事务所转制效果存在差异吗？——原因与后果

借助理论模型将会计师事务所转制对审计质量及审计收费的影响纳入一个整合的分析框架,推导出影响转制效果的关键因素：除审计师法律责任的增加程度以外,客户经营风险以及转制前审计质量水平也同样影响审计质量及审计收费的提高。基于2007—2015年中国A股上市公司数据,在控制了客户经营风险之后进行实证研究,结果表明审计质量及审计收费的提升确实在初始审计质量较低的中小型事务所样本中更加显著。进一步研究发现,在事务所转制的过程中及完成后,更多的审计客户从中小型事务所转换为前十大事务所,且这种客户流动趋势在异常审计收费较高的样本中更加显著。     

The impact of litigation risk on the association between audit quality and auditor size: Evidence from China

We examine whether audit quality varies across different sizes of CPA firms under high or low auditor‐specific litigation risk exposure. We measure audit quality by the issuance of modified audit opinions and the audit fees charged to clients, and we use the organizational form of CPA firms as the proxy for auditors’ litigation risk exposure, where a partnership (limited liability) CPA firm represents a high (low) litigation risk exposure. Built on Choi, Kim, Liu, and Simunic's (2008) theoretical framework, we hypothesize that the litigation risk exposure of CPA firm moderates the association between auditor size and audit quality. Our results show that when the auditor's liability is capped (i.e., registered as a limited liability form of CPA firm), larger size CPA firms are associated with higher audit quality when compared to smaller size CPA firms. However, this positive association between auditor size and audit quality disappears for audit firms that are subject to high litigation risk exposures (i.e., registered as a partnership form of CPA firm). Our research provides new insights on the impact of auditor‐specific litigation risks on the relation between audit quality and auditor size. In particular, we show that only when auditor‐specific litigation risk is limited, do large CPA firms appear to perform higher quality audits than small CPA firms.     

真实活动盈余管理影响审计师的风险决策吗？

以2000—2012年我国上市公司为样本,分析并检验客户公司的真实活动盈余管理对审计师风险决策的影响。研究发现：客户公司的真实活动盈余管理程度越大,审计师出具非标准审计意见的概率越大、审计收费越高,但和审计师变更没有显著关系。进一步研究还发现：在纵向上,随着法律制度不断完善,审计费用、非标准审计意见的概率和真实活动盈余管理程度之间的关系更敏感;在横向上,审计收费策略和非标准审计意见策略之间存在替代效应。     

Investor legal protection,capitalized development costs,and audit fees: A cross‐country analysis

Our study explores the association between capitalized development costs and audit fees. International Accounting Standard No. 38 stipulates the discretion to capitalize the development costs of internally generated intangible assets. We find a positive association between capitalized development costs and audit fees, which reflects auditors’ concern that managers may use the discretion of development cost capitalization to manipulate earnings. Moreover, this positive association is mitigated by stronger investor legal protection because stronger investor legal protection alleviates the earnings management concern from capitalized development costs. These results suggest that country‐level legal regimes affect auditors’ perception on client firms’ accounting choices. Our study contributes to the literature exploring how legal regimes affect auditor behaviors.     

家族企业国际化对审计收费的影响研究

以我国2010—2020年沪深A股上市家族企业为研究样本,实证检验家族企业国际化与审计收费之间的关系。研究结果发现,家族企业国际化程度的加深会使得审计收费提高。代际传承和家族董事席位分别在两者之间发挥正向和负向调节作用。机制检验表明,家族企业开展国际化经营增加了企业的经营风险,提高了审计师对于风险的评估,从而导致审计收费的提高。进一步研究发现,家族企业国际化与审计收费之间的正向影响在不具有海外背景高管的企业以及不存在国有持股的企业中更为突出。研究结论为从审计师视角加强对家族企业国际化的监管提供理论依据和经验证据。     

Audit Services and Fees of Large Accounting Firms

In the audit literature, it was postulated that audit firms are differentiated due to their quality and, thus, the fees charged are a function of quality. We hypothesize that this may lead to audit firm specialization in different amounts of auditing, leading to a differential audit fee structure. This hypothesis is empirically tested by using a very large sample of audit fees paid to then Big Eight auditors. The results are consistent with the hypothesis in that three Big Eight auditors are observed to charge significantly different fees when compared with the other firms.     

