Reining in auditors: On the dynamics of power surrounding an “innovation” in the regulatory space

In the aftermath of Enron and the collapse of Arthur Andersen, new “independent” institutions were created to oversee financial auditing. Based on a modified version of Lukes’ multidimensional model of power, we first investigate how the creation of the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) has affected the dynamics of power among the main players enlisted in Canada’s regulation of public accounting. Our findings strengthen the view that a “form of allegiance” was, at the time of data collection, developing between CPAB and the largest Canadian accounting firms. Through a second analytical movement, we extend the boundaries of our argument, showing that patterns of resistance against the logic of arm’s length regulation operate in a variety of audit regulatory sites. Our conclusion points, in particular, to the spatial gap - and incidentally the limitations - of any attempt to control and supervise a globalized industry from a national or regional perspective.     

央行内部控制与风险管理探析

本文主要针对内部控制与风险管理之间的关系,探讨央行应如何将内部控制框架建立与风险管理相结合,通过完善内部控制机制和风险管理体系,有效地防范风险,从而促使央行科学、高效地履行职责。     

构建商业银行经济责任审计模式之探讨

经济责任审计是商业银行内部审计的重要形式。银行业的风险管理正处于提升的时期,商业银行必须强化和提升风险管理水平。风险管理是商业银行高级管理人员的重要职责,经济责任审计必须以风险为本,构建适应商业银行全面风险管理的经济责任审计模式。     

中国人民银行绩效审计的现状与思考

绩效审计已经成为现代政府审计发展的一种主流趋势。人民银行内审部门近年来积极探索转型,发挥咨询与增加组织价值的作用,探索开展绩效审计无疑是一个很好的突破口。本文分析了当前人民银行绩效审计现状与不足,并提出了人民银行内审部门如何推进绩效审计的思路。     

政策性金融审计思考

当前,我国政策性金融机构改革到了选择发展方向的关键时刻,其发展中出现的问题同样不容忽视,本文通过借鉴国外政策性金融机构发展的经验和教训,探索加强我国政策性金融审计监督的途径,以发挥审计保障经济社会运行"免疫系统"功能.     

债务重组、退市压力与审计意见

本文以新准则实施后2007年和2008年中国A股上市公司为样本,研究发现新准则下进行机会主义债务重组的公司主要是已经连续两年亏损面临停牌风险的公司,而一年亏损的公司则对这一极端盈余管理手段的使用比较谨慎,并不倾向于进行债务重组来避免被特别处理。同时,发挥外部公司治理功能的审计师能够在一定程度察觉这些公司的机会主义行为,但是由于我国退市制度中没有对审计意见的严格规定,使得审计意见对公司进行机会主义债务重组行为的制约作用较弱。     

基于风险视角的审计报告决策机制模型分析

本文引入风险决策理论的发展成果,从风险视角构建了基于两期的审计报告决策分析模型,对审计报告行为决策机制进行了深入分析,并在此基础上进一步讨论了影响审计独立性的重要因素及防范机制。     

中国审计市场制度安排与研究思考——兼评审计意见购买的内在机理

审计市场在发展中,逐渐形成一些主要制度安排,如会计师事务所体制形式变迁、上市公司可以同时发行A股、B股和H股等、责权利失衡的上市审批和监管以及设定配股和退市底线。这些安排导致国际所在审计市场的主导地位,并产生股权融资偏好、IPO包装上市、上市公司"保壳"和控股股东"圈钱"等奇怪的现象,同时也决定着审计服务的基本特征。结合这些特有的制度背景,才能深刻把握审计意见购买的内在机理,从而揭示审计意见购买的基本规律和主要特征,并推动审计理论的发展。本文对此进行了探讨。     

基于风险视角的审计报告决策机制模型分析

本文引入风险决策理论的发展成果,从风险视角构建了基于两期的审计报告决策分析模型,对审计报告行为决策机制进行了深入分析,并在此基础上进一步讨论了影响审计独立性的重要因素及防范机制。     

A Reexamination of Behavior in Experimental Audit Markets: The Effects of Moral Reasoning and Economic Incentives on Auditor Reporting and Fees*

This study uses experimental markets to investigate how moral reasoning influences auditor reporting under different levels of economic incentives. In each multiperiod market, auditor subjects could either (1) misreport low observed outcomes as high and thereby reap economic advantages at the expense of third‐party investors, or (2) truthfully report low observed outcomes as low but thereby forgo the economic advantages of misreporting. We extend the Calegari, Schatzberg, and Sevcik 1998 experimental‐markets setting to incorporate moral reasoning, and test hypotheses based on the economic model of Magee and Tseng 1990 and the neo‐Kohlbergian moral reasoning framework of Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, and Thoma 1999. We document a significant effect of moral reasoning on auditor behavior. Specifically, we find that misreporting and premium fees are more likely with higher than with lower moral reasoning subjects, and the moral reasoning effect diminishes as economic penalties increase in the market. These findings provide valuable insights for specifying the determinants of auditor misreporting, the observable behaviors that signal its existence, and the institutions that can prevent its occurrence in the market. We conclude that the relation between moral reasoning and behavior is more complex than commonly assumed in the accounting literature, and identify directions for future research.