Internal governance structures and earnings management

This paper investigates the role of a firm's internal governance structure in constraining earnings management. It is hypothesized that the practice of earnings management is systematically related to the strength of internal corporate governance mechanisms, including the board of directors, the audit committee, the internal audit function and the choice of external auditor. Based on a broad cross‐sectional sample of 434 listed Australian firms, for the financial year ending in 2000, a majority of non‐executive directors on the board and on the audit committee are found to be significantly associated with a lower likelihood of earnings management, as measured by the absolute level of discretionary accruals. The voluntary establishment of an internal audit function and the choice of auditor are not significantly related to a reduction in the level of discretionary accruals. Our additional analysis, using small increases in earnings as a measure of earnings management, also found a negative association between this measure and the existence of an audit committee.     

国家审计与国家治理:理论基础和实现路径

刘家义审计长提出了"审计实质上是国家依法用权力监督制约权力的行为,其本质是国家治理这个大系统中一个内生的具有预防、揭示和抵御功能的‘免疫系统’,是国家治理的重要组成部分"的重要论断(简称审计的"国家治理"论)。本文探讨"国家治理"论的理论基础和实现路径。我们认为,"国家治理"论秉承社会契约论,基于不完全契约下的代理理论,在国家审计本质、目标和职能认识上,实现了对"免疫系统"论和"审计监督"论的超越和升华。国家审计应坚持以提升人民幸福为中心,围绕建立善治政府,充分运用监督、评价和鉴证三大职能,主要从监督责任、评价效率、提高透明度和促进民主法治四个方面,夯实国家治理基础,促进善治,最终提升人民幸福。     

新时代行政事业单位内部控制审计理论建构

建立与国家治理现代化相适应的内部控制制度体系,是十九届四中全会提出的治理和制度关系的具体体现。在我国行政事业单位内部控制建设和报告法制化、常态化的同时,内部控制审计在理论和政策上尚处于空白。本文结合国家治理理论、内部控制政策和实践,充分发挥我国特殊国情下的审计理论与制度优势,建构了包括目标、主体、内容、标准、程序、报告六大方面的行政事业单位内部控制审计理论体系,即以合规保证和效率提升为目标,以内部审计做主力、社会审计做辅助、国家审计做监督为合力,以建设行为和报告信息为内容,以政策要求和法规条款为标准,以制度测试和系统测试为程序,以揭示问题和提供建议为报告,以期为行政事业单位内部控制审计政策制定及实践应用建立理论基础。     

Role of corporate governance in mitigating the selective disclosure of executive stock option information

We examine the nature and extent of statutory executive stock option disclosures by Australian listed companies over the 2001–2004 period, and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on these disclosures. Our results show a progressive increase in overall compliance from 2001 to 2004. However, despite the improved compliance, the results reveal managements’ continued reluctance to disclose more sensitive executive stock option information. Factors associated with good internal governance, including board independence, audit committee independence and effectiveness, and compensation committee independence and effectiveness are found to contribute to improved compliance. Similarly, certain external governance factors are associated with improved disclosure, including external auditor quality, shareholder activism (as proxied by companies identified as poor performers by the Australian Shareholders’ Association) and regulatory intervention.     

Government auditing and corruption control: Evidence from China’s provincial panel data

Since its foundation, China’s government auditing system has played a very important role in maintaining financial and economic order and improving government accountability and transparency. Though a great deal of research has discussed the role of government auditing in discovering and deterring corruption, there is little empirical evidence on whether government auditing actually helps to reduce corruption. Using China’s provincial panel data from 1999 to 2008, this paper empirically examines the role of government auditing in China’s corruption control initiatives. Our findings indicate that the number of irregularities detected in government auditing is positively related to the corruption level in that province, which means the more severe the corruption is in a province, the more irregularities in government accounts are found by local audit institutions. Also, post-audit rectification effort is negatively related to the corruption level in that province, indicating that greater rectification effort is associated with less corruption. This paper provides empirical evidence on how government auditing can contribute to curbing corruption, which is also helpful for understanding the role of China’s local audit institutions in government governance and can enrich the literature on both government auditing and corruption control.     

