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- Arwinge, Olof, 1971-
(författare)
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Internal Control : A Study of the Concept and Themes of Internal Control
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- 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.
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| 2. |
- Arwinge, Olof, 1971-
(författare)
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Internal Control : A study of concept and themes
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The concept of internal control has developed along with audit practice. As demands have been made for greater accountability in corporate governance, the significance of internal control systems in companies has increased. Traditionally internal control has had a fairly direct relationship to financial reporting quality but wider approaches to internal control have expanded those boundaries much further. Stakeholders are increasingly concerned with the effectiveness of internal controls, and disclosure requirements are making firms to go public with regard to their internal control systems. From a design perspective,current research suggests that internal control designs are contingent upon variables such as company strategies, risk appetite, regulatory characteristics, and organizational size. Also there is much to learn about internal control quality, and the way internal control quality is associated with overall corporate governance quality. This book fills that gap.
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| 3. |
- Arwinge, Olof, 1971-
(författare)
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Internal Control in the Financial Sector : A Longitudinal Case Study of an Insurance Company
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis comprises of an initial summary of Study I which is my licentiate thesis in business administration. Study I is a literature study on internal control. Thereafter follows Study II which is a case study of Swedish insurance organization. The case study adopts a contingency perspective and attempts to find environmental and firm-level factors that influence the design, use and outcome of internal control. Study II is a longitudinal study that accounts for key internal-control developments that occurred between 2000-2010. This case study finds that there are two environmental influences that significantly affected internal-control design, use and outcome. They consist of environmental uncertainty and regulatory and supervisory forces. Their influences differ in nature but jointly they act to set boundaries and frame in-ternal-control design, use and outcome. There are two firm-level influences of governance structure and managerial attitudes that act jointly with strategy to affect the design, use and outcome of internal control. While environmental influences set boundaries and frame internal-control work, firm-level contingencies can effectively enable or disable internal-control effectiveness. These firm-level influences provide means and opportunities to internal-control work. My longitudinal research suggests that evolutionary steps have been taken regarding internal-control design and use. In sum these steps correspond to a shift in internal-control orientation and a transformation of practices where Folksam has been moving from a looser towards a tighter form of internal control, with greater transparency in operational risk management. Finally, based on the internal-control principles of the COSO framework I see that particular principles have been enhanced within the Folksam system of internal control. The components of these principles are the control environment, risk assessment and monitoring.
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| 5. |
- Cöster, Mathias, et al.
(författare)
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Usability and strategic logic in information systems : Supporting insight and action in IT-enabled change
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Information systems (IS) are increasingly viewed as key enablers in organisations’ quest for distinctive work practices and uniqueness. To increase the likelihood of success in this, we expect that organisation leaders increasingly will want to develop and use such systems in conjunction with the strategic logic that they intend to pursue: how users of IS (employees, customers, and business partners) should process and utilise information.Definitions of IS usability already imply this in talking not only of user satisfaction but also efficiency and effectiveness. However, “effectiveness… in a specified context of use” (ISO, 1998) must be judged with reference to the intended logic for such a context. This makes it imperative to link strategy and estimates of usability in changing IS, and to include in such systems relevant parts of the work practices supported by the technology in question.We relate this need to the four dimensions suggested by Iveroth (2011) in handling IT change, which we interpret as insight and action inertia due to established systems and routines (cf. Hedberg 1976). Eliciting employee views and involving stakeholders by visualising the logic behind possible changes in IS and how they are used should reduce the risk of incoherent, misinformed and ultimately unsuccessful projects.The article reports on experiences from testing a new approach where two proven tools were combined to achieve this: user questionnaires and strategy maps. Two Swedish organisations, a transport company and a regional administration, considered developing their intranets. To support their discussions about benefits from this, these methods were used interactively to increase understanding of potential effects of the intranets on organisational objectives. The methods were accepted and appreciated and enabled a time-effective discussion on how to develop the IS, i.e. the intranets. Both organisations concluded that their paths towards more effective use of intranets mainly depends on changing behaviours and competencies. This suggests that a crucial next step for them is to address the inertias that have to be managed in IT-enabled change.
