En analyse af den politiske beslutningsproces omkring udviklingen af en dansk erklæringsstandard til de revisionspligtige virksomheder i regnskabsklasse B

Abstract

The Danish Government (Folketinget) on June 1st 2010 approved law proposal 190 which dissolves the requirement for a chartered accountant to authenticate financial records for small businesses, with an annual net turnover up to 8 million Danish Kroner, as part of a planned 25% reduction in administrative burdens for Danish businesses before the end of 2010. In relation to the EU’s 4th directive, member countries can exempt companies with an annual net turnover up to 72 million Danish Kroner from this obligation. In order to avoid the obligation being abolished in Denmark to the degree proposed by the EU, the Union for State-Authorised Accountants (Foreningen af Statsautoriserede Revisorer) developed a national Danish declaration standard. If this standard is made into Danish law, small company audit will become substantially cheaper, but also accountants hope, ensure that the obligation of financial statement audit remains. When the law proposal of the reduction in this obligation was originally suggested, it included a statement that a legislative subcommittee should be convened to evaluate the Danish declaration standard. Before the law proposal was put forward to the government for first time evaluation, this statement had been removed by the Economy and Employment Ministry without explanation. This dissertation analyses the decision process surrounding the development of a Danish declaration standard on the financial audit of small companies. Particularly, it evaluates the influences different political parties had on its implementation, the political considerations that were involved and how these impacted upon the decision process. The negotiations between the parties that took place are analysed, inferring that the decision process was substantially influenced by a power play between the political parties: The government used its position to rewards its coalition partners and the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti), a parliamentary partner of the government, yielded to a considerably larger reduction in the audit requirement from their original intended position. However, The Danish People’s Party also exploited these negotiations by demanding late in the process that the statement of the utilisation of a subcommittee was removed, and at that point the government’s only option was to acquiesce. At present, the development and implementation of a Danish declaration standard has not been abandoned by the opposition and the accountants’ union but it is concluded that they will not succeed unless a change of government occurs in Denmark.