Removing the statutory audit for small and medium sized companies in Sweden - current issues and debates
(2010)Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the current debate concerning the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden. In order to fulfill the thesis purpose a qualitative research approach was used along with triangulation methods. As the basis of the thesis lies in the government report SOU 2008:32 and the official comments to this report, interviews were held with key persons which were considered to be highly affected by the proposal.
When contemplating the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden, we have found that although in matters of principles there is a positive inclination towards the development, there is also a level of uncertainty causing concern. We have found that there is a risk of economic crime... (More) - The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the current debate concerning the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden. In order to fulfill the thesis purpose a qualitative research approach was used along with triangulation methods. As the basis of the thesis lies in the government report SOU 2008:32 and the official comments to this report, interviews were held with key persons which were considered to be highly affected by the proposal.
When contemplating the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden, we have found that although in matters of principles there is a positive inclination towards the development, there is also a level of uncertainty causing concern. We have found that there is a risk of economic crime rising as a consequence of the removal of the statutory audit. Furthermore, it has become apparent that the issues concerning the threshold values still remain unclear. The interviewees believe that the need for the assurance given by the statutory audit will remain, as users still will require this information in the future. This means that many SMEs are likely to continue having their accounts audited traditionally. We have also confirmed the common expectation that the auditor's role will develop in the future, requiring the auditor to engage in more consultancy based services. Furthermore, we have discovered that the concepts of reasonable vs. moderate assurance will be difficult to convey in Sweden, not to mention that these may very well be difficult to translate accurately. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1585136
- author
- Roslin, Hampus ; Krijestorac, Merisa and Hevlund, Emma
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2010
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- SMEs, SOU 2008:32, Assurance, Related services, Economic crime, Management of enterprises, Företagsledning, management
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1585136
- date added to LUP
- 2010-02-12 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2012-04-02 18:00:11
@misc{1585136,
abstract = {{The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the current debate concerning the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden. In order to fulfill the thesis purpose a qualitative research approach was used along with triangulation methods. As the basis of the thesis lies in the government report SOU 2008:32 and the official comments to this report, interviews were held with key persons which were considered to be highly affected by the proposal.
When contemplating the removal of the statutory audit for SMEs in Sweden, we have found that although in matters of principles there is a positive inclination towards the development, there is also a level of uncertainty causing concern. We have found that there is a risk of economic crime rising as a consequence of the removal of the statutory audit. Furthermore, it has become apparent that the issues concerning the threshold values still remain unclear. The interviewees believe that the need for the assurance given by the statutory audit will remain, as users still will require this information in the future. This means that many SMEs are likely to continue having their accounts audited traditionally. We have also confirmed the common expectation that the auditor's role will develop in the future, requiring the auditor to engage in more consultancy based services. Furthermore, we have discovered that the concepts of reasonable vs. moderate assurance will be difficult to convey in Sweden, not to mention that these may very well be difficult to translate accurately.}},
author = {{Roslin, Hampus and Krijestorac, Merisa and Hevlund, Emma}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Removing the statutory audit for small and medium sized companies in Sweden - current issues and debates}},
year = {{2010}},
}