Avskaffande av revisionsplikten : En komparativ studie

The purpose of the set of regulations as regards to accounting and auditing within the Union, is primarily to ensure a high quality of the large public companies financial reporting and hence protect the capital market investors. As the set of regulations also applies to the small companies, these are burdened by administrative costs that are disproportionate. To increase the competitiveness of the European companies, the European council has stated that it is essential to reduce the companies’ administrative costs. The main principle is that all companies are under an obligation to statutory audit, however Member States may make audit exemptions for small companies. In 2006 Denmark adopted a law which states that small companies are exempted from the statutory audit. Britain has progressively, in line with the Fourth Corporation Directive´s threshold limit value, abolished the statutory audit for small companies. The ability for small companies in Sweden to be exempted from the statutory audit will probably come into force 1st of November 2010. The purpose of this study is to compare the simplified auditing regulations in Swedish law with Danish law and British law. The aim is further to explore the possible cost savings that may arise in association with the abolition of the statutory audit in Sweden and subsequently estimate what the savings would amount to if the Danish and British threshold limited value was applied instead of the values suggested by the Swedish government. The thesis is performed with help of a comparative part followed by an analyzing part. The auditing regulations are very equal in the three mentioned states. The British threshold limit value is the highest followed by the Danish and Swedish. The savings would have amount to almost the double if the British threshold limit value was applied instead of the one suggested by the Swedish government. Also when applying the Danish threshold limit value the savings would have amount to more. Thus it has been found that the higher threshold limit value that applies, the more companies will be subject to the statutory audit exemption and hence the greater the savings will amount to