Up or stay

: Motivationsfaktorer för avläggandet av revisorsexamen

Abstract

Statistics show that the number of certified auditors in Sweden has decreased from 4,000 to around 2,700 in the 1ast 13 years. Previous studies have investigated what may be the cause of the decrease, and have partly studied the high staff turnover that occurs at auditing firms, and partly the Up or out method. What previous studies have not paid attention to are the audit employees who have chosen to remain within the organization but who are waiting to take the exam. The purpose of this study is therefore to explain why audit employees decide not to take the audit exam, which is done by examining whether motivational factors for career development are satisfied in the workplace or not.
The study used a quantitative research method where hypotheses were developed following a deductive approach. A survey was then carried out among audit employees at large and medium-sized firms in Sweden, who have worked for at least three years and who have not yet passed the audit exam. The only motivational factor that showed a significant relationship with the intention to take the exam or not was salary. The group respondents who did not intend to take the exam had a lower perception of their salary as fair compared to the group respondents who intend to take the exam. The study did not demonstrate any significant relationship between the remaining motivational factors, which may be due to the low response rate. Therefore, there is a need for further research.

Date of Award	2023-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Elin Smith (Supervisor) & Heléne Tjärnemo (Examiner)