关于使用者对审计报告的理解与评价的问卷调查

审计报告是注册会计师与使用者进行沟通的桥梁。在我国正对现行注册会计师会计报表审计报告进行修订的背景下 ,我们就使用者对拟修订后的审计报告的理解与评价等方面的问题进行了问卷调查。在对问卷进行整理与分析的基础上 ,我们提出了审计报告修订和注册会计师其他执业报告准则的制定或修订的建议。     

关于使用者对现行审计报告理解情况的问卷调查分析

2002年8月起 ,中注协按现行国际标准审计报告模式对我国1996年制订的审计报告组织修订。在此背景下,2002年9月起,我们针对使用者对1996年模式审计报告理解情况组织了一次全国性问卷调查。本次问卷调查共发出调查问卷700份,收回有效问卷274份,回收率约39%。回收样本的构成情况为:会计师事务所从业人员107份,高校会计学教师28份,两者合计占49.3%,其他人员(除会计师事务所从业人员、高校会计学教师之外的被调查者,有一部分具有会计学背景)139份,占50.7%;40岁以下中青年人占多数,达85.4%;文化程度高的占多数,大学本科以上的占67.1%,大专以上的占…     

从审计报告看内部控制缺陷

<正>一、概述1992年美国COSO委员会(Committee of Spornsoring Organizations of The Tread Way Commission)颁布《内部控制——整体框架》,明确给出了内部控制的定义和构成要素。报告指出内部控制是由董事会、管理层及其他人员在公司内进行的,旨在为经营的有效性、财务报告的可靠性、适用法律法规的遵循性提供合理保证的过程,包括控制环境、风险评估、控制活动、信息与沟通和监督五个要素。     

从产业链角度看中报

虽然预调微调的力度不及预期,但三季度以来我们观察到需求开始有企稳迹象,预计靠近上游的成本敏感型中游材料行业如钢铁的吨毛利会缓步改善,而全球经济环境会继续制约国内出口型企业盈利。     

从外企角度看上市

<正> 自从三年前联合利华提出在内地上市申请后,外企上市一直以来都是敏感的话题。特别是在《关于上市公司涉及外商投资有关问题的若干意见》出台前后,国内众多媒体都忙于分析外企上市的利弊,探讨谁将是第一个吃螃蟹的人,并且有的媒体甚至拟订了一个14家外企上市的名单,而不论这些外企的意见如何。但当“上海证交所门口外企排队”的传言被澄清后,一些微妙的事实逐渐浮出水面,人们发现外企对上市并没有想象中的那么急。联合利华发言人否定短期内有上市的打算。汇丰银行主席艾尔     

从系统论角度看商誉

一、会计界有关商誉性质的看法及其会计处理方法的争议。美国会计学家亨德里克森（Ｈｅｎｄｒｉｋｓｅｎ）在其《会计理论》一书中指出 ,对商誉概念的理解通常有三种最主要的观点 :（１）商誉是人们对企业具有好感的无形价值 ;（２）商誉是预期的未来收益超过不包括商誉在内的总投资正常报酬的贴现值 ;（３）商誉反映了企业总价值超过各项有形资产和无形资产的净额。根据第一种和第二种观点 ,商誉被认为是一项具有一定特征的单项资产 ;而根据第三种观点 ,商誉则是一项不可分离的单项资产。三者均认为商誉是一项资产。对商誉的确认与计量颇多…     

从违法性角度看许霆案

对于许霆案的性质,学术界有很多不同的看法.个人认为,许霆一案,从违法性角度予以分析具有重要意义.本文拟从行为无价值理论的角度对许霆案进行分析.     

从经济学角度看贪污受贿犯罪

贪污受贿是用不合法的手段得到经济利益,但用不合法的手段得到经济利益不一定都是贪污受贿.贪污受贿的先决条件是要拥有政府赋予的某种支配和管理社会资源的权力,要是没有政府的这种权力也就没有贪污受贿.     

How audit effort affects audit quality: An audit process and audit output perspective

Using a unique dataset of audit days in China from 2006 to 2011, this paper examines the relationship between audit effort and audit quality from the perspective of audit process and audit output. The results show that audit effort significantly increases the probability of audit adjustments, which inhibits positive earnings management and improves the quality of audited financial statements. We also find that audit effort does not have a significant effect on the issuance of modified audit opinions overall, but that a modified audit opinion is more likely to be issued in the absence of an audit adjustment. Furthermore, we find that the impact of audit effort on audit quality is attenuated when clients are more complex and when audit firms are larger. Collectively, our evidence suggests that audit effort plays an important role in improving audit quality by influencing audit process and audit output. Our study extends the literature on the impact of audit effort on audit quality in emerging markets, and the conclusions have important implications for the improvement of China’s audit market efficiency.     