国家审计服务国家治理的理论分析与实现路径探讨——基于受托经济责任观的视角

国家治理是当今世界的重要议题。建立科学合理的治理结构和运用适当的治理机制以保证和促进国家治理目标的实现,已成为公共受托经济责任的重要内容。作为国家治理的重要组成部分,国家审计理应充分发挥审计功能,服务国家治理。本文基于受托经济责任观,在深入分析受托经济责任与国家审计以及受托经济责任与国家治理相互关系的基础上,从构建全新的公共受托经济责任报告体系,创新国家/政府审计对象载体;建立健全绩效管理制度、全面推进政府绩效审计;推进责任政府建立,进一步深化经济责任审计;构建并实施治理导向审计模式以及权力导向审计模式五个方面深入探讨了国家审计服务国家治理的实现路径。     

审计处理、审计整改与财政收支违规行为

基于2006-2012年的审计年鉴数据,实证检验了国家审计中审计决定、审计移送和审计建议的处理与整改对于审计查出财政违规问题金额的影响.研究结果显示,无论审计署特派办还是地方审计机关,虽然独立性和隶属关系不同,但在审计处理和审计整改之间并未形成交互加强的互补关系.研究发现表明,在维护国家财经秩序和促进政府良治的过程中,国家审计的现实表现与服务国家治理、提倡审计免疫的理论要求尚存在差距,需要加强审计处理与审计整改协同机制的建设.     

转移支付优化审计策略研究——以事权和支出责任相适应改革为背景

中央与地方财权与事权的不对称使转移支付制度成为实现地方政府财力与事权匹配的基本手段,以弥补政府间纵向财政失衡和横向财政失衡。但目前我国财政转移支付因体制的诱致性变迁、设计理念缺陷、事权与支出责任分离等原因,存在效能不彰、运行效率漏损、结构不合理、规范性水平低、程序规制失范等问题。在全面深化财税体制改革下,国家审计机关可以发挥＆quot;免疫系统＆quot;功能和国家治理作用,对转移支付从审计内容、审计导向、资金流向等方面提升审计层次,把问效、问绩、问责贯穿转移支付审计过程始终,关注转移支付资金的安全性、效率性、经济性,实现政府支出责任随事权转移、各级政府财力与事权相匹配,优化转移支付,完善政府治理。     

历史维度的国家审计研究——基于国家治理视角

国家治理的需求和目标决定了国家审计的产生和发展方向;国家审计是国家治理的重要组成部分,对权力的制衡发挥独特的作用.本文以国家治理的目标导向作为切入点,以历史维度为经,以国家审计治理政策为纬,探究了国家治理和国家审计的天然联系、适应性及地位作用的变化.国家审计治理是经济发展方式转变的内在要求和经济发展方式转变的现实需要,”溯往以为来者师也”,围绕今后一个时期我国政府体制改革的重点领域提出了国家审计治理的政策建议.     

基于协同治理理论的政府投资项目审计模式研究

介绍了政府投资项目存在的现实问题和对政府投资项目审计的迫切要求。基于协同治理理论,通过分析得出了政府投资项目与协同治理理论具有一定的契合性的结论。创造性的提出了政府投资项目协同治理审计模式,并分析了其目标、内涵、特点、结构和审计内容。在此基础上,设计了政府投资项目协同治理审计评价指标体系,重点提出并建立了政府投资项目协同治理审计评价模型、内部协同审计检查机制和外部治理审计监控机制。分析结果表明政府投资项目协同治理审计模式的提出在理论和实践上具有一定的创新性和时效性。     

Do corporate governance recommendations improve the performance and accountability of small listed companies?

This study examines whether the implementation of the 2003 Australian Securities Exchange Limited governance recommendations influenced the governance choices of small companies and whether compliance improves their accounting and market performance and earnings quality. Our analysis examines small and large companies because we are interested in the different effects of the governance recommendations on the two groups. The analysis shows a significant shift by small and large companies to comply with the recommendations around the time of their introduction. We find that formation of an audit committee surrounding the reform period is significantly associated with improved earnings quality for small and large companies. However, compliance with other governance recommendations is not systematically associated with improved performance or earnings quality.     

Audit Committee Effectiveness in Victorian Local Government

This research addressed the questions: do audit committees (AC) in Victorian local government function effectively? Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to measure the perceptions, attitudes and perspectives of mayors, chief executives and chairs of the AC. The results were compared with perceptions of committee members of the Local Government and Shires Association of New South Wales and board members of the Municipal Association of Victoria as the representative bodies of local government in New South Wales and Victoria. There was a similarity of views in relation to: (1) inputs of an AC; (2) the behavioural nuances of the rigour of debate, trust and effective communications; and (3) the relationships with councillors and management. Limitations to effectiveness included: (1) attraction and retention of members; (2) the variability of expertise and the skills of the members; (3) continuing professional development for members; (4) ‘gaming’ behaviours; (5) power games associated with the appointment process; and (6) domination of the AC by members or management. The suggested way forward is the reinforcement of a strong governance culture in local government and an effective AC providing oversight of compliance, governance, internal control and risk processes.     