再融资资格、异常审计收费与审计意见变通

增加审计收费是上市公司改善审计意见的重要手段,但能在多大程度上改善审计意见需要进一步研究.以2008-2010年间被出具非标审计意见的上市公司为研究对象,进一步将非标审计意见细分,考察这些公司在随后会计年度审计意见的改善程度与审计收费的关系,结果显示:变更审计师不能改善审计意见,上市公司审计收费水平异常增加,可以引起审计意见的改善,但改善的幅度有限,难以通过增加审计收费达到购买标准审计意见的目的.特别值得关注的是,上市公司通过增加审计费用成功地将带强调事项段的审计意见变更为标准审计意见,实现了再融资目的.     

会计师事务所的进入、退出与审计市场的竞争

本文主要从进入、退出的角度研究审计市场的竞争。本文的分析表明,审计市场的市场占有率变动率更为合理地衡量市场的动态变化,审计市场的进入壁垒主要是准入壁垒(管制壁垒),而结构性壁垒和流动性壁垒主要存在于大客户市场,对于小客户市场的影响作用很小。为了防止进入者的进入,在位者通过各种流动性壁垒的设置以提高进入者的成本。但从总体看,审计市场仍然是高度竞争的。     

Gestaltung der Abschlussprüferhaftung – Implikationen theoretischer Modelle

Business scandals such as Enron, WorldCom or Parmalat have sparked intense discussions on the quality of corporate governance as well as the trustworthiness of statutory auditors. It is therefore no surprise that regulators have issued a large number of new regulations concerning auditing. The civil liability of external auditors has not changed in Germany, but such changes have already been announced by the German government. An increase in the existing liability cap in cases of negligent misconduct and extended third-party liability are planned. As a consequence, the results of analytical research on this topic are highly relevant. This paper summarises and comments on prior analytical research, in particular its assumptions and results, and focuses on important elements for the design of a liability regime. To this end, the paper addresses the questions of joint–and-several vs. proportionate liability rules, negligent vs. strict liability regimes, the extent of third party liability, and limited vs. unlimited liability.     

Audit Fees in a Joint Audit Setting

Abstract

This paper uses the uniqueness of the French audit environment to conduct an in-depth study of audit pricing issues associated with the requirement to hire two independent auditors (joint audit). I use a model derived from Simunic's [(1980). The pricing of audit services: Theory and evidence. Journal of Accounting Research, 18(1), 161–190] seminal work to examine to what extent audit fees are influenced by the number of Big 4 joint auditors (zero, one, or two). After controlling for well-known drivers of audit fees that are specific to audit client firms (size, complexity, and risk), for governance characteristics and for auditor selection, the paper shows that the decision to hire two Big 4 auditors as joint auditors does not require the payment of a higher Big 4 premium compared to the choice of one Big 4 auditor paired with a smaller auditor, other things being equal. The choice of two Big 4 auditors thus appears to be a rational economic choice for large and international firms.     

审计师轮换类别与审计结果——基于“关系”的视角

审计师强制轮换制度能够从制度上对审计师独立性给予一定程度的保证,而社会关系的存在会对审计师的独立性产生影响,但同时也能够增加前后任审计师工作交接的效率。以2007—2019年签字审计师轮换为样本研究发现,同一事务所内签字审计师的变更会使得后任审计师出具清洁审计意见的可能性提升,后任审计师审计当年发生财务重述的可能性较低,且可操纵性应计利润较低。但是,后任审计师获取的审计费用并没有显著降低。与不同事务所之间的签字审计师轮换相比,同一事务所审计师轮换情况下,由于更易进行信息共享与沟通,后任审计师的审计质量更高,且与前任审计师审计质量相比,后任审计师审计质量有所提升。     

