Förtroendeperspektiv på aktiebolagsrevision

Sammanfattning: This dissertation is motivated by the circumstance that theoretical discussions of statutory auditing are dominated by the principal-agent perspective. The effect of this has been so pervasive that general assumptions characterising the principal-agent perspective may have become regarded as true. On this basis, there are fears that important decisions, for example, could be made on erroneous grounds, as principal-agent perspectives essentially lack external validity. Critics have pointed out that the basic assumptions of the principalagent theoretical perspective – that individuals always act out of self-interest and that there is a constant risk of opportunism – become too general and need to be made more nuanced. It has been argued that trust, which may be regarded as a contrasting concept to self-interest and opportunism, might be integrated to support external validity. It may also be noted that this term – trust – has become a catchword for describing the significance and role of auditing in the practical discourse. These arguments support the relevance of this dissertation, where the overall purpose is to elaborate on a theoretical perspective on the statutory auditing including trust. This will contribute to explaining and understanding statutory auditing in a way that balances the currently dominant theoretical perspectives on auditing.The dissertation accomplishes this in three related ways building on three parts. The first of these aims to substantiate a theoretical proposition based on trust theory. It focuses on clarifying various dimensions of trust which may contribute to analysing the role and significance of auditing. The second is an empirical study aimed at elucidating auditing from a systems perspective and contains a historical analysis in which texts are used to reproduce and analyse some of the developments on the basis of the theoretical framework. The third is an empirical study which concerns auditing from an investors perspective. It is based on a survey of equity investors in companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange, and also based on the theoretical framework. The two empirical studies contribute to substantiating the proposition that trust is a concept that should be integrated in theories explaining the role and function of auditing.