摘要：The discrepancies in the manner in which the external audit activity is perceived and its role in financial reporting and in society in general are one of the major issues of the accounting profession. In the dedicated literature, there is a lot of writing about the existence of a gap between the role of the external audit and the expectations that investors have in relation to this activity, which often exceeds the provisions of the professional regulations and standards. Research has shown that public perception of the role of the audit reflects a close link with economic cycles. The ever-changing economic and financial environment, characterized by growing signals for a new period of recession, brings to light the debates on the "audit expectation gap". The study aims to conduct research based on a questionnaire. The purpose of the action is to analyze the perceptions and expectations that financial information users have about the external audit activity. These issues are presented in the context of the need to increase the quality of the audit and the preoccupations of professional bodies to actively engage in the continuous training of its members.
