Auditors' Perceived Business Risk and Audit Fees: Analysis and Evidence

This study analyzes the relation between auditors' perceived business risk and audit fees to determine whether audit firms or their clients bear the expected legal costs of business risk. We predict that hourly audit fees and the number of audit hours are increasing in business risk. Using confidential survey data collected by a large international accounting firm for 422 audits, we find that high business risk increases the number of audit hours, but not the fee per hour. This implies that firms perceive firm-level differences in business risk and obtain compensation through billing additional hours, not by raising the hourly charge.     

审计费用的事前确定、异常审计费用与审计质量

实务中,我国部分上市公司年报审计费用采取事前确定方式,也就是在审计工作开展之前的董事会上确定。事前确定审计费用的动机何在,会产生什么样的审计后果?已有国内外文献尚缺乏这方面的研究。本文以2008～2017年全部A股上市公司为样本,通过实证考察审计费用事前确定方式对异常审计费用以及审计质量的影响发现:基于低价揽客或折价维持客户的经济动因,事前确定的审计费用显著偏低。进一步研究表明,在事前确定审计费用方式下,客户的审计质量更低。本文研究丰富和拓展了审计费用及审计质量决定因素的相关文献,同时也为监管机构规范审计费用确定方式提供了经验证据。     

关系型交易对审计费用的影响——基于经营风险理论视角

关系型交易模式可能会在议价能力、关系专用性投资成本转换等方面加剧上市公司的经营风险,进而影响审计费用。已有研究主要集中于关系型交易对审计行为的影响,鲜有文献关注其中的作用机制。本文基于经营风险理论视角,选取2008~2017年沪深A股制造业上市公司的相关数据,实证分析了关系型交易对审计费用的影响,结果表明:关系型交易显著加剧了企业经营风险的集聚,进而提升审计费用,即经营风险在关系型交易对审计费用的影响中起到了中介作用。进一步研究,在区分了产权性质以及耐用品特征后,实证结果显示关系型交易与审计费用的正相关关系在非国有企业以及耐用品行业的企业中较为显著,为审计师进行合理审计定价提供了经验证据支持。     

媒体负面报道、诉讼风险与审计费用

本文研究媒体负面报道对审计收费的影响,并进一步探讨这种影响的实现路径。利用2001-2009年我国A股主板上市公司的数据研究发现,公司面临的媒体负面报道越多,审计收费越高。进一步分析发现,会计方面的媒体负面报道和首次媒体负面报道会引起审计师提高审计收费,然而这些影响均只存在于高诉讼风险的环境下。此外,本文还发现,无论是高风险阶段还是低风险阶段,媒体负面报道都会使公司容易受到监管部门的行政处罚。本文可能表明,在转型经济中,媒体对审计行为的治理作用可能需通过法律环境的改善来实现。     

金融危机下审计收费风险溢价的研究

基于2008年金融危机这一外生冲击,本文考察了公司风险与审计收费间的关系。研究发现,当危机下公司的经营风险提高时,会计师事务所的审计收费增加,表明公司审计费用存在风险溢价。针对不同行业的分析显示,对于出口型企业,因受危机的影响严重,公司审计收费与经营风险显著正相关;基于不同性质公司的研究表明,由于政府的隐形担保,危机下国有公司的审计费用并未随经营风险的增加而提高;最后,金融危机下审计收费风险溢价现象主要存在于非四大审计的公司。     

Auditor's Engagement Risk and Audit Fees: The Role of Audit Firm Alumni

Abstract:  This study explores the effect of the association of audit firm alumni with their alma mater on audit prices. The tests indicate that there is a moderate reduction of up to 21% in the level of audit fee when alumni (i.e., former employees) of the incumbent audit firm sit on the client board of directors which is consistent with the engagement risk theory. This suggests that there is an 'alumni effect' in the market for audit services. The findings hold only in the large company segment of the market. The results are robust to different model specifications and alternative samples. The sample comprises all executive and non-executive directors who run the UK quoted companies and are simultaneously ICAEW qualified chartered accountants. The study's implications for the accounting profession and the regulators are also discussed.     

The Importance of Business Risk in Setting Audit Fees: Evidence from Cases of Client Misconduct

Previous research provides evidence that, for the clients of a large audit firm, audit clients with higher perceived business risk bear the expected costs of this risk with higher audit fees. We extend the literature, which focuses on the relation between litigation risk and audit fees, by examining alleged client misconduct that is not illegal but possibly increases business risk. In particular, we examine the relation between audit fees and business risk for audit clients doing business in developing countries where bribery of top government officials has been an accepted business practice. We hypothesize that bribery‐paying clients are riskier because of both client business risk and audit business risk. Using data collected from Securities and Exchange Commission filings and audit fee data in the 1970s, before the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, we provide evidence that audit fees were higher for clients that disclosed paying bribes. This evidence is consistent with an audit market where auditors assess business risk at the client level, then pass their expected costs to the client in the form of higher audit fees.     

