Relationsproblem?

: En studie i hur revisorns relation till experten påverkar "audit quality"

Abstract

Auditing scandals that have occurred in recent years has put increased attention on audit quality. Simultaneously these scandals indicate the complexity, for instance regarding market valuation, now found in balance sheets and the challenge this causes for the auditor. This challenge seems to imply that the auditor's knowledge is not enough and that the auditor is now dependent on the dyadic relationship with the expert, who is more competent in a specific field than the auditor. Since auditing scandals have occurred where a dyadic relationship to an expert have been present, investigating how the auditor´s dyadic relationship to the expert effect audit quality becomes relevant. Hence, the purpose with this study is to investigate how the auditor´s relationship to the expert affects audit quality. In order to fulfill this purpose the study is based on a deductive approach. A model was developed based on earlier studies including the relational aspects: communication, conflict and social integration. From this model various hypotheses were developed, which was tested empirically through a web survey directed against auditors. The results from this study suggest that auditors do not perceive the relationship with the expert as problematic. This is indicated by the fact that a higher extent of use of expertise tends to lead to a higher audit quality. Also, the study indicates that auditors in “big four” experience a lower degree of audit quality than the auditors from non big four. Furthermore indications are given regarding that the quality of communication between auditors and experts has a positive affect on audit quality. The contribution of this study is primarily that it sheds a light on an area of research that is relatively unexplored. This is because research regarding dyadic relationships applied to auditing seems to be limited. Hence, previous research examining the relationship between auditors and experts’ impact on audit quality is surprisingly limited.