THE EFFECT OF AUDITORS INDEPENDENCY AND OBJECTIVITY ON THEIR DETECTION OF CREATIVE ACCOUNTING PRACTICES

Danes je kreativno računovodstvo v svetu zelo razširjeno, delimo pa ga lahko na pozitivno in negativno kreativno računovodstvo. Slednje lahko poimenujemo kot manipulativno računovodstvo. Obstaja veliko definicij pojma kreativno računovodstvo, vendar so si med seboj v osnovi dokaj enotne. Velikokrat kreativno računovodstvo enačijo z manipulativnim računovodstvom, saj je meja med njima zelo tanka. Obstaja pa več metod in tehnik kreativnega računovodstva. Mnoga podjetja se kreativnega računovodstva poslužujejo zaradi prikaza lepše slike poslovanja podjetja v javnosti, za svoje vlagatelje, dobavitelje in potencialne poslovne partnerje. Vendar dokler je še njegova fleksibilnost uporabe znotraj regulatornih okvirov, ne moremo govoriti o zavajajočem (prevarantskem) računovodskem poročanju oz. manipulativnem računovodstvu. Glavno vlogo pri odkrivanju in preprečevanju kreativnega računovodstva imajo revizorji, zato smo se v naši raziskavi opredelili na področje etičnosti le-teh pri odkrivanju in preprečevanju kreativnega računovodstva. Natančneje, želeli smo ugotoviti kako najpomembnejši načeli neodvisnost in nepristranskost revizorja pri opravljanju revizije, ki ju velevata Kodeks poklicne etike zunanjih revizorjev in Mednarodni računovodski standardi, vplivata na njegovo sposobnost odkritja in preprečevanja kreativnega računovodstva v praksi. Lastno raziskavo smo povzeli po predhodni raziskavi od Al Momanija in Obeidata (2013). S pomočjo anketnega vprašalnika smo pridobili 30 popolnih odgovorov anketiranih zunanjih revizorjev, ki smo jih analizirali s statistično metodo enostavne linearne regresije. Rezultati so nam pokazali, da načeli neodvisnost in nepristranskost revizorja pomembno vplivata na njegovo sposobnost zaznave kreativnega računovodstva. Torej bolj kot so revizorji neodvisni in nepristranski, bolj so sposobni odkriti in preprečiti kreativno računovodstvo. Pridobili smo tudi okvirno sliko, da so anketirani zunanji revizorji pri opravljanju revizijske dejavnosti neodvisni in nepristranski, kar lahko sklepamo, da slovenski revizorji delujejo v skladu z zakonodajo, Kodeksom poklicne etike zunanjih revizorjev ter standardi. Iz dodatnih dveh vprašanj smo dobili rezultate, da so anketirani revizorji v svoji praksi do 30 % odkrili kreativno računovodstvo ter v manj kot 10 % zavajajoče (prevarantsko) računovodsko poročanje.Today creative accounting is highly spread in the world. We divide it into positive or negative creative accounting. This can be termed as a manipulative accounting. There are many definitions of the concept of creative accounting, however, all of these definitions are pretty much the same. Many times creative accounting is equated with manipulative accounting, because the line between them is very thin. There are several methods and techniques of creative accounting practices. Many companies use creative accounting in order to show better image of the company to public for its investors, suppliers and potential business partners. However, while its use is still within regulatory frameworks, we cannot talk about misleading (fraudulent) financial reporting or. manipulative accounting. Auditors are those who have the main function in the detection and prevention the practices of creative accounting. Therefore, in our study, the main field is the ethics of auditors in detecting and preventing the practices of creative accounting. More specific, we wanted to determine how the most important principles of independence and objectivity of the auditor in auditing commanded by Code of Ethics of the external auditors and the International Accounting Standards, affects their ability to detect and prevent the practices of creative accounting. Our study has been summarized after a preliminary study of the Al Momani and Obeidat (2013). With the help of questionnaire we got 30 answers from the external auditors. These answers were analyzed by a statistical method of simple linear regression. The results showed us that the principles of independence and objectivity of the auditor have a significant impact on its ability to perception of creative accounting. If auditors are independent and impartial, they have better ability to detect and prevent the practices of creative accounting. We also acquired a rough sketch which shows that external auditors who were interviewed are independent and impartial in performing audit activities. We can conclude, that Slovenian auditors operate in accordance with the law, the Code of Ethics and International Standards on Auditing. From additional two questions the results were that in 30% interviewed auditors in their practice discovers creative accounting and in less than 10% misleading (fraudulent) manipulative accounting