The Business Risk Audit Approach and Audit Production Efficiency

Essentially, this study asks: Does the business risk audit (BRA) approach increase audit production efficiency? To answer this question empirically, direct and indirect tests are employed using proprietary, working paper data from the larger clients of a major Australian public sector audit provider and an efficiency frontier analytic methodology, data envelopment analysis (DEA). Results based on this proprietary, audit hours data for audit engagements carried out just after BRA approach implementation show that they have high levels of production efficiency and are risk-adjusted, with no significant difference in production efficiency between higher and lower business risk audit engagements. Results based on audit fees data for audit engagements carried out shortly before and after BRA approach implementation show that overall production efficiency significantly improves. Importantly, while this improvement is significant for lower-risk audit engagements, there is no significant improvement for higher-risk audit engagements. In the context of this study's research site, this is consistent with the BRA approach addressing inefficiencies created when lower-risk audit engagements are being over-audited. That is, the BRA approach can result in both risk-adjusted and more efficiently produced audits. With the re-emergence of the BRA approach in the literature and in practice, this study provides empirical evidence to support the claim that this audit approach can lead to ‘creating auditing efficiencies’ (Bell et al., 1997, p. 1).     

招标选聘审计师、审计质量与审计收费

本文研究国资委招标选聘审计师政策的实施效果。以2000年至2011年政府控股的A股上市公司为样本,研究发现:首先,经国资委通过招标选聘的审计师审计后,公司财务重述的情况显著减少。其次,通过招标选聘审计师能降低审计收费。这表明通过招标选聘审计师总体上能得到"质优价廉"的审计服务。并且中央国资委实施招标选聘审计师的效果好于各级地方国资委。最后,进一步分析发现,中央国资委招标选聘审计师时,所选聘的会计师事务所规模比较大,而地方国资委选聘的审计师则更多是本地小事务所。本文研究表明,限制央企管理层影响审计师的招标选聘审计师政策,能够提高审计质量和降低审计费用。     

关于审计收费的思考

国内对审计收费的研究始于20世纪90年代末会计师事务所的脱钩改制。大多数专家认为,审计收费低是社会压价竞争的产物,而导致压价竞争的根源在于企业对注册会计师高质量服务的需求不足,规范治理恶性竞争行业要制定注册会计师收费的最低限价。一般认为,制定最低限价属于制度经济学中所谓的正式制度,而正式制度实施的有效性取决于制度的合理性以及与非正式制度和市场环境的融合程度,由此,本文拟从经济学角度对审计收费问题作一探讨。     

对外直接投资、控制风险与上市公司审计费用

本文在国家实施"走出去"战略的背景下,研究企业对外直接投资对审计费用的影响。研究以2007~2018年我国A股上市公司为样本,发现进行对外直接投资的企业,审计费用显著高于没有对外直接投资的企业,说明审计师能够识别因企业对外直接投资导致的审计风险的上升和审计成本的增加,并通过增加审计费用的方式予以补偿;且此差异不因产权性质和企业所在地市场化水平而异;采用改变样本量、PSM及多时点DID等进行稳健性检验后,研究结论保持不变。进一步分析发现,如果企业内部控制质量较高,控制风险水平较低,则对外直接投资与审计费用之间的关系会弱化,表明控制风险在对外直接投资与审计费用之间起到调节作用,且此作用仅在非国有控股及市场化水平较高地区的企业中显著。     

The Effects of Business Risk on Audit Pricing

This paper examines the pricing of business risk by homogeneous auditors in a two period model. Incumbent auditors learn the client's business risk type during the course of the engagement. They subsequently compete in prices with prospective auditors. In such an environment, we show that equilibrium audit fees do not fully reflect the cost of business risk. Moreover, there exists differential auditor turnover between high and low risk firms; cross-subsidization of the audit fees of high risk firms by low risk firms; and low-balling by auditors.     

