关于提高民间审计独立性的若干思考

"安然"、"银广厦"等事件引发了会计职业界对审计独立性的思考,使民间审计独立性再次成为社会公众关注的焦点.独立性是民间审计的基石,是审计生存和发展的基础.本文从审计服务的需求、注册会计师聘任制度和自身素质及其法律责任等几方面,提出了提高民间审计独立性的对策思路.     

对提高审计独立性新方法的探讨

审计独立性是审计的核心灵魂,本文建立审计质量及独立性影响因素的分析框架,从会计师事务所与CPA、被审计单位、双方关系和外部环境（包括监管环境和竞争环境）四个大方面入手,以全新的视角剖析独立性的影响因素;并基于独立性是一种概率的理论,创建性的提出“独立性指数”这个指标来对事务所及CPA的独立性进行衡量,设想我国可以对CPA及事务所的独立性建立一种信用评级数据库;同时提出在不侵犯事务所及被审计单位隐私的前提下,要求会计师事务所每次发布审计报告同时附上一份“独立性报告”的设想,这样将独立性报告公布可以让事务所与被审计单位间的独立关系接受大众的检查。     

中国民间审计的现状及新世纪发展方向

一、目前民间审计存在的问题(一 )会计师事务所的独立性不强。我国在长期计划经济下没有审计 ,八十年代初开始重建民间审计。为了使其迅速建立 ,当时采取的主要方法是挂靠制 ,即事务所挂靠在政府某部门或大企业下。这种方式对我国从无到有建立民间审计是必要的 ,但其弊端显而易见 ,独立性受到严重影响。独立性是审计的灵魂 ,缺乏独立性会直接造成人们对其权威的质疑 ,审计报告的效果也大大降低。目前事务所的脱钩改制工作已在进行中 ,但我们看到还很不完全。事务所在客户选择、人员安排、审计程序、审计意见等多方面都会受到不同程度的干涉 …     

高管事务所关联关系、内部控制与审计质量述评

在财务报表审计的委托代理关系中,会计师事务所对财务报表进行审计而后发表审计意见,因此审计质量至关重要。而审计质量的提高很大程度上受企业自身的内部控制制度以及高管会计师事务所关联关系的影响。总体来说,一方面,高管会计师事务所关联关系会影响审计独立性进而降低审计质量;另一方面,有效地内部控制有助于提高审计质量,审计业务的进行也有利于促使企业完善自身的内部控制。然而,高管会计师事务所关联关系是否会对企业内部控制产生影响目前的研究结论尚不一致。本文对高管会计师事务所关联关系与审计质量、内部控制与审计质量以及高管会计师事务所关联关系与内部控制之间的关系进行了述评。     

财务报表保险制度：提高审计独立性的新思路

在这样的审计委托模式下，实际选择会计师事务所并支付审计费用的是被审计单位管理当局，因此，上市公司有机会利用手中的“货币选票”越俎代庖，“威逼利诱”会计师事务所与其合谋。被审计单位手中的“货币选票”是影响审计独立性的根源，因此，要从源头上治理审计独立性问题，必须改革现存不合理的审计委托模式，从根本上隔离被审计单位对审计事务的不当干涉，防止审计失败。     

对当前社会审计质量的思考

目前,社会审计的质量是社会上各阶层人士都比较关心的热点问题,尤其是上市公司的社会审计质量,因为涉及到各种投资者而更引人注目。会计师事务所、审计师事务所已经与挂钩单位脱钩,从制度上保证注册会计师的独立性。但是我国注册会计师行业发展历史不长,行业制度、质量保证体系有待完善。部分注册会计师未能充分理解和掌握独立审计准则,取证不充分、不适当。部分会计师事务所为了自身利益,为了拉住客户,出具虚假报告,证券市场上有“深圳原野”、“琼民源”、“ＳＴ红光”、“ＳＴ郑百文”、“幸福实业”、“ＳＴ猴王”等事件,造成…     

财务报表保险制度:提高审计独立性的新思路

现行的审计委托模式,如图1所示: 在这样的审计委托模式下,实际选择会计师事务所并支付审计费用的是被审计单位管理当局,因此,上市公司有机会利用手中的"货币选票"越俎代庖,"威逼利诱"会计师事务所与其合谋。被审计单位手中的"货币选票"是影响审计独立性的根源,因此,要从源头上治理审计独立性问题,必须改革现存不合理的审计委托模式,从根本上隔离被审计单位对审计事务的不当干涉,防止审计失败。     

