成本费用粘性对审计师行为的影响研究

成本费用粘性影响企业生存发展,而目前关于成本费用粘性的研究大多探讨其前置影响因素,对成本费用粘性经济后果关注较少。以2012-2021年沪深两市A股非金融上市公司为研究样本,本文检验成本费用粘性对审计师行为的影响。研究表明,成本费用粘性显著增加了审计师对被审计单位的审计收费,并且增强了审计师的谨慎性,审计师更加倾向于出具非标准审计意见。经过更换样本检验、自变量滞后一期检验、工具变量检验以及Heckman两阶段检验,结果保持稳健。进一步研究发现,较高的行业竞争程度和较低的内部控制质量,增强了成本费用粘性与审计师行为之间的显著关系。研究结论拓展了成本费用粘性经济后果的文献,填补了成本费用粘性与审计师行为关系的研究空缺,对审计监管部门规范引导审计市场发展、上市公司完善成本管理以及审计师优化审计程序提供了借鉴。     

受罚审计师的传染效应研究

本文以2006~2013年间受罚审计师签字合作同伴的审计客户为实验组,以没有污点的审计师的客户为对照组,从个体层面考察处于同一团队内的审计师在审计质量和审计收费方面是否存在传染效应。与已有研究没有发现同一事务所内部审计师的传染效应不同,我们的研究结果表明:受罚审计师签字同伴的审计质量和审计收费显著低于未曾与受罚审计师合作过的,具体表现为受罚审计师签字同伴具有较高的正向操控性应计、较高的审计报告激进度和较低的应计质量。研究结果表明,审计师个体间的传染效应可能仅存在于同一团队内的审计师之间,其原因可能是这种传染效应是团队内成员在工作合作过程中的相互学习所导致的。     

审计收费、审计师变更与意见购买

实证研究表明,虽然变更审计师增加了上市公司年报被出具非标准审计意见和审计意见恶化的可能性,但是审计师变更更为显著地提高了审计意见改善的可能性;审计收费异常增加与被出具非标准审计意见和审计意见恶化的可能性负相关.公司管理层在一定程度上可以成功实现审计意见购买的动机.此外,异常审计收费、审计收费异常增加和异常降低与审计师变更之间不存在显著的交互效应.     

审计师合作关系网络、跨所流动与行政处罚溢出效应

基于审计师非正式网络的视角,分析并检验了与受罚审计师共处同一合作关系网络的执业经历对未受罚审计师跨所流动后审计质量的影响。研究发现,具有该执业经历的未受罚审计师转所后的审计质量更高。这一处罚溢出效应受到了新任职事务所的一体化管理程度、跨所流动审计师的年龄、与受罚审计师的网络社交距离、以及证监会处罚力度的异质性影响;机制分析表明,为跨所流动审计师配置更有经验的项目搭档,以及审计师个人的社会学习是处罚溢出效应产生的重要原因;进一步研究发现,处罚溢出效应的持续期为三年左右,且当审计客户外部监管风险越高时,处罚溢出效应更为显著。上述研究结论从审计师合作关系网络层面揭示了行政处罚的跨所溢出效应及其产生机制,对于加强事务所内部管理和质量控制具有一定的启示意义。     

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。     

国外对审计师辞聘真实动机研究

国内外关于审计师变更的研究文献非常多。审计师变更根据发起方的不同,可以分为公司发起的审计师更换即解聘,以及审计师发起的审计师更换即辞聘。绝大多数文献在研究审计师更换时一般并不区分这两种不同性质的更换。但也有部分文献区分了辞聘和解聘,本文较为系统地回顾了国外关于审计师辞聘真实动机的研究文献。这些文献表明,在关注中国上市公司披露的审计师变更事项时,应注意区分辞聘与解聘的不同;同时也应关注披露的辞聘动机是否真实。     

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。     

审计师任期、事务所任期与审计质量

本文选择2007年至2012年沪深A股上市公司为研究对象,使用估计的可操控性应计间接衡量审计质量,来验证强制审计师轮换制度的实施是否起到预期的作用,并探讨了事务所任期与审计质量的关系.通过一系列的实证检验得出,当审计师任期超过5年后,随着审计师任期的增加,审计质量逐渐下降验证了签字会计师5年期强制轮换制度的适当性.另外,也得出在控制审计师任期后,随着事务所任期的延长,审计质量随着下降,为事务所轮换提供了证据.     

管理层持股与审计师事务所规模

本文假定大的审计师事务所所提供较高质量的审计服务.通过检验管理层持股比例和审计师事务所规模的关系,检验代理理论的预测.通过管理层持股比例和代理成本之间关系和会计事务所规模和审计质量的结合,代理理论预测代理成本和雇佣高质量的会计师事务所之间是正相关关系     

地方政企合谋与信贷资源配置

通过建立地方政企合谋与信贷资源配置的数理模型来研究分权下地方政府干预信贷资源配置服务于地方政府的自身效用,结果表明地方政企合谋是地方政府在直接干预力度减弱的情况下,间接干预金融资源配置的一个重要的途径;且地方政府官员的政治晋升是助长这些干预行为的关键因素。若将发现地方政企合谋与政府地方官员政治晋升与否直接相关,即能起到威慑作用,并能形成最优的防范地方政企合谋契约。     

独立审计的诚信问题

本文研究了独立审计诚信的涵义、发生作用的条件、产生信任危机的根源 ,以及独立审计诚信与政府政策变动、有关法律制度安排、对高质量审计信息的市场需求、注册会计师的基本素质等变量的关系 ,并在此基础上提出政策建议。     

Can Auditors Predict the Choices Made by Other Auditors?

