会计师事务所转制对审计质量有影响吗?

2010年我国财政部出台了《关于推动大中型会计师事务所采用特殊普通合伙组织形式的暂行规定》,国内部分大型事务所和国际四大会计师事务所分别在2011年和2012年完成了由有限责任公司制向特殊普通合伙制的转制。本文分别从转制政策出台和事务所实际转制两个层面检验会计师事务所改制对审计质量的影响。研究发现,在转制政策出台的2010年,各类会计师事务所(包括四大和非四大)审计客户的正向盈余管理幅度均有系统性显著下降;而在国内部分大所和国际四大转制的前后两年,客户的正向盈余管理幅度并不存在显著差异。这意味着会计师事务所已经在转制政策层面对法律风险提前做出了应对,从而削弱了研究者在事务所转制附近观察到审计质量进一步提高的可能性。     

国际“四大”在中国的审计质量:综述和建议

来自美国及西方资本市场的经验证据表明,国际四大会计师事务所提供了高质量的审计。在中国特殊的审计需求和制度背景下,国际四大是否提供比国内事务所更高的审计质量受到各界的共同关注。研究者从不同的角度得出了不同的结论。本文对四大在中国审计市场的审计质量研究作了一个文献综述和评价,认为培育有效的市场需求和加大执业风险,给四大提供一如既往地维持其国际品牌声誉的压力和动力,是我国现有背景下切实提高事务所质量的现实选择和最优路径。     

我国会计准则国际化协调进程及其效果研究——基于沪深AB股的经验证据

本文运用既发行A股又发行B股的公司(以下简称AB股公司)2001年会计准则改革前后的经验数据,分别从国际化的结果和过程的角度,就会计盈余质量进行定量研究,从而对改革效果做出实证性分析,籍此评价改革的合理性。研究表明:从国际化结果来看,AB股公司分别在中国会计准则与在国际财务报告准则下的盈余质量不存在显著性差异,说明了在我国目前的现实环境条件下完全采用国际财务报告准则也不能显著地提高会计盈余质量;从国际化过程来看,两种准则体系下盈余质量差异的绝对值变化显著且逐年减少,说明了我国会计准则国际化改革形式上协调促进了实质上的协调,提高了会计盈余质量。     

“四大”审计质量在中国存在差异吗?

本文以2002—2008年由四大审计的中国上市公司为研究样本,采用操控性应计利润和会计盈余稳健性作为衡量审计质量的指标,检验四大之间的审计质量是否存在差异。在中国,普华永道中天的市场份额远远高于其他三大所,根据理论预期其审计质量也应显著高于(或者不低于)其他三大所。选取四大为研究对象,可以避免大小所之间的专业能力、事务所声誉和自选择等因素对审计质量的影响。研究发现普华永道中天审计质量没有显著高于其他三大会计师事务所,甚至在部分检验中,普华永道中天审计质量更低。这表明基于中国独特的市场法律环境,四大没有采取一贯的审计质量策略。     

审计师选择与IPO公司盈余稳健性

以2002~2012年我国1337家 A 股 IPO 公司为样本,实证检验了审计师选择与 IPO 公司盈余稳健性的关系。研究发现：国际四大审计的 IPO 公司的营业利润、利润总额、净利润和综合收益的稳健性均显著低于非四大审计的 IPO 公司的盈余稳健性,但本土十大与非十大审计的 IPO 公司之间的盈余稳健性不存在显著差异。     

上市公司运用税收筹划进行操控盈余的行为对审计质量的影响北大核心

在监管部门持续加大打击上市公司财务舞弊力度的背景下,上市公司采用税收筹划等较为隐秘手段进行盈余操控的行为逐渐增多。本文运用我国A股上市公司2010-2014年的数据实证检验了审计质量与上市公司运用税收筹划进行盈余操控行为的关系。结果发现:整体而言,代表审计质量的审计收费、事务所规模、审计意见都与会税差异(税收筹划程度)正相关,且高税率样本下三者与后者仍然正相关,但是低税率样本下三者不再与后者相关。进一步地,相对于国有企业,高质量审计下非国有企业的会税差异程度更高,即其运用税收筹划进行盈余操控的动机更强烈。这表明:外部审计质量受到上市公司通过税收筹划进行盈余操控行为的影响,而且高税负的上市公司其盈余操控程度更高,审计质量也更高。该发现在客观上可以为监管部门提高会计信息治理质量提供一定的决策参考。     

