| Abstract [eng] |
Measuring the quality of financial reporting is problematic because there is no common concept of the quality of financial reporting and no single correct method to do so. The analysis found that the models proposed by the researchers have shortcomings and underestimate the quality of the financial reporting, as this is a broader concept than the proposed researches. The research found a lack of a systematic approach to the interaction between the quality of financial reporting and the impact of the auditor's opinion. The topic of the master's thesis is relevant because the quality of financial reporting in terms of qualitative characteristics and audit of financial reporting are interrelated and have a significant impact on information users and their economic decisions. The aim of master‘s final thesis was to examine the quality of financial reporting of listed companies. The objectives of master‘s final thesis were: to reveal the problems of the significance of the quality of financial reporting; to present and substantiate theoretical solutions for financial reporting quality measurement; to prepare a methodology for research on the quality of financial reporting; to perform an empirical research of the quality of financial reporting and test the hypotheses. The research examines the reports of companies listed on the Nasdaq Baltic Stock Exchange in the period of 2014-2018. The quality of companies' financial reporting was examined in terms of 17 qualitative characteristics (4 relevance, 4 faithful representation, 4 understandability, 4 comparability and 1 timeliness) and the audit report's findings. The relationships were examined on the basis of 4 hypotheses aimed at examining the common Nasdaq Baltic market, as well as the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian markets whose companies are listed on the main list of the Nasdaq Baltic Stock Exchange. The main results of the research were that the quality of financial reporting according to qualitative characteristics and audit findings improve in the period of 2014-2018. As well, it was found that the higher quality of the financial reporting in terms of qualitative characteristics leads to a better auditors’ opinion in the audit report. A positive relationship was found between the qualitative characteristics and the auditors’ opinion when assessing the financial reporting of companies listed on the Nasdaq Baltic Stock Exchange. When assessing the relationship between qualitative characteristics and audit findings according to the indicators of companies in each of the Baltic countries, it is proposed to use a larger sample of data in the future in order to achieve more accurate results. |