Secrecy Culture and Audit Opinion: Some International Evidence

We examine whether and how auditors respond to audit risks arising from secrecy culture when making audit opinion decisions. Using a sample of international Big N auditors from 33 countries, we find strong and robust evidence that auditors are more likely to issue modified audit opinions to clients domiciled in countries with a strong secrecy culture. In addition, we find that the association between secrecy culture and auditors' propensity to issue modified audit opinions is less pronounced in countries with strong investor protection than that in countries with weak investor protection.     

审计关系错配、盈余质量与整合审计收费

以2012—2015年沪深主板A股执行整合审计的上市公司为研究样本，基于整合审计背景探讨审计关系错配与整合审计收费，研究发现大所对小规模客户给予整合审计收费折扣；小所对大规模客户给予整合审计收费折扣。进一步研究发现，基于财务报表审计与内部控制审计的知识溢出效应及联动机制，执行整合审计有助于审计师识别公司管理层的盈余管理行为。     

Ownership concentration,modified audit opinion,and auditor switch: New evidence and method

This study investigates: 1) how does the ownership structure of listed firms influence the relation between their earnings management behavior and auditor opinion; 2) how does the ownership structure influence the relation between the auditor opinion and auditor switch. We find that the level of listed firms’ earnings management is positively associated with the propensity of being issued modified audit opinions (MAOs) by auditors when their ownership structure is highly concentrated. However, the issuance of MAOs is not associated with the auditor switch under such condition. On the contrary, a high level of earnings management is not associated with the propensity of being issued MAOs when firms’ ownership structure is less concentrated. Further, the issuance of MAOs may increase the likelihood of auditor switch. The empirical findings suggest that auditors may cater for the preferences of the real controller of listed firms when issuing audit opinions. Moreover, the “auditor opinion shopping” behavior by listed firms is also affected by listed firms’ ownership structure.     

控制权安排、事务所定价策略和审计质量——来自Ａ股市场的证据

本文通过对2003 ～ 2009年A股上市公司审计费用的分析,讨论控制权安排和事务所定价策略对审计质量的影响.研究结果表明,中央政府控股和地方政府控股的国有上市公司的审计费用会显著低于民营上市公司;国内十大所对中央政府控股的上市公司会采取低价竞争策略.研究结果表明政府行为对事务所定价策略产生重要影响,为今后完善法律制度环境、推动事务所做大做强提供了经验支持.     

客户关系变动提高了审计费用吗？

在全球供应链不断发展的形势下，稳定的供应链关系愈发重要。从审计师风险应对视角探讨客户关系变动是否以及如何影响审计费用。实证结果表明，客户关系变动显著增加了审计费用。机制检验发现，客户关系变动使审计师加大审计投入并感知到更高的审计风险，进而收取更高的审计费用。进一步探究客户关系变动的原因及其对审计费用的影响后发现，客户自身面临财务困境时引发客户关系变动，提高了审计费用;但当企业经济政策不确定性较高时却降低了客户关系变动，从而降低审计费用。基于事务所层面和企业层面的异质性检验还发现，客户关系变动与审计费用的正向关系主要体现在高资质事务所、客户集中度较高和治理水平低的企业中。研究结论为探讨客户关系变动的经济后果提供了新的证据和视角，对当下中国如何进行供应链风险管理具有启示意义。     

商业模式创新与审计收费——基于线上销售的视角

考察企业线上销售这一商业模式创新对审计收费的影响，基于2009—2020年我国全部A股上市公司的年报数据，利用Python语言构建企业开展线上销售的度量指标，实证研究发现,企业开展线上销售会使得审计收费显著增加,该结论在经过一系列稳健性检验后仍然成立。从机制检验结果来看，线上销售增加了审计风险，导致审计师采取更多的应对措施，从而提高了审计收费。异质性分析结果表明，“四大”事务所、具有行业专长以及具有较高信息技术水平的审计师审计会削弱线上销售对审计收费的正向影响。总之，厘清了线上销售这一商业模式创新对上市公司审计收费的影响及作用机制，加深了关于商业模式创新对企业经营及审计行为影响的认识，同时也为推动审计行业转型发展提供了有益启示。     