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| 6. |
- Granath, Malin, 1974-
(författare)
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Kan professioner organiseras fram? : En fallstudie av den kommunala energi- och klimatrådgivningen
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Att nya samhällsfunktioner och professioner växer fram som svar på behov i samhället är inte något nytt fenomen i sig, men vad är det som händer när en ny decentraliserad funktion skapas utifrån ett statligt behov? Hur organiseras och samordnas den? Och leder den nya samhällsfunktionen även till att en ny profession växer fram? I professionslitteraturen lyfts olika förklaringsmodeller till professioner ochprofessionalisering fram, allt från strukturfunktionalistiska förklaringar till monopolistiska och kulturella. Samtidigt när det handlar om utveckling av en ny funktion kan olika aspekter av organisationer och organisering bidra till ökad förståelse av vilken betydelse det har för att även en profession ska kunna ta form.I den här studien är det ett statligt behov som legat till grund för att en ny samhällsfunktion har kommit att utvecklas. Som ett led i genomförandet av politiska mål skapades förutsättningar för kommuner att ansöka om bidrag för att tillhandhålla en ny funktion: kommunal energi- och klimatrådgivning. Den nya funktionens främsta uppgift var att förmedla anpassad kunskap om energieffektivisering, energianvändning och klimatpåverkan till allmänhet, företag och organisationer. Fokus i studien har varit på hur organiseringen kring den nya funktionen sett ut, vilken roll IT har i detta och vilka konsekvenser organiseringen haft för samordning och för skapandet av en profession. Dessa områden hanteras i tre artiklar. Den första artikeln undersöker om och hur en professionell identitet kan formas som ett led i utvecklingen av en ny samhällsfunktion. Fokus ligger på hur reglerande och framväxande krafter samspelar och kompletterar varandra i formandet av en enhetlig tolkning av en professionell identitet. Den andra artikeln utforskar hur kunskap och praktik kan strömlinjeformas i en decentraliserad verksamhet, där styrningen karaktäriseras av olika intressenters inblandning. Den tredje artikeln undersöker hur samverkan utifrån samordnade insatser kring kunskap och kunskapsdelning kan växa fram och på så sätt skapa livskraftiga nätverk.Organiseringen kring den nya samhällsfunktionen visar på både ett decentraliserat och ett centraliserat ansvar, där kommunerna har det operativa ansvaret och statens energimyndighet har ett övergripande administrativt och samordnande ansvar. Samordning sker på olika nivåer och på olika sätt. Bland annat har en regional samordning i nätverk vuxit fram. Den regionala samordningen har visat sig vara viktig för att en gemensam tolkning av uppdrag och utförande ska kunna ta form, men även för att tillit och identitet utvecklas inom gruppen. Den nationella samordningen rör bland annat utbildning och informationsinsatser och i detta sammanhang har IT haft en central roll. Sammantaget har olika aspekter av organisering kring en ny samhällsfunktion, såsom uppdragsreglering, planering och uppföljning, och inte minst samordning, bidragit till att en professionell identitet börjat växa fram.
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| 8. |
- Iveroth, Einar, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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How to Differentiate by Price : Proposal for a Five-dimensional Model
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Management Journal. - : Elsevier. - 0263-2373 .- 1873-5681. ; 31:2, s. 109-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to analyse the repertoire of possible price models that organisations may deploy for their products and services. This is attained by developing the SBIFT model that suggests that organisations can differentiate by price along five dimensions. Previous research on pricing has been dispersed across different academic disciplines. This article offers a more integrated perspective, derived from earlier theory as well as discussions in a collaborative research project with the international telecom company Ericsson. The model can be used as a tool for price modelling in a descriptive and prescriptive sense. Altogether, this article uncovers implicit features of price models, and by doing so it illustrates how an organisation can differentiate and re-invent their offering based on price.
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