An implicit assumption of prior literature on strategic behavior of auditors is that auditors know the preferences of their colleagues. In this study, we conduct an experiment to investigate the validity of this assumption. In our experiment, we match a manager with a pair of top and mediocre audit seniors, as assessed by their firm. Each auditor predicts the choices that will be made by other auditors on two tasks that differ in their level of ambiguity. Our results show no difference in the accuracy among managers, top seniors, and mediocre seniors when they predict the choices made by specific individual auditors for both tasks. When predicting the number of managers and seniors who will choose a specific option on the high-ambiguity task, managers outperform top seniors, who in turn outperform mediocre seniors. For the low-ambiguity task, we find no difference among managers, top seniors, and mediocre seniors. Our results provide some limited support for models of strategic auditor behavior, and indicate that the ability to predict the choices of others is a dimension of an auditor's expertise.     

Cognitive Styles Of Experienced Auditors In The Netherlands

Cognitive styles of decision makers have been studied by a number of researchers over a period of years. Previous research has investigated cognitive styles in relation to information systems design and decision-making variables generally. Studies of cognitive styles in relation to auditor specific decision-making variables have been less common.This paper investigates cognitive styles of practicing auditors in The Netherlands using two well-known psychometric instruments: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the MacDonald AT-20 Tolerance for Ambiguity instrument (AT-20). The AT-20 has been used previously to investigate auditor individual differences in cognitive styles in relation to audit decision-making tasks (Pincus 1990). The MBTI has not been previously used to investigate auditor cognitive styles. The study described in this paper involved subjects from three auditing firms in The Netherlands. Subjects were presented with an audit case and asked to come to a decision about materiality. Information in the form of financial statements and other financial information was presented to the subjects via a computer program. The subjects selected the information they wanted to view by choosing an item on a menu. The sequence in which they selected information and the amount of time expended in viewing each page of information were recorded by the computer program. After the subjects finished the case, they were asked to complete the two cognitive style instruments (i.e. MBTI and AT-20).Results indicate that there is a preference for Sensing among subjects as measured by the MBTI. This finding is consistent with previous research using the MBTI which indicates that accountants and auditors generally have a preference for the Sensing type of information acquisition. Some differences between auditing firms were observed in regard to cognitive styles and information search variables.     

Implications Of the AWA Decision For External Auditors, Internal Auditors And Management

The decision in AWA Ltd v Daniels has important implications for auditors, directors and other professionals providing accounting services to clients. Previously, where the external auditor had been negligent, Australian courts awarded full damages against the auditor in favour of the plaintiff In AWA, a defence of contributory negligence succeeded and damages were apportioned between the company and the external auditor. Also, the auditor succeeded in a claim for contribution against the chief executive officer. This paper analyses the implications of the AWA decision for internal and external auditors and management. It examines issues related to contributory negligence and contribution. These issues are important in the light of recent discussion about reform of the law concerning "proportional" liability.     

The Court's Power of Discretionary Relief in Actions Against Auditors

Since 1929, successive Companies Acts have empowered the courts to relieve a company auditor, wholly or partly, from liability for negligence having regard to all the circumstances of the case and if the auditor has acted ‘honestly and reasonably’. This power is now contained within section 727 of the Companies Act 1985. By reference to decided cases in the UK and in those Commonwealth countries where similar legislation exists this article reviews the manner in which the courts have interpreted this section and explores the reasons why they have rarely, if ever, chosen to use their powers under this section in favour of auditors.     

Auditors and base rates revisited

In their 1981 study “Are Auditors' Judgments Sufficiently Regressive?” [Journal of Accounting Research (Autumn 1981) pp. 323–349] Joyce & Biddle found that auditors underweighted base rates relative to a normative standard (Bayes' theorem), but appeared to be more sensitive to base rates than other subject groups. This study extends their results by addressing three questions raised by their findings: (1) Do auditors generally possess greater ability to recognize and utilize base rates than other decision makers? (2) Did the auditing context of the Joyce & Biddle experimental problems influence the results? and (3) Is it the framing of the experimental problems that influenced the apparent integration of base rates?Using students and auditors as subjects, the following five experiments replicate selected Joyce & Biddle experimental problems. The results suggest that it is the framing of the Joyce & Biddle experimental problem that drive their results rather than attributes of auditors or auditing context.     

Apportionment in Actions Against Auditors

Auditors are faced with an increasingly litigious environment. There are several options available to them. One is to seek apportionment with either clients or third parties by the application of the tenets of contributory negligence. Applications of this concept of contributory negligence in U.K. and British Commonwealth cases involving auditors are examined in this paper. Finally, there is a discussion of possible future developments of this branch of law as it affects the role and responsibilities of auditors.