An analysis of comment letters on a new, stand-alone standard for audits of less complex entities’ financial statements

Purpose The objective of this paper is to extend the debate on audit quality in the less complex entity (LCE) context by analyzing comment letters submitted to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The IAASB has drafted a new, stand-alone standard for audits of LCEs’ financial statements. Design/methodology/approach The Gioia method is utilized to conduct the qualitative analysis. This enables the material to shine and provide a comprehensive picture of the important aspects of the comment letters about the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) for LCEs. A content analysis of the 145 comment letters is conducted to identify the extent of the support for and the arguments against the new, stand-alone draft standard for audits of LCEs’ financial statements. In addition, this study considers how the comment letters describe the respondents’ views on audit quality in relation to the new standard. Finally, the tone of the comment letters and audit quality arguments is investigated. Findings The findings provide a useful framework of the most frequently used arguments supporting and opposing the ISA for LCEs. Within the themes identified, a wide variety of issues and concerns are discussed. The results reveal that the arguments in the comment letters are contradictory. For instance, when discussing audit quality, those interest groups that perceived many positive opportunities in the adoption of the ISA for LCEs thought that the audit quality would increase. Conversely, those interest groups that were skeptical about the success of the ISA for LCEs argued that the audit quality could be compromised by the general prejudice that the ISA for LCEs might be perceived as a lower-quality audit with fewer procedures. Originality/value This paper is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to examine the content of comment letters in the context of a new, stand-alone standard for audits of LCEs. The international audience can utilize the results in the context of the widely discussed issue of reducing LCEs’ auditing obligations. This study aims to contribute to the two streams of accounting literature concerning audit quality and political lobbying.© Elina Elisabet Haapamäki and Juha Mäki. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode The authors thank an anonymous reviewer and the editors of the journal for their helpful comments, which have led to substantial improvements in the paper. Elina Haapamäki gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the Foundation for Economic Education and the Evald and Hilda Nissi Foundation.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

An examination of comment letters on suggested Part 10 : audits of groups' financial statements in the proposed ISA for less complex entities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the comment letters (CLs) in the standard-setting process of audits of less complex entities (LCEs). The objective is to gain insight into the overall picture of the CLs and to report on areas where comment providers agree or disagree with IAASB's Part 10. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of 60 comment letter (CLs) was conducted to investigate the suggested additional Part 10 on audits of groups' financial statements in the proposed ISA for LCEs. Hence, this study examines three specific topics: (1) the views related to the use of the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) for LCEs for group audits in which component auditors are involved, (2) the proposed group-specific qualitative characteristics to describe the scope of group audits and, finally, (3) insights into the content of the proposed Part 10 and related conforming amendments. The Gioia method is used to provide a holistic approach to concept development of the arguments about the new Part 10. Findings The CLs stated that, while the proposed Part 10 has some weak points, it still provides a solid and practical structure within which to undertake an LCE group audit and a promising basis for further development. For instance, when discussing the improvements, the CLs stated that Part 10 should allow for more auditor judgment when determining when the involvement of component auditors renders a group audit complex. In addition, the CLs asserted that professional judgment should be engaged when considering the qualitative characteristics and the complexity of the group. Originality/value This study contributes to the very scarce research about the ISA for LCEs and the role of lobbying in shaping the audit standard-setting process.© Elina Elisabet Haapamäki and Juha Mäki. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcodefi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Available devices and economic viability of demand response for small and medium-sized consumers

Sähköntuotannossa on käynnissä muutos, jossa asetetut energiatavoitteet vaativat uusiutuvan energian kasvua. Uusiutuva sähköntuotanto on sääriippuvaista, eikä se ole yhtä säädettävissä kuin perinteiset voimalaitokset, jotka ovat poistumassa sähköntuotannosta. Tämä asettaa haasteita sähkövoimajärjestelmälle, jonka toiminta vaatii kulutuksen ja tuotannon tasapainoa joka hetki. Yhtenä vastauksena sähkövoimajärjestelmän toimivuuden varmistamiseen on kysyntäjouston lisääminen. Kysyntäjoustossa kuormaa säädetään tuotannon ja kulutuksen tasoittamiseksi. Perinteisesti kysyntäjoustoa on hyödyntänyt suurteollisuus, mutta nyt on kiinnostuttu keskisuurten ja pienten kuluttajien saamisesta kysyntäjouston piiriin. Diplomityössä selvitetään, mitä laitteita pienten ja keskisuurien kuluttajien kysyntäjoustoon voisi käyttää ja miten laitteet soveltuisivat eri kysyntäjouston markkinapaikoille. Työtä varten haastateltiin viittä eri toimijaa, jotka olivat etäluettavien energiakulutusmittareiden, kodin energiahallintajärjestelmien tai sähkönlaatumittareiden valmistajia. Laitteiden teknisten ominaisuuksien lisäksi heiltä kysyttiin näkemyksiä kysyntäjouston tulevaisuudesta. Pääsääntöisesti laitteilla pystyisi osallistumaan Elspot- ja Elbas-markkinoille, mutta teknisesti vaativammille reservimarkkinoille osallistuminen vaatii vielä tuotekehitystä. Erityisesti sähkömittarivalmistajat odottavat laitteita koskevia toiminnallisia vaatimuksia, joita Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön asettama alan toimijoista koostuva Älyverkkotyöryhmä tulee ehdottamaan. Tässä diplomityössä arvioitiin pienten ja keskisuurten kuluttajien kysyntäjouston taloudellista kannattavuutta sähkönmyyjien näkökulmasta. Vaikka tehdyt laskelmat eivät suoraan todista kannattavuutta tulevaisuudessa, pienkuluttajien hyödyntäminen kysyntäjoustossa on taloudellisesti haastavaa. Kysyntäjoustoon osallistumisen voi odottaa kasvavan laitteiden teknisten vaatimusten selkeytyessä ja markkinapaikkojen ehtojen muuttuessa. Lisäksi kysyntäjouston kannattavuutta voi hakea pitämällä yksittäisten kulutuskohteiden reaaliaikamittausten määrän pienenä ja kehittämällä sähkönkulutuksen mallinnusta

Yrityksen arvonmääritys vähemmistöosakkeiden lunastustilanteissa

Siirretty Doriast

Tilasto : teollisuuspuun hakkuut ja työvoima, marraskuu 2014

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