Revisors vurdering af going concern i krisetider
Oversat titel
Auditor's assessment of going concern in times of crisis
Forfattere
Schiby, Louise ; Öcal, Yaren
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2023
Afleveret
2023-06-01
Antal sider
79
Resumé
Dette speciale undersøger, hvilke væsentlige udfordringer revisorer møder ved vurderingen af fortsat drift (going concern) i krisetider, og hvordan vurderingen formidles i revisionspåtegningen. Fokuset er på revisors ansvar, risikovurderingsprocedurer, efterfølgende begivenheder, going concern-barrieren og konsekvenserne af COVID-19 og energikrisen. Analysen er tredelt: (1) en kvalitativ gennemgang af 25 konkursramte virksomheder i perioden 2020-2022 med fokus på revisors konklusioner, muligheden for at forudse kriserelaterede forhold samt sammenhængen mellem tidspunktet for påtegning og konkursdekret; (2) en dybdegående analyse af fire årsrapporter fra stikprøven, der belyser indikatorer for fortsat drift, revisors arbejde i kriser og den konkrete kommunikation i påtegningen; og (3) en sammenligning af to klagesager fra Erhvervsstyrelsen (før og under COVID-19), hvor going concern-vurderingen ikke levede op til gældende regler, for at illustrere betydningen af revisors skøn og god revisorskik. Specialet diskuterer desuden forventningskløften mellem regnskabsbrugere og revisor samt præsenterer en tjekliste, der kan understøtte overholdelse af reglerne – også i krisetider. Resultaterne viser, at revisorer i kriser udviser øget opmærksomhed og skepsis over for ledelsens going concern-vurdering og gennemfører yderligere revisionshandlinger på grund af øget usikkerhed. Going concern-barrieren og efterfølgende begivenheder skaber betydelige udfordringer, og der ses et øget fokus på going concern i påtegningerne. Samtidig har COVID-19 og energikrisen overvejende resulteret i umodificerede konklusioner og kun få modifikationer.
This thesis examines the key challenges auditors face when assessing going concern during times of crisis and how these assessments are communicated in the audit report. It focuses on auditor responsibilities, risk assessment procedures, subsequent events, the going concern barrier, and the implications of COVID-19 and the energy crisis. The analysis has three parts: (1) a qualitative review of 25 bankrupt companies (2020–2022) assessing auditors’ conclusions, whether crisis-related risks could be anticipated, and the link between the audit report signing date and the bankruptcy decree; (2) an in-depth analysis of four annual reports from the sample to identify going concern indicators, audit work in crises, and how uncertainty is disclosed in the report; and (3) a comparison of two complaints from the Danish Business Authority (one pre- and one during COVID-19) where auditors breached going concern requirements, illustrating the importance of professional judgment and good auditing practice. The thesis also discusses the expectation gap between users and auditors and presents a checklist to support legal compliance, including in crises. Findings indicate that in crises auditors become more attentive and skeptical of management’s going concern assessment and perform additional audit procedures due to heightened uncertainty. The going concern barrier and subsequent events pose significant challenges, and attention to going concern in audit reports has increased. At the same time, COVID-19 and the energy crisis have largely resulted in unmodified opinions with relatively few modifications.
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