Sustainability reporting quality and post‐audit financial reporting quality: Empirical evidence from the UK

This study examines whether firms that appear to exhibit high sustainability reporting quality are less likely to engage in earnings management activities, thereby delivering financial information that is more transparent and reliable than that delivered by firms that do not produce high‐quality sustainability reports. I also investigate whether the association between sustainability reporting quality and post‐audit financial reporting quality is conditional on audit effort. Analysis of data drawn from FTSE 350 companies covering 2007 to 2018 indicates that firms that produce high‐quality sustainability reports are significantly and negatively associated with earnings management metrics. More importantly, this association is moderated by audit effort, measured by audit fees, suggesting that sustainability reporting quality reflects factors considered by auditors in their audit risk assessment practices. These results remain robust after several sensitivity analyses. I conclude that firms that devote more resources to producing high‐quality sustainability reports are likely to demonstrate an overall commitment to quality that alleviates auditors' concerns about the opportunistic use of sustainability reporting and reduces business risk, thereby reducing the effort auditors expend to verify financial reports.     

Enforcement Actions and Auditor Changes

In this paper, we examine whether the uncovering of erroneous financial statements by German enforcement agencies is related to subsequent auditor changes. We argue that enforcement actions are likely to reveal information about the client or its auditor, which might affect auditor choice by initiating an update of mutual expectations. Our empirical findings indicate that firms with erroneous financial statements indeed have an increased probability of subsequent auditor changes. Firms also tend to change from a non-Big4 auditor to a Big4 auditor in this situation, suggesting that clients increasingly seek the reputation and services of Big4 auditors. Big4 auditors in turn do not appear to refrain from taking over error-firms as new clients in the German setting, which is characterized by limited auditor liability. Additionally, auditor changes are more likely to occur before the public announcement of an error, indicating that firms take action as soon as the uncovering of an accounting error becomes sufficiently certain.     

Audit committee effectiveness and the audit fee

The UK is the only major country within the European Union the majority of whose listed companies have formed audit committees composed of non-executive directors to monitor financial reporting, the external auditors, and internal control strength. The adoption of audit committees in contrast to the approach in Europe has arisen despite the lack of evidence on their effectiveness even in the USA and Canada, where they have been mandatory since the 1970s. This paper seeks to establish whether audit committees are effective in ensuring audit quality by protecting the auditors from fee cuts which might affect audit quality, and signal tighter internal controls which help to reduce audit time and hence audit fees. The problem is that the audit committee may be expected to exert a two-way pressure on audit fees. To the extent that audit committees should enhance audit quality, partly by ensuring that audit hours are not reduced, an audit committee may be expected to increase total audit fees. At the same time, an audit committee may reasonably be thought to be a proxy for internal control strength. Ceteris paribus, companies with strong internal controls may be expected to pay lower audit fees than those with weak internal controls. Our paper argues that the ‘quality’ aspect of the audit can be captured through a dummy firm size variable, whilst the internal control aspects can be captured through dummy risk and complexity variables. The hypotheses examined are that size related audit fees are higher in companies with an audit committee; and that risk- and complexity-related audit fees are lower in companies with audit committees. The hypotheses are tested by developing a regression model for audit fees of a sample of the companies which comprise the FT-SE 500, with variables being included for the presence or absence of an audit committee. The results show that the relationship between size-related audit fees and the presence of an audit committee is positive and statistically significant, but that although there is a negative relationship between risk- and complexity-related audit fees and the presence of an audit committee, the relationships are not conclusively significant. The findings provide support for the contention that audit committees are at least partially effective in preventing reductions in the audit fee to levels where the quality of the audit may be compromised.