高管审计背景、盈余管理与异常审计收费

利用2004~2012年中国A股上市公司财务数据,考察高管审计背景对公司盈余管理行为和审计定价决策的影响。研究中,将高管审计背景分为高管审计经历与事务所关联两个维度。研究发现,高管具有审计背景的公司为了实现较低风险水平下的私有收益最大化,有从应计盈余管理转向实施真实盈余管理的倾向,事务所可能采取的策略是增加额外的审计收费以弥补过高的审计风险,而"校友效应"却使事务所显著减少该类公司的审计收费。研究表明,高管审计背景可能会导致公司财务报告信息质量下降、审计风险上升,证实了其对公司财务报告信息质量及事务所审计质量的不利影响。本研究为加强对高管审计背景公司的监管及完善审计师跳槽的"冷却期"政策提供经验证据。     

Explaining Variability in External Audit Fees

This study examines the effect of several factors on the level of external audit fees using a multiple regression model. Audit fee data were provided by 95 US publicly held companies for the years 1983 to 1985. Variables measuring client industry membership and auditor involvement in the security registration process were proxies for client regulatory aspects. These variables were significant and provide support for the hypothesis that scale economies and/or specialization effects accrue to audit firms in dealing with the regulatory complexities faced by clients. Variables measuring auditee size and complexity, auditee/auditor loss sharing risk, and audit firm size were also significant in explaining variability in external audit fees.     

基于作业成本法对审计成本与收费问题的探讨

我国审计收费的主要依据是客户的资产总额,目前并没有统一的收费标准。各地政府往往根据当地情况制定收费标准,如广州分别按资产规模界定不同的档次等。然而,上述情况引发的问题是:审计收费的口径与基础不统一,也不科学。因而,有必要     

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。     

会计稳健性与审计收费:基于审计风险控制策略的分析

随着监管趋于更加严格,会计师事务所承担的法律责任和赔偿也越来越高。如何采取有效措施防范和控制风险,最大可能地降低损失,已经成为会计师事务所的重要议题。本文对2001至2006年我国上市公司展开研究后发现:作为一种风险控制策略,强制审计客户保持一定的会计稳健性能够降低审计风险,从而降低审计收费;但稳健性发挥作用受到法律环境和诉讼风险的影响,仅对同时发行A股和其他类型股票的企业起到了显著作用。较高审计收费的风险控制策略与强制客户保持一定稳健性的风险控制策略之间存在替代关系。     

Audit Firm Ranking,Audit Quality and Audit Fees: Examining Conflicting Price Discrimination Views

In this study, we examine whether highly ranked audit firms in Iran, as determined by the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO), earn a fee premium, firstly, by providing superior quality audit services or, secondly, due to reputation created by the ranking system implemented by the SEO. We employ price discrimination theory, and we test quality discrimination versus brand reputation explanations in the context of a unique institutional setting (where international audit firms are not allowed to operate). The data are derived from firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) for the period 2006 to 2015. Our results show that the quality of audit services (using all of our measures) provided by the highest ranked audit firms is not superior to that of the non-highest ranked firms. In addition, the audit fee models suggest that the highest ranked firms charge significantly more audit fees compared to lower ranked firms. We employ several sensitivity tests and the results do not change materially. Such findings go against the “quality-based price discrimination” view but support the reputation-based view, and make a significant contribution towards understanding the economic consequences of state-determined ranking of audit firms rather than allowing the market to determine quality differentiation.     

Audit Fees, Non-Audit Fees and Auditor Going-Concern Reporting Decisions in the United Kingdom

The accounting profession has come under increased scrutiny over recent years about the growing number of non-audit fees received from audit clients and the possible negative impact of such fees on auditor independence. The argument advanced is that providing substantial amounts of non-audit services to clients may make it more likely that auditors concede to the wishes of the client management when difficult judgments are made. Such concerns are particularly salient in the case of reporting decisions related to going-concern uncertainties for financially stressed clients.
 This study empirically examines audit reports provided to financially stressed companies in the United Kingdom and the magnitude of audit and non-audit service fees paid to the company's auditors. We find that the magnitude of both audit fees and non-audit fees are significantly associated with the issuance of a going-concern modified audit opinion. In particular, financially stressed companies with high audit fees are more likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion, whereas companies with high non-audit fees are less likely to receive a going-concern modified audit opinion. Additional analyses indicate that the results are generally robust across alternative model and variable specifications. Overall, evidence supports the contention that high non-audit fees have a detrimental effect on going-concern reporting judgments for financially stressed U.K. companies.     

经营失败、审计失败与审计风险——来自暂停上市公司历年审计报告的经验分析

经营失败提高了利益相关者对审计报告的关注程度,审计风险易显性化而演变为审计失败。本文通过典型案例分析,旨在研究注册会计师在高风险区审计时的行为特征,及审计失败与经营失败的关系,并针对如何提高审计质量、规避审计失败提出相关建议。