändringsfas vilket gör att revisorsrollen har behov av att anpassa sig till nya förhållningssätt. Det är digitalisering som har fått en genomträngande drivkraft i branschen. Tidigare forskning indikerar på att digitalisering har en pådrivande effekt på branschen som gör att vissa arbetsuppgifter automatiseras, förändras och försvinner. Större mängd data finns även tillgängligt för revisorn vilket leder till nya förutsättningar som yrkesrollen bör förhålla sig till. Syftet med vår studie är därför att få en ökad förståelse för digitalisering och dess påverkan på revisorsrollen samt hur revisorn kan anpassa arbetsuppgifter och kompetens för att vara ett hållbart yrke. För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod använts med semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studiens teoretiska referensram tydliggörs den grundläggande funktionen för revisorn, revisorns anpassning till digitalisering, anpassning till klient och för att vara ett hållbart yrke samt revisorsrollen.Intervjuerna med respondenterna har påvisat att branschen är i en förändringsfas till följd av digitalisering. Respondenterna är eniga om att digitalisering har inflytande på revisionsbranschen och att det finns ett intresse att omvandla arbetsuppgifter och kompetenser för att kunna skapa mervärde till klient. Studiens resultat indikerar att det finns tre genomgående aspekter som bör tillmötesgås av revisorn då dessa är av stor betydelse för en stabil och långsiktig utveckling. Viktiga aspekter som framkommer från resultatet är revisorns anpassning till klient gällande kommunikation, trovärdighet och relevans. Studiens slutsats lyfter fram att det rör sig om ett samspel mellan dessa infallsvinklar, där revisorn kan utforma sin yrkesroll för att vara ett hållbart yrke. Studiens slutsats presenterar även att det är fördelaktigt för revisorn att utveckla arbetsuppgifter mot mer rådgivning och nischad kompetens. Sammanfattningsvis uppmärksammar denna studie att revisorn bör anamma nya former av yrkesrollen för att kunna skapa långsiktig relevans och tillmötesgå den digitaliserade världen. / The auditing industry is facing change, which means that the role of the auditor must be to adapt to new approaches. It is digitalization that has become the pervasive driving force in the industry. Previous research indicates that digitalization has had a driving effect on the industry, which means that certain tasks have become automated, changed and disappeared. Larger amounts of data are also available to the auditor, leading to new conditions that the professional role should relate to. The purpose of our study is to gain an increased understanding of how auditor roles can adapt with the help of new tools and skills in order to remain a sustainable profession. To show how auditors can adapt to change and still remain sustainable, a qualitative method has been used which includes semi-structured interviews. The focus of this study is on theoretical frame of reference, the basic function and role of the auditor, the auditor's passage to digitalization, the ability to adapt to the client, and how to remain a sustainable profession.The interviews with the respondents have shown that the industry is in a phase of change because of digitalization. The respondents agree that digitalization has an influence on the auditing industry, and there is an interest in transforming work tasks and skills to create added value for the client. Student results indicate that three general aspects should be addressed by the auditor, as these are of great importance for stable and long-term development. Important aspects that emerge from the result are the auditor's passing to the client in terms of communication, credibility and relevance. Students conclude clearly that there must be an interaction between these approaches, so that the auditor can design a professional role to remain a sustainable profession. The study's conclusion also presents that it is advantageous for the auditor to develop work tasks that involve more counselling and niche skills. In summary, this study highlights that the auditor should embrace new ideas in the professional role to create long-term significance and meet the digital world.(This paper is written in Swedish).

Different scandals around the globe during the past, in specific during the last decade, have intrigued the stakeholders to question the roles of both auditors and management. But most of the fingers since then have been raised on the role of auditors, because it is the auditors who are entrusted with the responsibility to detect any errors or frauds in the financial reports of the client-firm. Apart from this, the long-term auditor client relationship has been the center of attention in most of the discussions and debates as well. Numerous studies have been conducted by the academic researchers, financial and professional analysts, regulatory authorities and governing bodies, and in some cases by the auditors and the firms as well regarding the effects of long-term auditor-client relationship on audit quality, equity risk premium, financial reports quality, audit pricing etc. These studies provide us with different results, both with the positive and negative associations and effects of long-term auditor-client relationship on the basis of different factors and contexts. For long, auditing has been discussed in different studies and research areas but mostly in association with publicly listed companies. Less attention has been paid to the relationship of auditors and clients as far as clients in SMEs are concerned. In any country around the globe, SMEs are of major contribution in terms of backing the economy, giving it both the boost and the stability, as they collectively form the major chunk of the economy. If we specify our study to the SMEs in Sweden, then 99% of the enterprises in Sweden represent the SME sector; in addition they employ around 60% of the manpower. Based on these facts, and due to less attention given to auditor-client relationship in terms of SMEs, instead of; we have directed our concerns towards the study of effects of auditor-client relationship on audit quality in SMEs in this particular research study. In this study, we have opted for qualitative research with semi-structured interviews to be used as the tool for data collection. Interviews were conducted with two different groups of interviewees, one group representing the auditors and the other group representing the client-firms (SMEs). A total of seven interviews were conducted in order to strengthen and validate the results for our research question. Due to the limitations of this study, mostly in terms of cost and time, samples were selected from Umeå, Sweden. The data interview structure, data analysis and discussion, and conclusions were all made based on existing theories summarized in the theoretical review of this study. The results of this study suggests that (1) long-term audit tenure is beneficial for the audit quality if certain risk factors like risk of auditor independence and risk of developing complacency are controlled; and (2) factors such as NAS, industry specialization, knowledge and experience of the auditor, internal control in the client-firm, professional ethics, proper audit plan, providence of unbiased information by the client, and appointment of the auditor by the client-firm itself enhances the audit quality.