Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Internal'

QC 20161006

Title: Internal Communication Approach – A study of the internal communication-channels of the ICA Administration.

Background: The ICA Administration is in the process of generating an organizational change with the purpose of improving their external communication. The internal communication, on the other hand, has been put aside and is missing guidelines at the present.  Since the ICA Administration does not know how the staff uses the internal communication-channels they cannot optimize nor develop them. As the literature shows, it is important to choose the channel that is most appropriate for the type of information that it is meant to communicate. Choosing the wrong channel, or using it wrongly, can bring problems consisting of the staff experiencing to receive less information than needed in their daily work.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore and describe the internal communication between the employees of the ICA Administration from the existing communication-channels and their usage.

Method: Through the initial interviews with the staff, the internal communication-channels of the ICA Administration were determined. The channels were later studied through further interviews where the real communication and the managers’ vision of the communication were presented.

Result: The communication-channels that can be found at the ICA Administration are formal reports, manuals and folders, the Intranet, formal meetings, the email, the telephone, Instant Messenger, face-to-face, and rumors. The study showed that the channels are being used differently. The email for example is believed to be sharing a remarkable excess of information while the telephone on the other hand is hardly being used by the staff in the office. The managers’ vision of how the channels ought to be used is, in large extent, accurate with the employees’ real usage of them. The largest differences between the guidelines consist of channels like the email, the manuals and the formal meetings. These channels are not used, nor do they contribute with information, in the same extent as the managers would want them to.

Conclusion: The conclusion that has been drawn, parting from the analysis and result, is that the staff does not use the channels of the ICA Administration in the same extent as their managers feel they should. To solve this problem, guidelines for the internal communication need to be established as well as an updating of the existing channels.

Titel: Internal Communication Approach - En empirisk undersökning av de interna kommunikationskanalerna på ICA Butiksadministration

Bakgrund: ICA Butiksadministration genomgår en omstrukturering som skall generera i en förbättrad extern kommunikation. Den interna kommunikationen har i sin tur hamnat i bakgrunden och saknar i dagsläget riktlinjer. Då ledningen inte vet hur personalen använder de interna kommunikationskanalerna kan de inte heller optimera eller utveckla dem. Som även litteraturen påvisar är det viktigt att välja den kanal som bäst lämpar sig för den typ av information den skall förmedla. Vid felaktigt kanalval, eller felaktigt användande av densamma, kan problem uppkomma då medarbetare kan uppleva att de får för lite information i sin arbetsvardag.

Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka och kartlägga den interna kommunikationen mellan medarbetarna på ICA Butiksadministration utifrån de existerande kommunikationskanalerna och hur de används.

Metodplan: Genom inledande intervjuer med personalen fastslogs ICA Butiksadministrations interna kommunikationskanaler. Kanalerna undersöktes sedan genom ytterligare intervjuer där den reella kommunikationen samt chefernas syn på kommunikation skildrades.

Resultat: De kommunikationskanaler som återfinns på Butiksadministrationen är formella rapporter, manualer, pärmar, intranät, formella möten, e-post, telefon, Instant Messenger, personlig kontakt och rykten. Undersökningen visade att kanalerna används i olika omfattning, där bland annat e-posten anses ha ett informationsöverflöd medan telefon knappt används mellan medarbetarna på kontoret. Chefernas syn på hur kanalerna bör användas stämde överlag överens med hur personalen verkligen använde sig av kanalerna. De största skillnaderna mellan riktlinjerna och reella kommunikationen utgjordes av kanaler som e-posten, manualer och formella möten.

Slutsats: Utifrån resultatet och analysen kunde slutsatsen dras att medarbetarna inte använder ICA Butiksadministrations alla kommunikationskanaler såsom cheferna tycker att kanalerna bör användas. För att lösa problematiken bör riktlinjer för den interna kommunikationen upprättas och en uppdatering av de befintliga kanalerna genomföras.

The Swedish code of corporate governance (the Code) was introduced 1 July 2005 aiming to raise the quality of corporate governance. This thesis investigates how the Code has affected internal audit. The purpose of this study is dual and aims to 1). Describe the internal audit, in companies on the A-list and O-list, and how it has and is believed to be affected by the Code. 2). Explain why the internal audit function varies between companies.

The first purpose has been carried out by using an inductive approach. The data has been gathered through qualitative interviews with companies, on the A and O-list, audit firms and the Institute of Internal Auditors. In order to fulfil the second purpose a deductive approach has been used. Quantitative data has been gathered from annual reports as well as homepages. The material has together with agency theory been used in order to analyse why the internal audit differs between firms.

