The main goal of this investigation is to study the relationships between society and audit in Portugal, through a methodology based on a questionnaire sent in 2015 to public companies listed in the stock exchange and insurance companies, as well as to financial analysts. For this purpose, a group of 25 questions addressing audit main issues was developed. A five-point Likert scale, followed by an appropriate statistical treatment — percentage, p-value, correlations of Spearman, test of Mann—Whitney, allowed us to discover correlations and statistical associations of strong and moderate intensity. The results suggest that audited financial statements users’ perception regarding the auditors’ independence, the audit report, the audit market, the going concern assumption and the search and disclosure of fraud and illegal acts committed by companies are aligned with the international tendencies. © ۲۰۱۷ Instituto Politecnico ´ do Cavado ´ e do Ave (IPCA). Published by Elsevier Espana, ˜ S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Audit does not operate separately. In fact, it is not only linked with the economic system, subject accountability rules, but also with the social, political and ethical system as well as with non-human elements of the global involvement, such as the cultural values, that being influenced by economic, political, legal, educational and religious system, affect the values of the profession and consequently the accountability system. The degrees of economic development and technology are correlated with the degree of complexity of the accountability system (Ikabal, 2002). In fact, the degree of property power concentration imposes specific needs of financial information disclosure. The concentration of power in pensions funds tends to impose a larger emphasis on the future and on the analysis and administration of business risk (Giroux & Cassell, 2011). The financing sources from banks or stock exchange impose specific rules of financial reporting. A political system and a stable economy improve the development of a more transparent accountability system (Ikabal, 2002). Society, conceived in a systemic way, includes the existence of a wide and complex web of relationships that, in the context of markets globalization, have quickly expanded without a regulator structure capable of monitoring and regulating its development. So the need to develop a civil society becomes urgent. In fact, global companies increase the gap between rich and poor countries, destroying the environment and, in some cases, supporting totalitarian regimes, placing a threat to the existence of a civil society (Annisette & Trivedi, 2013).