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In Question 3b of the June 2011 exam, there was only a maximum of one mark available for the description of going concern risk. Audit risk questions require candidates to identify risks of material misstatements, which include inherent and control risks as well as detection risks. Audit risk is defined as ‘the risk that the auditor expresses an inappropriate audit opinion when the financial statements are materially misstated.
Audit risk is a function of the risks of material misstatement and detection risk’. Hence, audit risk is made up of two components – risks of material misstatement and detection risk. The Indian contract act, 1872, describes the agency as a fiduciary relationship between an agent and a principal, where the agent deals on behalf of the principal. An agent is a person who represents another person under his control and has the authority to bind that person into a binding legal relationship. To understand agency, we need to understand the terms agent and principal, which are defined under Section 182 of the Indian Contract Act .
She is entitled to receive goods and services which may be required for domestic use or which may be of her husband, herself or the children. If such goods or services are necessary, according to the condition of life of the family, the husband becomes bound to pay for them. Auctioneers– An auctioneer is a mercantile agent within the meaning of Section 2 of the Sale of Goods Act. He is basically an agent whose business is to sell goods and other property by auction, i.e., by open sale. He only has the authority to sell the goods vested in him and not to give warranties on behalf of the seller unless expressly authorized by his principal.
Agency theory of corporate governance
It asserts that, through their connections to the outside world, directors are crucial in providing or securing essential resources for an organisation. The provision of resources enhances organisational performance, the firm’s performance, and its ability to survive. The directors bring legitimacy to the company as well as resources like knowledge, skills, and connections to important stakeholders like suppliers, buyers, public policymakers, and social groups. The four categories of directors are insiders, business experts, support specialists, and community influencers. In the present era, institutional investors and mutual funds have radically changed the pattern of corporate ownership, becoming the largest shareholders in the large corporate private sector.
This is perplexing because an agent’s idea includes everything from a multinational employee hired to manage the company’s assets to a cobbler hired to blacken one’s shoes beside the driveway. The reason behind the concept considers whether the infant has sufficient discretion to choose an agent to act for him. He is declared incapable of choosing an agent by the law, as he is likely to choose the wrong man.
Duties of an agent
The quality of something that allows one to easily understand the truth is referred to as transparency. In the context of corporate governance, this involves providing stakeholders with accurate, sufficient, and timely information about the operating results of the corporate enterprise. The agency theory was first introduced by Stephen Ross and Barry Mitnick in 1973 (Mitnick 2013 and is characterized through the conflict of interest between principal and agents , known as an “agency problem”. The essentials for creating agency creation are not exhaustive, as we discussed the concept regarding the minors liability. As discussed, ordinarily, the agent is not liable; hence a minor can be an agent, but in situations where the agent is liable, the Indian Contract Act does not talk about the minor’s liability in such cases. In Shephard v Cartwright, Lord Denning LJ addressed this definition, declaring that an infant is incapable of appointing an official to represent him or by the use of a power of attorney or some other means.
These investors have emerged as the greatest challenge to corporate management, requiring it to adhere to a set of established corporate governance principles to enhance its reputation in society. Improved governance structures and processes help to ensure quality decision-making, promote effective succession planning for senior management, and boost a company’s long-term prosperity, regardless of size or source of finance. This is related to improved corporate performance, whether in terms of share price or profitability.
Therefore, we need to study the essentials required for a contract to fall under the scope of an agency contract. According to Section 206, the principal should give reasonable notice of revocation to the agent for termination of the agency, otherwise, he can be made liable to make good any damage that may be caused to the agent. According to Section 229, any notice or information which was given to an authorized agent was deemed to be given to the principal, and hence the principal was liable to the third party with regard to such notices or information.
- Similarly, when an agent sells his principal’s goods, he may detain money received, for his remuneration on account of the goods sold by him.
- The idea of shareholder democracy is still only recognised by the law and the articles of association, so it needs to be put into practice through a code of conduct for corporate governance.
- The directors bring legitimacy to the company as well as resources like knowledge, skills, and connections to important stakeholders like suppliers, buyers, public policymakers, and social groups.
- According to Section 206, the principal should give reasonable notice of revocation to the agent for termination of the agency, otherwise, he can be made liable to make good any damage that may be caused to the agent.
Understanding the mechanisms that create problems helps businesses develop better corporate policy. Each scenario will have a variety of audit risks and candidates should, as part of their planning, aim to identify as many as possible. They should then decide which of the identified risks they will explain/describe in their answer.
Agency theory is used to understand the interactions of agents and principals. The agent represents the principal in a particular business transaction and is required to act in the principal’s best interests, regardless of personal financial benefit. Conflicting interests of principals and agents https://1investing.in/ may arise because some agents may not always act in the best interests of the principal. Miscommunication and disagreement can lead to a variety of issues within businesses. Each stakeholder may become divided due to incompatible desires, which can lead to inefficiencies and financial losses.
Bourdieu’s concept, therefore, is a dialectic between “externalizing the internal”, and “internalizing the exterior”. The agency downside is a battle of curiosity inherent in any relationship the place one celebration is anticipated to act in one other’s best interests. In corporate finance, the company problem normally refers to a battle of interest between a company’s management and the company’s stockholders. The results and proposals from the independent examine shall current important insights to avoid future incineration operational management points and provide a framework for sustainable incineration operation in Malaysia. Because many decisions that affect the principal financially are made by the agent, differences of opinion and even variations in priorities and interests can arise.
The principal should be competent to contract (Section
By assuming that people behave opportunistically, some authors contend that agency theory paints an extremely negative picture of human nature. Certain measures and principles can be followed by both the principal and the agent to reduce the likelihood of conflict. The prospect that a party insulated from risk may behave differently from the way it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk. A manager has an interest in receiving benefits from his or her position as a manager. These include all the benefits that come from status, such as a company car, a private chauffeur etc. A main difference between Giddens’ structuration theory and the TMSA is that the TMSA includes a temporal component .
Agents must have incentives encouraging them to act in unison with the principal’s interests. Agency theory may be used to design these incentives appropriately by considering the principal-agent problem describes a situation where what interests motivate the agent to act. Incentives encouraging the wrong behavior must be removed and rules discouraging moral hazard must be in place.
Answering audit risk questions
In the context of regulation, principals have no idea sufficient about whether a contract has been glad, and so they end up with company prices. Audit risk is, and will continue to be, an important element of the Paper F8 syllabus. Candidates must understand the syllabus outcomes, understand what the question requirements involve and practise risk questions prior to the exam. Auditor’s responses should focus on how the team will obtain evidence to reduce the risks identified to an acceptable level.
An agent under Section 211 is bound to conduct the business of his principal according to the directions given by the principal. In absence of any such direction the agent should conduct the business to the prevailing customs. When the agent does not act as stated in this section, the principal has a right to claim or any loss and in case profit accrues, he must account for it.
NSE scam and lessons to be learned regarding corporate governance
Giving the agent excessive authority to act on your behalf invites future issues and could influence the financial advisor to make poor decisions. Most successful governments use checks and balances because it limits the power of any single individual or entity, reducing corruption. Imposing restrictions is an effective method of limiting the agent’s power. The size of the company, not its profits, is frequently a determining factor in how much directors and senior managers are paid. Instead of increasing shareholder returns, this gives managers an incentive to expand the business by raising sales and assets. Instead of paying out dividends, management is more inclined to want to reinvest earnings in the business to expand it.
