Revisorns arbete för att upptäcka och motverka penningtvätt

This study examines how auditors work to detect and prevent money laundering, as well as the factors that influence their ability to do so. It is based on a qualitative method involving semi-structured interviews with both authorized and non-authorized auditors. The findings show that auditors play a key role in efforts to combat money laundering, due to their access to detailed insights into company operations. However, their ability to identify and report irregularities is affected by several factors, including their level of knowledge, independence, and the size of the audit firm. In practice, challenges such as time pressure, client relationships, and deficiencies in the audit requirement make this work more difficult. Despite a legal obligation to report suspicious activities, the number of reports submitted by auditors remains very low, highlighting the need for strengthened procedures and improved education. The study is theoretically grounded in epistemology and motivated reasoning theory. The former focuses on objective knowledge acquisition and highlights the issues of lacking epistemic virtue, while the latter sheds light on how unconscious biases may affect the auditor’s objectivity. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the current work of auditors, the practical challenges they face, and areas where improvements could help strengthen their efforts to prevent money laundering.