The result of the qualitative interviews shows that the perceptions of internal audit differ. This can to a certain extent be explained by that there today are no accepted standards for internal audit. Neither does the Code explain what an internal audit function should involve. Overall, all respondents agree that the Code is nothing new nor revolu-tionary since the majority of the companies regard the regulations to be a matter of course. However, the demand of documentation and information has increased. The respondents also states that the acceptance and importance of internal audit has been raised further. All respondents believe that the role of internal audit will develop further. It is expected to become more consultative wherefore the internal auditor’s competence must be improved. Furthermore, the opinion is that COSO will be the framework that companies will apply.

The differences in internal audit practice have in this thesis also been analysed and explained by applying the agency model. The analysis has resulted in two proposals:

Proposal 1: The ownership structure affects the agency relationship which in turn leads to differences in the internal audit.

Proposal 2: Companies operating in complex business environments are more likely to have an internal audit function than entities in less complex businesses. Therefore, the existence of internal audit varies across business sectors.

This thesis studies the accounting and auditing approach to control where the concept of internal control has developed along with the theory and practice of accounting and auditing and its stated objectives. In this context, internal control has traditionally been regarded as a means of ensuring financial reporting quality as well as a way of preventing and detecting fraudulent activity.

We have surveyed scientific research on the subject of internal control and reviewed regulatory texts as well as practical frameworks and standards. Based on this literature study, we have investigated some of the findings from previous research. Components and particular features of internal control were described and discussed. We have also identified and summarized themes and issues that frequently occur in writings on the subject.

During recent years, demands have been made for greater accountability and transparency in corporate governance. The independent audit activity has become the primary tool for securing accountability. Some regard this as the emergence of an audit society. An important joint development has been the rise of internal control systems. Internal control, once a private matter for technical assurance specialists, has risen to be an autonomous field of expertise and a mode of organizing uncertainty. Traditionally internal control has had a fairly direct relationship to the accounting records. The wider approaches to internal control have expanded its boundaries significantly, far beyond the financial reports and the duties of the accountant. Internal control has become an all-encompassing process.

Enterprise risk management practices are growing and evolving. An associated development has been that internal control has become more closely tied to these risk management practices, and therefore also to the formulation and execution of strategies. New risk-related regulations and practical frameworks have contributed to the transformation of internal control into a co-extensive with risk management. Internal control is now considered to be a form of risk treatment through which risk may be managed in different ways.

Internal control is today a primary regulatory and formal olicy object. Lawmakers and supervisory authorities are increasingly concerned with the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls. Disclosure requirements imposed on firms are forcing them to provide public disclosures about their internal control systems, which were previously private to firms.

Both scientific research and practical writings suggest that internal control designs are contingent upon certain variables. These variables include company objectives and strategies, regulatory characteristics, risk and risk appetite, firm size and managements’ attitudes to risk and control. Building internal control capabilities is important if firms are to be able to design balanced, integrated, dynamic and cost-effective internal controls.

Internal control is considered to be a key corporate governance mechanism. Some researchers however, have pointed out that there is still much to learn about internal control quality and how internal control is associated with corporate governance quality. The fact that internal control is an inherently complex concept poses a significant research barrier, and while all research methods are valid, it is unlikely that archival studies or experiments are able to measure internal control quality. Instead, we recommend case studies of how firms design, apply and oversee their systems of internal control.

This study was made possible through the research collaboration between my former employer, Skandia, and Linköping University through the Research Programme for Auditors and Consultants. During the final stage, generous funding was provided by the Jan Wallanders and Tom Hedelius foundation as well as the Tore Browaldhs foundation.

Denna avhandling behandlar kontroll med utgångspunkt i ett revisionsperspektiv. I detta sammanhang har begreppet intern kontroll utvecklats tillsammans med revisionens teori och praktik samt dess uppsatta målsättningar. Traditionellt har intern kontroll betraktats som ett medel för att öka effektiviteten i revisionsinsatsen och ett sätt för företagen att undvika oegentligheter samt felaktigheter i redovisning.

Inom ramen för denna studie har vi undersökt befintlig vetenskaplig forskning om intern kontroll. Vi har även tagit del av regulatoriska texter samt praktiskt orienterade ramverk och standarder avseende intern kontroll. Baserat på denna litteraturstudie har vi analyserat några av de resultat som forskning så långt har kommit fram till. Begreppets olika komponenter och aspekter har beskrivits och diskuterats. Även återkommande teman och diskussioner inom befintlig forskning om intern kontroll har identifierats och sammanfattats.