我国民间审计独立性面临的问题及对策

民间审计又称独立审计、注册会计师审计,是指由注册会计师、审计师所组成的会计师事务所和审计事务所,接受当事人的委托,对有关经济组织的有关经济事项所进行的审计查证业务和咨询服务活动。民间审计的独立性影响着审计的质量和可信性。较强的审计独立性使审计的质量增强,审计只有具备独立性,为社会所信任,才能保证注册会计师依法进行的经济监督客观公正,使审计报告更有价值。     

注册会计师审计独立性缺失的现状分析及其实现的制度安排

注册会计师的独立性是审计监督的本质特征,是区别于其他经济监督形式的关键,也是保证审计监督的客观性、公正性和廉洁性的必要条件。我国民间审计的独立性存在注册会计师执业质量不高,社会公信力不强,人力资源整体素质不高,组织形式缺失,规模经营水平不高,审计市场恶性竞争,客户委托目标偏差,审计执业规范体系不健全,财务会计报告规范不完善等问题。本文认为,应从完善公司治理结构、规范制度基础、变革事务所组织形式、建立健全监管模式、优化规模结构、加强对人力资源的管理等方面加以解决。     

浅谈我国会计师事务所定期轮换制

目前，一些学者提出推行会计师事务所定期轮换制度有利于提高审计的独立性、提高审计质量。本文首先分析了会计师事务所定期轮换对审计质量的影响，其次分析了一下我国审计市场的特点，最后根据前面的分析得出结论。即我国目前不应该推行事务所轮换制度。     

审计师工作量压力与盈余质量——基于门槛模型的研究

采用2012-2016年我国上市公司及其签字审计师为样本,引入门槛回归模型,实证分析不同事务所组织机制支持下审计师个人工作量压力如何影响审计行为决策及盈余质量。研究结果表明:会计师事务所行业专长存在门槛效应,行业专长水平越高,事务所组织支持力度越大,审计师工作量压力对公司盈余质量的负面影响越小;会计师事务所综合评价存在门槛效应,事务所综合评价水平越低,事务所组织支持力度越小,审计师工作量压力对公司盈余质量的负面影响越大;会计师事务所人力资本存在门槛效应,人力资本质量越高,审计师工作效率越高,审计师工作量压力对公司盈余质量的负面影响越小。     

审计师选择与业绩承诺精准达标——基于中国借壳上市公司的经验证据

在借壳交易中，对借壳方（非上市公司）财务报告执行审计的审计师可以是壳公司（上市公司）的现任审计师，也可以是新任审计师。以2011—2020年完成借壳上市并签订业绩补偿承诺的我国A股借壳交易案件为样本，检验借壳上市审计师选择对借壳公司业绩承诺实现情况的影响。研究发现，与保留壳公司现任审计师的借壳公司相比，借壳上市交易中选择新审计师的借壳公司更可能在业绩承诺期间精准实现业绩承诺，盈余管理是借壳交易中审计师选择影响借壳公司精准实现业绩承诺的作用渠道。此外，当业绩承诺补偿方式为股份补偿以及借壳交易双方为关联方时，借壳交易中选择新审计师的公司对业绩承诺精准达标的正向作用更加显著。进一步研究发现，借壳上市交易中选择新审计师的公司更可能在业绩承诺到期后经历业绩滑坡，且大股东更可能在锁定期结束后减持股票。结果表明，与保留壳公司现任审计师的借壳公司相比，借壳交易中选择新审计师的借壳公司的机会主义行为更严重。     

The Empirical Research on Auditor Independence and Mandatory Auditor Rotation

Using, the method of correlation coefficient, this paper discusses the empirical relationship between audit tenure and audit opinion in annual reports in China A-share market and period of mandatory rotation of auditor. The research finds that the negative correlation between auditor tenure and non-standard unqualified audit opinion is statistically significant, and auditor tenure might impair his/her independence. To enhance auditor independence and improve audit quality, it is necessary to rotate mandatory auditor. The results also fred that consecutive auditing years should not exceed 5 years when the existing auditor has been the auditor of listed company, and mandatory rotation of auditor adapts to the rotation of CPA firms in charge of a client.     