Earnings volatility and audit report lag

This study investigates whether earnings volatility influences audit report lag. If auditors view earnings volatility as affecting risk, and adjust effort in response to risk, we expect earnings volatility to impact audit report lag. Using a sample of 13,075 firm-year observations over the period 2004–2015, we find a negative relation between earnings volatility and audit report lag, consistent with auditors responding to less volatile earnings with increased effort. We also find that the association between earnings volatility and audit report lag is driven by non-industry-specialist auditors, auditors with short tenure, and small and medium sized auditor offices. Furthermore, we examine whether earnings management conducted by way of earnings smoothing affects our results. We find that low earnings volatility has a stronger impact on increasing audit report lag when there is a high degree of earnings smoothing     

Determinants of audit report modifications in Finnish municipalities

Although municipalities are major economic and social actors in most countries, remarkably little is known about their audits, particularly the determinants of their audit report modifications. The existing evidence is ambiguous at best and scarce, which provides opportunities for further accounting studies in this area. Therefore, based on an agency theory framework, we fill this important research gap by exploring three determinants of audit report modifications in municipalities: (1) economic performance, (2) decentralization of decision-making across different decision-making bodies, and (3) political competition between political parties in local councils. These determinants are examined based on a large panel of data on Finnish municipalities for the period from 2009 to 2013, covering virtually all of the country’s municipalities. We find that a striking 33 percent of audit reports had modifications during this period, which raises serious concerns about the state of municipal management, accounting, and auditing in Finland. Regarding the above determinants, the following conclusions can be made based on our analyses. First, we find partial evidence that weak economic performance increases the likelihood of audit report modifications. Second, the lower the competition among political parties in a local council, the lower the likelihood of audit report modifications. Finally, the more decentralized decision making is across the different decision-making bodies under the local council, the higher the probability of audit report modifications. These results are consistent with agency theory’s explanations regarding the value of auditing.     

审计报告两个值得关注的问题

上市公司2000年度报告的审计又已开始,作为一名从事证券业务的注册会计师,自然对年度报告中披露的审计报告格外关心,分析了一些年度报告,我发现有两个问题值得关注.     

Going big,going small: A perspective on strategies for researching audit quality

This paper updates how archival audit research has evolved since the summary in Francis (2004) of what we knew then about audit quality. The paper describes an evolution from “going big” and asking basic questions about the audit market, institutions, and audit quality, to “going small” with a focus on smaller units of analysis (offices, partners, and engagement teams) as the key to understanding audit quality. I used to believe that audit firm differences, and differences across offices within firms, were the most important audit-related sources of variation in quality, and that differences in people and audit teams were relatively unimportant. However, the evidence in Cameran, Campa, and Francis (2022) using UK partner data convinced me otherwise. I now believe the behaviors of partner-led engagement teams are just as important (and maybe more important) than audit firms and offices in understanding audit quality. However, to learn more about partner-led teams means going inside the black box of audit firms, which requires proprietary data from audit firms and research access to their professional staff. I conclude with an example of collaborative research with audit firms.     

Internal audit: A comfort provider to the audit committee

This study, based upon four Belgian case studies, provides insights on (1) what drives the audit committee to look for the support of the internal audit function; and (2) what makes the internal audit function an expert at providing comfort to the audit committee [Pentland, B.T., 1993. Getting comfortable with the numbers: auditing and the micro-production of macro-order. Accounting, Organizations and Society 18 (7–8), 605–620; Carrington, T., Catasús, B., 2007. Auditing stories about discomfort: becoming comfortable with comfort theory. European Accounting Review 16 (1), 35–58]. We found that audit committees seek comfort, with respect to the control environment and internal controls, two areas in which they confront considerable discomfort. Besides the internal audit function's traditional assurance role, its involvement in improving internal controls provides a significant level of comfort to the audit committee. Internal auditors' unique knowledge about risk management and internal control, combined with appropriate inter-personal and behavioural skills, enables them to provide this comfort. Besides, their internal position, their familiarity with the company, and their position close to people across the company facilitate internal auditors being a major source of comfort for the audit committee. Formal audit reports and presentations, together with informal contacts, seem to be important symbols of comfort [Power, M., 1997. The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification. Oxford University Press, Oxford]. In addition, we found that the overall level of comfort to the audit committee can be enhanced via collaboration between internal and external auditing (the so-called ‘joint audit approach’).     

Information content and recency effect of the audit report in loan rating decisions

We examined the significance of the audit report in loan rating decisions using the belief revision model. We designed a laboratory experiment where the sign of the audit report is mixed with other annual financial information in a series of sequential evidence. The results of an experimental design, using 106 loan officers from international financial institutions, support the hypothesis that the qualified audit report appears to be an independent and useful piece of evidence when it is contrary to favourable financial expectations. Our findings also support that the ‘recency effect’ might influence international commercial loan officers’ perception of the qualified audit report.     

Effect of audit report disclosure on auditor litigation risk

Internationally, the escalating number of cases levelled against auditors and the costs of defending such actions has led to the auditing profession calling for measures to reduce their liability burden. Relatively few measures have been taken by the auditing profession by way of adapting the disclosure contained in the audit report to mitigate their litigation risk. This study examines whether the issuance of an audit opinion with a going concern related ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph or work practices disclosure has any effect on potential litigants' likelihood of pursuing litigation against the auditor. An analysis of 69 responses from advanced law students and 18 practitioners working in corporate liquidation demonstrate that a modified (but not qualified) audit report effectively acts as a ‘red flag’ and reduces potential litigants' propensity to initiate litigation. However, work practices disclosure did not significantly alter potential litigants' inclination to recommend litigation. Despite this finding, respondents (particularly liquidators) indicated that work practices disclosure was an important factor in their litigation decision. These results suggest that further investigation into how to effectively disclose the work done on audit and assurance engagements is needed. This has implications for standard setters and the auditing profession, especially considering recent changes in the disclosure contained in audit and assurance reports.     

如何降低房地产开发企业年报审计风险

从行业的经营特征来看,房地产开发企业的成本、收入、税金和资产确认的主观性都高于一般的工商企业.这就相应加大了注册会计师合理把握相关审计准则的难度.从1999年深沪两市的房地产开发企业的审计报告来看,总共33家公司,出具标准无保留意见审计报告的22家,占67%;而出具非标准无保留意见审计报告的却有11家,占33%.