Internal Audit Quality and Financial Reporting Quality: The Joint Importance of Independence and Competence

In light of the growing importance of internal audit functions (IAF) and the limited archival evidence on internal audit quality, we examine an interactive model of IAF quality (comprised of competence and independence) to better understand the determinants of IAF effectiveness as a financial reporting monitor. Our tests support the hypothesis that the joint presence of competence and independence is a necessary antecedent to effective IAF financial reporting monitoring. In sum, our results show that, the answer to “what is the effect of internal audit competence (independence) on financial reporting quality?” is “it depends on the independence (competence) of the internal auditor.” Our study extends the understanding of IAF quality determinants in the realm of financial reporting as it relates to ongoing discussions by researchers, standard setters, regulators, and practitioners.     

Does Opinion Shopping Impair Auditor Independence and Audit Quality?

This study investigates how companies' threats to dismiss auditors and their engagement in opinion shopping influence auditor independence and audit quality, which in turn affect misstatements in financial statements. It also examines how outsiders' reactions to auditor switching influence opinion shopping. The results indicate that neither the predecessor auditor's nor the successor auditor's independence is compromised by dismissal threats and opinion shopping. Further, the successor auditor's audit quality exceeds the predecessor auditor's audit quality. In addition, auditor switching decreases potential understatements and increases potential overstatements in financial statements, and the capital market's and the successor auditor's reactions to auditor switching reduce the benefits of opinion shopping to companies. Additionally, the study sheds some light on the potential effects of both the Sarbanes‐Oxley's restriction on non‐audit services and mandatory auditor rotation or retention. The paper also derives a rich set of empirical implications.     

审计师子群体地位与审计质量

本文在中国文化背景下考察审计师子群体地位对审计质量的影响,并在此基础上研究积极的直接接触对群体地位与审计质量关系的调节作用。基于1990-2016年50起会计师事务所合并事件,我们识别出53个事务所分所中存在的106个审计师子群体。在此基础上,我们发现,相对于高地位审计师子群体,合并后低地位审计师子群体客户盈余管理水平显著提高。此外,我们还发现,当分所内审计师子群体间有积极的直接接触时,相对于高地位审计师子群体,合并后低地位审计师子群体客户盈余管理水平提高的幅度减弱。这些研究结果表明,分所内低地位审计师子群体保持或者提高其在分所内的地位,维护其自身利益的动机更强,则其发生机会主义行为的可能性越大,其审计质量随之变差;而积极的直接接触则可以有效改善群际关系,缓解审计师子群体地位对审计质量不利影响。     

Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members

I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) actions are limited. However, directors experience significant labor market penalties. In the three years after the restatement, director turnover is 48% for firms that restate earnings downward, 33% for a performance‐matched sample, 28% for firms that restate upward, and only 18% for technical restatement firms. For firms that overstate earnings, the likelihood of director departure increases in restatement severity, particularly for audit committee directors. In addition, directors of these firms are no longer present in 25% of their positions on other boards. This loss is greater for audit committee members and for more severe restatements. A matched‐sample analysis confirms this result. Overall, the evidence is consistent with outside directors, especially audit committee members, bearing reputational costs for financial reporting failure.     

审计师变更与审计质量:一个理论分析

本文通过建立股东、管理层和审计师三方参与的两委托人-单代理人博弈模型,研究了固定审计费用下不同审计师变更方式对审计质量的影响。研究结果表明,审计师强制性单期变更与审计师强制性定期变更下,审计师与管理层之间的合谋将导致严重的财务舞弊;而在审计师自愿性变更下,股东可以利用解聘现任审计师这一威胁来阻止审计师和管理层之间的合谋,使得审计师和管理层的最优策略均为真实披露公司的盈余信息,并发表标准无保留审计意见。     

审计委员会特征与会计师事务所变更的经验研究

本文以会计师事务所变更为视角,探讨具备怎样特征的审计委员会才能有效履行其职责。研究表明:审计委员会的独立性和专业性与会计师事务所变更显著负相关;审计委员会的开会次数与会计师事务所变更没有显著关系,说明审计委员会的存在有助于减少会计师事务所变更。但在对会计师事务所变更的进一步研究中,我们并没有发现会计师事务所变是为了追求更高审计质量的进一步证据,也说明审计委员会对会计师事务所变更的影响仍然有限。这些研究结论为完善我国审计委员会制度提供了经验证据。     