Under senare år har det framförts krav på tydligare ansvar och transparens i ägar- och bolagsstyrning. Den oberoende revisionsaktiviteten har blivit ett huvudsakligt verktyg för att säkra sådant ansvar och forskare har benämnt denna ökning av revisionsaktivitet i termer av ett revisionssamhälle. En viktig sammanhängande del i denna utveckling har varit den interna kontrollens framväxt. Intern kontroll, ett begrepp som under lång tid främst varit av intresse för revisorer, har vuxit fram till ett självständigt område och ett sätt att hantera osäkerhet. Traditionellt har intern kontroll haft ett relativt direkt förhållande till redovisning och finansiell rapportering. Bredare definitioner av intern kontroll har väsentligt utvidgat dess gränser, långt bortom de finansiella rapporterna och redovisarens uppgifter. Intern kontroll har blivit en genomgripande process i företag.

Processer för riskhantering växer och utvecklas inom företag. Som en del av denna utveckling har intern kontroll blivit knuten allt närmare till riskhantering, och därmed även till företagets mål och strategier. Nya regelverk och praktiska ramverk kring riskhantering har bidragit till att intern kontroll omformats till en förlängning av riskhantering. Intern kontroll ses idag som en form av riskrespons genom vilken företagets riskexponering kan hanteras på olika sätt.

Idag är intern kontroll ett regulatoriskt objekt. Lagstiftare, normgivare och tillsynsmyndigheter är allt mer intresserad av den interna kontrollens utformning och effektivitet. Olika regelverk ställer krav på att företag redovisar för externa intressenter hur kontrollsystemet är utformat och fungerar, kontrollsystem som tidigare varit en privat angelägenhet för företag.

Såväl forskning som praktiskt orienterad litteratur om intern kontroll menar att det interna kontrollsystemets utformning är beroende av externa och interna variabler. Dessa variabler inkluderar bolagets mål och strategier, regulatoriska förhållanden, grad av osäkerhet i omgivningen, företagsstorlek, styrelsens riskaptit samt ledningens inställning till risk och kontroll. Att utveckla kompetens inom intern kontroll är viktigt om bolag skall kunna utforma balanserade, integrerade, dynamiska och kostnadseffektiva kontroller.

Intern kontroll beskrivs idag som en viktig mekanism i ägar- och bolagsstyrning. Vissa forskare hävdar dock att det fortsatt finns mycket att lära om kvalitet i intern kontroll samt hur detta i sin tur påverkar kvaliteten i ägar- och bolagsstyrningen. Det faktum att intern kontroll är en komplex process påverkar möjligheterna att utföra forskning inom området, och även om alla forskningsmetoder är viktiga, är det osannolikt att man via arkivstudier eller experiment kan fånga komplexiteten i begreppet. Istället rekommenderar vi fallstudier av hur bolag utformar, tillämpar och följer upp intern kontroll.

Denna forskningsstudie har kunnat genomföras tack vara samarbetet mellan min tidigare arbetsgivare, Skandia, och Linköpings Universitet via Forskningsprogrammet för Revisorer och Konsulter. I slutfasen av detta projekt har även Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse samt Tore Browaldhs stiftelse bidragit med generös finansiering.

Nowadays, there exist two reporting regimes, rules-based and principle-based (comply-or-explain). In the rules-based environment, researchers have studied the relationship between internal control quality and accounting quality. Prior studies have suggested that reports on internal control are an effective way for investors to evaluate the quality of the firm‟s internal control. By having a sound system of internal control, it creates reliance upon the firm‟s financial reporting. Therefore, the condition of internal control has direct connection to the investors‟ decision making.  In  U.S., where the corporate governance has been known to be typically rules-based, most researches have shown a positive relationship between internal control reporting and accounting quality. In the comply-or-explain reporting regime, there has only been one research as far as we know, that investigates the relationship between internal control reporting and accounting quality. The research took place in Netherlands; their study provided positive association between internal control  reporting quality and accounting quality, particularly earnings quality. The result is consistent with other research in rules-based regime.    The Swedish code has  been enacted for  five years and it is in the same regime as Netherlands. However, under current Swedish code, we are not aware of any empirical research  that  has taken place to address the effectiveness of the code. Therefore, we conducted the study with 152 firms listed on Swedish NASDAQ OMXS to test internal control reporting quality and accounting quality. We used proxies for internal control reporting quality: effectiveness statement of  internal control, internal control reporting score and internal control proportion. Simultaneously, we use discretionary accruals as a proxy of accounting quality. Our result showed a negative significant relationship between internal control reporting score and discretionary accruals but this relationship is quite weak and sensitive. It is broken with the presence of one more variable in regression, such as size variable. The result could not give any evidence for relationships between either effectiveness statements or extent of internal control reporting with discretionary accruals. Although, the relationship between internal control reporting score and discretionary accruals is not tight, it still encourage the  notion  that firms with good internal control report will improve their accounting quality. Our research contributes knowledge to wide-range of concerned parties. Moreover, it also suggests valuable ideas for further studies in the same area.