保险公司营销战略审计及其神经网络专家系统

对保险公司营销战略进行审计的目的是提高保险公司竞争力。本文提出保险公司营销战略审计指标体系，指出保险公司营销战略是一个由内外部诸多因素构成的综合系统。内部因素表现为保险竞争主体的内部资源条件与经营管理能力的比较优势和劣势；外部因素表现为产业结构、经济景气、金融监管和由相关法律制度保证的市场秩序。本文根据人工智能神经网络理论，构建神经网络专家系统，以此为模型对保险公司营销战略进行审计，并给出应用实例。     

上市公司审计收费影响因素的实证研究

本文利用我国深沪两市A股上市公司2003年年报中披露的数据,对可能影响我国上市公司年度审计费用的主要因素,运用多元线性回归进行实证分析。研究结果发现,上市公司资产总额、纳入合并报表的控股子公司数目、其他应收款占总资产的比例、公司和事务所是否位于经济发达地区和董事会规模与年度审计费用显著正相关,而独立董事人数与年度审计费用显著负相关;应收账款占总资产的比例、存货占总资产的比例、审计意见、当年和前一年度的盈利状况等因素对年度审计费用的影响并不显著。因此,我国上市公司审计费用主要由审计的产品费用所决定,从而会计师事务所的审计收费主要反映了现实的审计成本,而审计风险等潜在风险成本并没有在审计收费中体现出来。     

盈余管理与审计质量相关性研究述评

本文认为,审计限制盈余管理的作用是随审计质量的变动而变动的,高质量的审计更易发现和制约管理当局的会计错误或违规,更有效地制约盈余管理行为。审计质量的高低可具体反映在已审财务报告中注册会计师容许的盈余管理程度上。在进行盈余管理与审计质量相关性研究时,对盈余管理计量的准确性,会影响研究结论的可靠性及适用性。     

Performance of the internal audit department under ERP systems: empirical evidence from Taiwanese firms

In this study, the performance of the internal audit department (IAD) and its contribution to a company under enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was examined. It is anticipated that this will provide insight into the factors perceived to be crucial to a company’s effectiveness. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using the sample of Taiwanese companies. Using mail survey procedures, we elicited perceptions from key internal auditors about the ERP system and auditing software, as well as their opinions concerning the IAD’s effectiveness and its contribution within a company. Data were analysed using the partial least square (PLS) regression to test the hypotheses. Drawing upon a sample of Taiwanese firms, the study suggests that a firm can improve the performance of the IAD through an enterprise-wide integrated, effective ERP system and appropriate auditing software. At the same time, the performance of the IAD can also contribute significantly to the company. The results also show that investments in computer-assisted auditing techniques (CAATs) are crucial due to their tremendous effectiveness in regard to the performance of the IAD and for the contributions CAATs can make to a company.     

The Effects of Auditor Social and Human Capital on Auditor Compensation: Evidence from the Italian Small Audit Firm Market

Abstract

This study examines whether social and human capital influence the compensation of individual auditors in the small audit firm market. We employ a sample of Italian auditors and use measures from the network and auditing literatures to capture their professional connections, representing social capital, and their industry expertise, representing human capital. Our findings show a positive and economically meaningful association between these individual attributes and auditor compensation. We run several tests to address potential endogeneity issues in our research design. Our results suggest that, in the small audit market, clients perceive as valuable those auditors with higher social and human capital, and as a result, are willing to pay a premium for these specific auditor attributes.     

Review of empirical research on rotation and non-audit services: auditor independence in fact vs. appearance

Confidence in the processes of corporate reporting and auditing has rapidly decreased recently due to front-page accounting scandals in both the United States and Europe. The goal of audit regulations, such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act in the United States (US) and the 8th Directive in the European Union (EU), is to restore public trust in the auditing process. Along with other regulatory aspects, requirements related to audit partner rotation and bans on providing concurrent non-audit services were implemented to maintain auditor independence, both in fact and in appearance. However, the implementation of audit regulation implies that increased requirements are able to enhance the failed audit function. Empirical research should help to understand the impact of these two regulatory aspects and indicate their effectiveness in maintaining auditor independence. Thus, we outline the newest empirical research related to audit partner rotation and non-audit services and independence in fact or in appearance. Overall, we conclude that prior research does not point to one particular requirement that would most effectively restore trust in the audit function. Rather the existence of multiple threats to auditor independence might demand a combination of several requirements to maintain auditor independence. Thus, more research is needed to investigate the joint effects of different threats to auditor independence, e.?g., non-audit fees and audit partner tenure.     

Quality Control through Venetian Blinds: Regulating the Swedish Auditing Industry

In this paper I attempt to gain an understanding of the regulatory processes in the auditing industry by studying the development of quality control in Sweden between 1977 and 2004. The paper starts with the observation that the audit industry is multilayered and that regulatory processes occur on different levels: between the state and the profession at large and between the professional association and the individual auditor or auditing firm. The focus is on the interaction between the different levels. Through developing a framework built on regulation theories from political science and the field of accounting research, three aspects of the regulatory processes important for the interaction between the levels are defined: the substantive, the justifying and the material. These aspects are later used to analyse the case study, leading to a specification of the characteristics and content of the couplings between the different levels where regulation is occurring.