盈余管理 审计师变更与审计师独立性

盈余管理与审计师变更存在一定的相关性。本文检验了审计师变更公司在新任审计师的第一年、前任审计师最后一年、倒数第二年的可操控性应计利润及其在不同年份之间的变化。检验结果表明 ,虽然前任审计师在其最后一年聘期内采取了比其他审计师更为稳健的会计处理方法 ,以致被公司变更 ;但新任审计师在第一年并未完全配合公司。这在一定程度上表明 ,公司变更审计师并未达到预期的目的 ;前任审计师、后任审计师的独立性均很强。这可能要归功于事务所脱钩改制 ,以及有关部门有效的监管措施     

虚假财务报告的审计重点

虚假财务报告包括非故意错报或漏报的错误财务报告和故意不实反映的舞弊财务报告。错误主要包括:原始记录和会计数据的计算、抄写错误,对事实的疏忽和误解,对会计政策的误用。舞弊主要包括:伪造、变造记录或凭证,侵占资产,隐瞒或删除交易或事项,记录虚假的交易或事项,蓄意使用不当的会计政策。对虚假财务报告的审计,应抓住虚假财务报告可能出现问题的环节,重点审计。下面就舞弊的资产负债表、损益表、现金流量表以及财务报表附注的审计重点进行分析。 资产负债表的审计重点对虚假资产负债表的审计,应注重搜集资产负债表以外的经济活动资料,…     

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。     

Client Importance and Auditor Independence: The Effect of the Asian Financial Crisis

This paper investigates the effect of the Asian financial crisis on the relationship between client economic importance and auditor independence. Using data from 1994 to 2001 in six Asian markets (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand), we find that auditors are less likely to compromise their independence for important clients after a crisis. The result is consistent with Coffee's (2001) crash‐then‐law hypothesis and supports the notion that financial crisis triggers public concern over auditors’ independence. Furthermore, we find the effect of financial crisis on auditor independence is more pronounced in weaker investor protection regimes.     

审计师变更与审计质量：一个经验研究综述

本文对国内外有关审计师变更与审计质量的经验文献做了较为全面、系统的回顾。总的看来,已有的文献主要从审计师变更与审计意见购买、审计任期与盈余质量以及审计师变更与盈余质量三个方面来考察审计师变更对审计质量的影响,但并未取得一致性的研究结论。本文在对相关文献综述的基础上从多维度计量盈余质量和结合中国特殊的制度背景两个方面提出未来的研究方向。     

审计师规模与审计质量:声誉视角

本文基于2010年至2013年的四个公司舞弊事件,考察了声誉受损后的审计师变更情况,发现:市场并没有用"及时离开"来惩罚声誉受损的审计师,使其失去准租,审计师的执业资格直接决定了其能否继续获取准租。我们的讨论,是对De Angelo(1981b)审计师规模与审计质量的补充与修正,将有助于更好地理解审计师规模与审计质量之间的传导机制,丰富规模与质量的理论体系。     

Trust and Financial Reporting Quality

Using unique survey data from Great Place to Work® Institute, we investigate the association of intraorganizational trust (i.e., employees’ trust in management) with three aspects of financial reporting: accruals quality, misstatements, and internal control quality. We find that trust is associated with better accrual quality, lower likelihood of financial statement misstatements, and lower likelihood of internal control material weakness disclosures. However, these effects are not uniform across all companies. Consistent with trust improving financial reporting quality through improved information production and information sharing, we find that trust is significantly associated with financial reporting quality in relatively decentralized firms, but not in firms that are relatively centralized. Our results are robust to several analyses that attempt to control for potential alternative explanations.     

制度环境与审计独立性

制度环境就审计师而言,是指审计师执业过程所面临的正式和非正式制度。正式制度是指人们有意识创造的一系列政策法则,包括政治规则、经济规则和契约以及由一系列的规则构成的一种等级结构,如从宪法到成文法和不成文法到特殊的细则,最后到个别契约,它们共同约束人们的行为。非正