Abstract:
The objective of this thesis is to study the role and responsibility of certified public accountants (C.P.A.s), as defined by the laws and regulations, in practical terms, in the opinion of users and preparers of financial statements, and of supervisory and regulatory bodies, in order to develop recommendations for improvements in such role and responsibility. The study is based on information obtained from two sources ie.1 (1) samples of users and preparers of financial statements, supervisory and regulatory bodies, and C.P.A.s, specifically in the Bangkok Metropolitan, (2) laws and regulations, documents and texts on the subject. The results of the study indicate that the role and responsibility of C.P.A.S are defined and regulated by the civil and Commercial Code, the Board of Supervision of Audit Practice, the Revenue Department, the Securities Exchange of Thailand, and the Bank of Thailand,. The study indicates that C.P.A.S experience problems in complying with the laws due to eight principal causes ie., (1) users and preparers of financial statements, and two of four supervisory and regulatory bodies have incorrect understanding of the C.P.A.s' role and responsibility, (2) C.P.A.S are confused by the differing rules and standards set by each of the supervisory and regulatory bodies, (3) certain ethical rules imposed by Ministerial Regulations No. 2 are not clear, (4) certain statements on auditing standards are not clear and not suitable for audits of smaller businesses, (5) audited financial statements are considered unreliable, (6) C.P.A.S from the sample unanimously disagree with the requirements for C.P.A.S to report on certain tax compliances by companies and partnerships as imposed by the Revenue Department, (7) accounting documents subject to audit are not up to standard, and (8) 50% of C.P.A.S from the sample disagree with the special reporting requirements for audit of banks as imposed by the Bank of Thailand. The study indicates that the sampled groups believe that the audit profession should be self-regulated, and the government should be pressed for its support on the establishment of a "Council of Accountants". The sampled groups also believe that C.P.A.S should provide other non-audit services, and take an active role in solving problems of the profession in conjunction with the Institute of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Thailand, and place more emphasis on improvement of the companies' system of internal control.
Short-term recommendations proposed by the study include (1) the public (in particular those having involvement with C.P.A.s) should be more informed about the C.P.A.s' role and responsibility, (2) wordings in the standard audit report should be revised to improve on clarity of meanings, (3) there should be only one supervisory and regulatory body, (4) the basis for determining audit fee should be established, (5) ethical rules should be improved for clarity, (6) accountants for businesses larger than the smaller business should possess at least a bachelor degree in accounting, (7) government organisations requiring C.P.A.S to carry out audit work to satisfy the organisations' requirements other than an audit for the purpose of issuing an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements should regard the work as special work and accordingly provide clear objectives, scope and audit guidelines for the work, and businesses subject to special audit should pay the C.P.A.S a special fee for the work. The study proposes one long-term recommendation which is the establishment of the "Council of Accountants".