Fullkontakt eller glappkontakt?
En jämförande studie om regelverket för revisorns oberoende
The independent audit function plays an important role in our modern society as it strengthens the credibility of information given out by firms. A fundamental condition for the maintenance of confidence towards the audit function is the auditor?s independence. This phenomenon has been acknowledged threw several well-known audit scandals during the last decade, including the classical Enronscandal. In the repercussions of these huge auditing scandals, governments all over the world were now founding more restrictive rules and laws about audit independence. In Sweden, this has meant the creations of the new accounting law, Revisorslagen (RevL). The law however, is very narrow designed and the practical implementation of the regulations regarding audit independence has instead been provided in the hands of Revisorsnämnden (RN). RN is a government agency whose main purpose is to protect, and develop audit practice in Sweden. Thus, RN is the agency which in practice decides the level of audit independence on the Swedish audit market. This study intends to investigate whether Swedish auditors? perception of auditor independence differs from the one of RN. If the views on the regulatory framework differ between the entity that develops it and the profession who practices it, there should be implications. Therefore, this study aims to approach the issue of auditor independence and gaining a deeper understanding of Swedish auditors? perception of audit independence and its regulation. We have used a deductive approach, where we started in existing theories concerning auditor independence, which were then examined towards the reality. The theoretical frame of reference is basically focused on current regulation of auditor independence. RN's disciplinary procedures has served as an important theoretical basis as for the practical interpretation of the regulations regarding audit independence. The study was conducted based on a qualitative approach where the compilation of the empirical data was made by using semi-structured interviews with Umeå-based auditors. We have used a self-constructed interview guide, which has partly been comprised of case questions based on RN's assessments in various independence issues. We did this to be able to concretize different issues concerning audit independence with actual cases but also to be able to facilitate the comparison between Swedish auditors and RN. The study provides evidence of a certain difference in the perception of auditor independence, and its regulation, between Swedish auditors RN. The auditors believe that the current regulatory framework of auditor independence in many respects is too restrictive and therefore not accessible for the Swedish market. This is, referring to the auditors, especially true as seen from a small-company perspective.