国际四大与高审计质量——来自中国证券市场的证据

本文采用2007—2009年沪、深两市A股上市公司公开披露的3874份年报数据,基于盈余管理的视角,对施行新会计准则和新审计准则后国际四大会计师事务所提供审计服务的质量进行了实证研究。结果表明,国际四大与非国际四大在审计质量上并不存在显著的差异,某些年度国际四大甚至比非国际四大更差。最后,借鉴Basu(1997)的思想,构建关于盈余管理的稳健性模型,进一步验证了本文的结论。     

监管风险、事务所规模与审计质量

我国会计师事务所规模与审计质量之间是否存在正相关关系,现有研究一直存在争议。本文从注册会计师的执业环境出发,对此进行了重新审视。用上市公司实际控制人的控制权与现金流权之差衡量事务所面临的监管风险,研究发现,大事务所只对监管风险较高的客户提供高质量的审计服务。进一步的研究表明,事务所面临的监管环境改善后,大事务所才对所有客户提供高质量的审计服务,审计质量与事务所规模之间的正相关关系不再依赖监管风险而存在。因此,在法律环境相对薄弱的情况下,加强监管是促使会计师事务所提供高质量审计服务的有效机制。     

审计质量对影子银行业务风险的影响研究 ——基于中国商业银行数据的实证研究

以中国68家非上市银行和16家上市银行2007-2017年的数据为样本,检验注册会计师审计在抑制商业银行从事影子银行业务风险中发挥的重要作用,并探究高质量的审计对商业银行从事影子银行业务风险的具体影响.研究表明:国际四大会计师事务所的审计质量更高,更能有效抑制银行从事影子银行业务的风险;股权集中度较高和处于法律保护水平较低地区的银行从事影子银行业务的风险更大,高质量的审计对其风险的抑制效果更强.     

行政处罚能改进审计质量吗?——基于中国证监会处罚的证据

本文以2001-2009年被证监会处罚的会计师事务所为样本,分别从会计师事务所和CPA个人两个层面检验了行政处罚对审计质量的影响。研究发现,在被证监会行政处罚后,受罚事务所或CPA所审计的上市公司的操控性应计利润没有显著降低,会计盈余稳健性也没有显著提高,并且行政处罚力度的差异对上市公司的操控性应计利润和会计盈余稳健性也无显著影响,这些发现表明我国证监会对违规事务所和CPA的行政处罚并未显著改进上市公司的审计质量。对此现象,监管部门应当反思,并引起重视。     

风险导向型审计·法律风险·审计质量──兼论“五大”在我国审计市场的行为

本文讨论了法律风险、风险导向型审计及审计质量之间的关系 ,主要观点包括 :风险导向型审计产生于美国 2 0世纪 70年代高法律风险的外部环境 ;我国会计职业界所面临的法律风险低 ,如果简单套用风险导向型审计 ,有可能导致审计质量系统性低下。文章还进一步讨论了以五大为代表的国际知名会计师事务所面临的道德风险困境及对审计质量的负面影响。     

Incorporating big data in audits: Identifying inhibitors and a research agenda to address those inhibitors

With corporate investment in Big Data of $34 billion in 2013 growing to $232 billion through 2016 (Gartner 2012), the Big 4 accounting firms are aiming to be at the forefront of Big Data implementations. Notably, they see Big Data as an increasingly essential part of their assurance practice. We argue that while there is a place for Big Data in auditing, its application to auditing is less clear than it is in the other fields, such as marketing and medical research. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) provide a discussion of both the inhibitors of incorporating Big Data into financial statement audits; and (3) present a research agenda to identify approaches to ameliorate those inhibitors.     

A meta-analysis of factors affecting acceptance of information technology in auditing

Technology advancements provide opportunities for auditors to use new tools in the audit process. This study presents a synthesis of technology-related auditing research to identify factors affecting the use of technology in auditing. We analyze 88 studies in identifying 21 factors relevant to technology acceptance in auditing based on country of origin (developed or developing), user type (external or internal), type of technology (traditional or advanced), firm size (Big 4 or non-Big 4), and publication time (before and after 2013). Our results show that the most important factors in accepting technology from an individual perspective are facilitator conditions, perceived usefulness, and understanding of ease of use. Technology acceptance factors relevant to an organizational perspective are cost-benefit technology, competitive pressure, company readiness, and matching technology-task. Results suggest that perceived usefulness and subjective norm are more important in developed countries and Big 4 audit firms, while auditors in developing countries and non-Big 4 audit firms are more influenced by perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, and organizational factors. Adopting traditional technologies is also more influenced by understanding the ease of use, subjective norms, and top management support than advanced technologies. This study contributes to the literature by assessing technology acceptance factors in auditing and thus provides policy, practice, and research implications.     

