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。     

The Contribution of Internal Audit as a Determinant of External Audit Fees and Factors Influencing This Contribution

Despite extensive research on the determinants of external audit fees, there is little empirical evidence on the effect of internal audit contribution on the external audit fee. Using a cross-sectional regression model based on prior audit fee research, this study provides evidence that internal audit contribution is a significant determinant of the external audit fee. Further, a second model that provides evidence on the determinants of internal audit contribution is developed and tested. This second model indicates that internal audit contribution is influenced by internal audit quality and, conditional on the level of inherent risk, the availability of internal audit and the extent of coordination between internal and external auditors. These results are based on a unique data-set comprised of publicly available data matched with survey responses from internal and external auditors affiliated with 70 non-financial services Fortune 1000 firms. The sample includes all of the former "Big 6" international accounting firms and clients from twenty-nine different industries.     

税收规避与审计收费

本文从税收规避的价值效应、信息质量效应和代理问题等角度,探讨了税收规避与审计收费的关系.研究发现:税收规避与审计收费整体上呈"U"型关系;当公司税收规避程度较低时,避税的价值效应占主导,税收规避程度与审计收费负相关;当公司税收规避程度较高时,避税引发的代理问题占主导,表现为税收规避程度与审计收费正相关.上述因果关系的成立不因产权性质的不同而发生改变.进一步分析表明,机构投资者持股和调研均发挥了监督作用,能够相应地强化价值效应和削弱代理冲突.本文丰富了审计师视角下企业避税的二重作用效应研究,也推进了不同风险水平下机构投资者的公司治理效果研究.     

The Effect of Corporate Status on External Audit Fees: Evidence From the UK

Abstract:  This paper simultaneously examines, for the first time, the determinants of external audit fees of UK companies drawn from the quoted sector (Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market and Ofex), and the unquoted sector (public and private limited companies). The paper also provides new evidence on the effects of corporate failure and the persistence of the big four and mid-tier auditor premiums across the public and private corporate sectors. After controlling for firm size, audit risk and complexity, we find that quoted and unquoted public limited companies have significantly higher audit fees than their private limited counterparts. Our estimates imply that relative premiums for market/corporate form are as follows: Main Market over AIM, 6.8%; AIM over Ofex, 19.5%; Ofex over unquoted plc, 15.5%; and unquoted plc over private, 16.7%. However, despite indications in prior US research to the contrary, we find no evidence that insolvent firms that failed were charged higher audit fees in the year preceding failure. A positive relationship is also found between audit and consultancy fees – a result that persists using an instrumental variables approach to control for endogeneity.     

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。     

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。     

企业避税地直接投资与审计费用

以2002~2016年我国沪深A股上市公司为样本,考察企业避税地直接投资对审计费用的影响,并基于信息风险、代理风险以及法律风险等视角揭示其作用机制.研究发现:避税地直接投资显著增加了上市公司审计费用.原因在于避税地直接投资降低了上市公司信息透明度并增加了公司代理成本这提高了审计师的审计风险,进而导致了较高的审计费用.不过,避税地直接投资并不会增加企业的法律风险进而提高审计费用.进一步研究还发现,税收情报交换协定有助于缓解避税地直接投资所引发的信息风险,而良好的内部控制则有助于减轻避税地直接投资所带来的信息风险与代理风险.研究在理论上丰富了避税地直接投资经济后果及审计费用影响因素的相关文献,在实践中为进一步加强企业避税地直接投资监管提供了有益借鉴.     

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     

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.     

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.     

超额商誉、高管激励与审计收费

基于2011-2018年沪深A股上市公司样本,实证检验超额商誉对审计收费的影响以及高管激励的调节效应.研究表明:超额商誉提高了审计收费,且在民营企业更显著;而高管不同激励方式对超额商誉与审计收费的调节具有异质性:股权激励具有抑制作用,而薪酬激励具有增强效应;从作用机制来看,超额商誉通过增加经营风险和审计投入,进而提高审计收费.     

On the Relationship between Audit Tenure and Fees Paid to the Audit Firm and Audit Quality

Abstract

We investigate the impact of audit firm tenure, partner tenure, audit fees, fees for non-audit services and total fees on audit quality, as measured by discretionary accruals. Our sample consists of Spanish non-financial public companies for the years between 2006 and 2013. Results indicate that audit quality increases with audit firm tenure but decreases with partner tenure. Moreover, the level of fees paid to the audit firm seems to have a negative impact on audit quality, which is mainly driven by fees for audit services. In this regard, we do not observe any significant relationship between fees for non-audit services and audit quality. Our results also show that the negative relationship between either long partner tenures or high fees and audit quality does not occur when the tenure with the audit firm is long. Therefore, long audit firm tenures do not only seem to involve higher audit quality ‘per se’, but also moderate the negative effects of partner tenure and audit fees on audit quality. The results of this study, which are robust to several sensitivity checks, may be relevant for the current debate on auditor rotation and the joint provision of audit and non-audit services.     

