Revision under covid-19 : En kvalitativ studie om pandemins påverkan på revisionsprofessionen

Sammanfattning: The covid-19 pandemic broke out in Sweden in March 2020 and what followed were economic uncertainty, restrictions and social distancing. This study is inspired by two publications regarding the subject of auditing during the covid-19 pandemic. The first one is a report published by the Financial Reporting Council (2020) and the other is a scientific publication by Albitar et al. (2021). Using these publications, seven areas have in this study been created. These are, evaluation of risk, materiality, going concern, auditing evidence, the work process, human capital and, audit fees and working hours. The purpose of the study is to use the different areas as benchmarks to examine how the covid-19 pandemic has affected the auditors, whether they’ve had to change part of their work and whether these changes could mean any implications for the future of auditing. The study is qualitative and interviews with ten auditors from different big-four companies have been conducted. The study shows that the digitization process that had started a few years prior was helpful for the auditors. Especially with regards to collection of audit evidence. The auditors were prepared whilst not knowing what to be prepared for. However, the study also shows that creating team spirit, building client and colleague relationships and training of new employees have been more difficult during the pandemic. From the study we project that the digitalization and working-from-home approach will have a sustained impact on the future of the profession. Time efficient digital meetings will be implemented to a higher degree and the flexibility of from where employees can work will increase.