The Role of Auditing Firms in the Implementation of New Accounting Standards: Evidence from China

This paper explores the impact of auditing firms on the implementation of the new Chinese Accounting Standards for Enterprises 22 (new CAS 22), which converges with IFRS 9. We find that the Big4 firms focus on fair value measurement and application of the expected credit loss (ECL) impairment model, whereas the LocalTop6 firms primarily focus on the classification of financial assets. The results indicate that effective implementation of the new standards mainly depends on standardized procedures and professional techniques of auditing firms, as the Big4 firms exhibit better implementation of the new standards in terms of items that generate greater risk and uncertainty than do local large auditing firms in China. In addition, we further test how cross-listing affects the role of auditing firms in implementing the new standards and find that the Big4 firms play a more significant role for A-share only companies than A + H companies. The findings reveal the challenges associated with implementation of IFRS 9-based new CAS 22 in China.     

制度变迁、集团客户重要性与非标准审计意见

客户重要性是否影响审计师独立性,是审计理论界和实务界都非常关注的话题。本文以企业集团作为一个整体来研究集团客户重要性对审计师独立性的影响,发现集团客户经济依赖性会损害审计师的独立性,这种现象对于小规模事务所而言尤为严重。此外,本文还进一步考察了2007年新会计准则、审计准则及事务所民事诉讼风险加强等制度环境变化对审计师行为的影响。研究发现,在制度环境改善之后,审计师执业总体上变得更加谨慎,大规模事务所尤其如此。     

The association between municipal disclosure practices and audit quality

This study examines the impact of two proxies for audit quality on a model of public sector disclosure for a sample of municipal governments. I argue that more complete disclosures enhance the reputation of an independent auditing firm and that independent auditors, seeking to maintain a reputation of higher quality, positively influence the level of financial disclosures appearing in their clients' financial statements.Specifically, a variable indicating the presence of a (then) Big Eight auditor and regression residuals from a model of audit fees were used as surrogates of audit quality. These were included in a model designed to explain variation in an index representing financial disclosures required under generally accepted accounting principles for local governments. The results provide evidence in support of the hypothesized relationship between audit quality and disclosure.     

Barriers to entry to the big firm audit market: Evidence from market reaction to switches to second Tier audit firms in the post-sox period

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied concentration in the audit market and found that the Big 4 firms continue to dominate the market for clients with revenue of more than $500 million while non-Big 4 firms have gained market share among clients with revenue of $500 million or less (GAO, 2008). The US Treasury Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession has expressed concern about barriers to entry that might prevent a non-Big 4 firm from increasing its market share among large publicly-traded clients (Advisory Committee, 2008). One of these barriers may be the potential cost to shareholders if the stock market reacts negatively to the appointment of a non-Big 4 auditor (GAO, 2003). We examine whether the stock market reacts negatively when clients switch from a Big 4 to a non-Big 4, because a negative reaction might make such switching less likely to occur. We find that the market does not react more negatively when clients move from a Big 4 to a Second Tier auditing firm than when clients move from a Big 4 to another Big 4 firm. Our results suggest that a negative market reaction may not represent a significant barrier to entry among Second Tier auditing firms.     

Auditor choice and bank risk taking

We investigate the importance of auditor choice on bank risk-taking in a cross-country setting for 5498 banks from 116 emerging and developed countries. Using the Z-score as our main proxy for bank risk, we report evidence that hiring a Big Four auditing firm reduces bank-risk even after controlling for bank and country variables. The reported evidence is valid for banks outside the United States and is robust to concerns relating to endogeneity and alternative banking risk measures. The results are economically meaningful. All else constant, the Z-score of a bank audited by a Big Four firm is 10.4% higher than a similar bank with a non-BIG Four auditor. Moreover, consistent with the view that Big Four auditors serve a corporate governance mechanism in emerging markets, we find that Big Four auditors maintain the ability to curb bank risk in countries characterized by weak institutions. Finally, our results suggest that while audit quality is associated with bank safety, its impact is reduced in countries that require audit-oversight.     

The Effect of Litigation Risk Increase on Big N Auditor Exits and Audit Quality in the Korean Savings Banking Industry

This study investigates whether an increase in litigation risk results in Big N auditors leaving the industry and examines the impact of this increase on audit quality. Using a sample of Korean savings banks from 2009 to 2015, the study finds that the proportion of Big N auditors sharply decreases after a savings bank crisis, suggesting that Big N auditors are likely to reject riskier clients, while audit quality is unchanged. The results provide new evidence that an increase in litigation risk does not necessarily increase audit quality. The findings have academic and practical implications, as they suggest that policies for improving audit quality should consider auditors’ strategies in response to litigation risk.