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.     

Audit Labor Usage and Fees under Business Risk Auditing

The adoption of business risk audit (BRA) approaches during the 1990s by several leading audit firms has been the subject of considerable scrutiny and commentary. Under BRA, the auditor responds to the increasing complexity of auditee financial reports by acquiring a deep and comprehensive understanding of the auditee's industry, strategy, business models, and processes—tasks best accomplished by higher-ranked labor—and by employing this understanding to make audit labor allocations. Using proprietary data for 165 audits conducted in 2002, we investigate three propositions about audit labor use under BRA. First, relative to pre-BRA benchmarks for the same auditor, we expect BRA audits to use a greater proportion of higher-ranked labor. Second, we expect engagements with high assessed auditor business risk (ABR), a summary risk assessment that reflects the BRA auditor's rich understanding of the auditee, to be allocated more labor and more higher-ranked labor than pre-BRA benchmarks. Third, at all ranks of labor, we expect a positive association between assessed ABR and levels of labor use. We find empirical evidence consistent with these propositions. We also find that total labor use in our sample is only modestly lower than pre-BRA norms. Analysis of fee data from these engagements suggests that audit fees in 2002 are substantially less than would be expected under pre-BRA benchmarks. After controlling for audit labor use, both total fees and fees per hour increase with assessed ABR for first-year auditees but not for continuing auditees. Overall, our results provide evidence on the impact of the BRA audit regime and speak to the likely impact of BRA on audit effectiveness and efficiency.     

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。     

融资约束、审计费用与现金持有价值

审计费用和现金持有价值是公司财务审计研究领域的两个重要话题。审计费用高低所隐含的公司风险程度影响着投资者对公司增加现金持有量将产生积极还是消极效应的判断,会导致公司股票超额回报率的变化,进而也可能影响其现金持有价值,目前尚无相关的研究。本文以现金持有的边际价值模型为基础,引入审计费用和融资约束变量,对融资约束条件下审计费用与公司现金持有价值的关系进行研究后发现,过高的审计费用会降低公司的现金持有价值,审计费用增加得越多,公司的现金持有价值越低。进一步的分析发现,相对于其面临较高程度的融资约束时,公司面临较低程度的融资约束时审计费用对其现金持有价值的负向影响更为显著。     

家族企业特征、代理成本与审计费用

本文以2016-2020年上市家族企业的数据为研究样本,从代理成本角度出发,实证检验我国家族企业特征对审计费用的影响。研究发现：家族成员在最高管理团队中的比例和家族实际控制人持有股份的比例越高,支付的审计费用越低,且代理成本在其中发挥中介效应;家族成员在监事会中比例与审计费用呈显著的正相关关系,且代理成本在其中也发挥中介效应。本文为家族企业的治理以及审计师确定审计收费提供了经验证据。     

Auditor Market Share,Product Differentiation and Audit Fees

This study examines the effects of auditor market share and product differentiation on audit fees. Previous studies have attributed the price premium charged by the Big Eight (the Big Six in the present study) to Big Eight product differentiation. However, such a price premium could be partly due to monopoly pricing. In the present study, the Hong Kong audit market provides a unique setting in which a non-Big Six local auditor has a market share comparable to those of the third and fourth largest Big Six firms. This makes it feasible to control for the effects of market share via matching. Also, the wide disparity among the Big Six firms ‘market shares in Hong Kong makes it feasible to test for the effects of market power on audit fees. The results show that, consistent with prior studies, the Big Six audit firms charge higher audit fees than non-Big Six firms in the small auditee, but not the big auditee, market. This suggests that similar economic forces to those other audit markets are also at work in Hong Kong. Despite the Big Six firms’ widely different market shares, there was no price differentiation among them. Yet there was a Big Six price premium over the large local firm with a similar market share to those of two of the Big Six. Together, these results suggest that the Big Six price premium is a result of product differentiation rather than monopoly pricing.     

Size of Audit Fees and Perceptions of Auditors'Ability to Resist Management Pressure in Audit Conflict Situations

Using a multi-factor ANOVA design and forty-nine bankers as subjects, this study examined the effects of audit fee size, management advisory services, audit firm size and competition on perceptions of the auditors'ability to resist management pressure in an audit conflict situation. It postulates that size of the audit fee is a major explanatory factor regardless of the provision of management advisory services, audit firm size or level of competition. Results supported the hypothesized effects of these variables and, in particular, that size of audit fee affects perceptions of the auditors'ability to resist management pressure regardless of the other variables.