Explanations for Not Having an Audit Committee in a ‘Comply or Explain’ Regime

We utilise the Australian ‘comply or explain’ corporate governance regime to examine the explanations given for not having an audit committee and whether these explanations are consistent with underlying firm characteristics. We hand‐collect explanations provided by firms, and find the most common explanations are that the firm or board size is too small or that the firm is insufficiently complex to justify an audit committee. Thus, the reasons that firms provide for not having an audit committee are focused on internal factors limiting their ability to supply an audit committee. As we find that these explanations are associated with lower total assets, smaller board size and lower leverage, they are consistent with underlying firm characteristics. Thus firms are not providing inconsistent or unrelated explanations as pretexts to avoid forming an audit committee. Documenting that the explanations given for non‐compliance are associated with related firm characteristics should be of interest to regulators and policy makers.     

Internal audit,alternative internal audit structures and the level of misappropriation of assets fraud

In recent years, the importance of good corporate governance has received significant public and regulatory attention. A crucial part of an entity's corporate governance is its internal audit function. At the same time, there has been significant public concern about the level of fraud within organizations. The purpose of this study is to assess whether organizations with an internal audit function are more likely to detect and self‐report fraud than those without. In this study, we use a unique self‐reported measure of misappropriation of assets fraud for the first time. The fraud data are from the 2004 KPMG Fraud Survey, which reported fraud from 491 organizations in the private and public sector across Australia and New Zealand. The internal audit data are from a separate mail survey sent to the respondents of the KPMG Fraud Survey. We find that organizations with an internal audit function are more likely than those without such a function to detect and self‐report fraud. Furthermore, organizations that rely solely on outsourcing for their internal audit function are less likely to detect and self‐report fraud than those that undertake at least part of their internal audit function themselves. These findings suggest that internal audit adds value through improving the control and monitoring environment within organizations to detect and self‐report fraud. These results also suggest that keeping the internal audit function within the organization is more effective than completely outsourcing that function.     

Institutional environment and qualified foreign institutional investors' trust in auditing

Even though corporate governance is a channel for qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) to mitigate information asymmetry and is essential in substituting for poor institutional quality in the host countries of QFIIs, systematic evidence is scanty due to the challenge of capturing institutional quality changes in the host country. Thus, this study examines how improvements in country-level institutional quality affect QFIIs' trust in a firm's audit quality. Using a propensity score matching method, we found that after the 2013 anti-corruption reform improved the institutional quality level in China, Chinese firms without an audit committee experienced a sharp increase in QFII ownership relative to their peers. This finding is more pronounced in regions where the government exerted more effort in combating corruption. Our findings provide supporting evidence that the improvement in institutional quality increases QFIIs' trust in the audit quality, thereby decreasing their reliance on the audit committee as an internal corporate governance mechanism.     

审计委员会财务专家监督作用的多维透析

本文从政策规范、学术研究和运行机制等多个维度剖析了审计委员会财务专家的公司治理角色,认为财务专家在公司治理中发挥了积极的监督作用,但实务中对财务专家的定义和财务专家有效监督基理的认识还存在一定的差异性和模糊性。本文还认为,确保兼具独立性和专业胜任能力的财务专家以及完善财务专家市场和财务专家的职业声誉机制,是财务专家发挥有效监督作用的关键所在。     

Audit Committee Regulation in Australia: How Far Have We Come?

This paper presents a synopsis of the major developments in corporate governance regulations and recommendations for Australian audit committees, categorised into three distinct periods of regulation from 1976 to 2004. Earlier Australian research on audit committee formation, composition and diligence is summarised and compared. The research is then extended by presenting the results of an empirical study of 188 of the top 300 ASX listed companies with a financial year end of 30 June 2004, the first year of the third period of regulation. The results indicate that compliance with corporate governance regulations and recommendations had improved substantially with respect to: audit committee formation; the number of audit committee members, non‐executive directors on the audit committee; financial expertise of audit committee members; and the frequency of audit committee meetings. However, the number of independent directors on audit committees was well below ASX best practice guidelines.     

从政治学视角论国家审计是国家治理中的“免疫系统”

国家审计是国家治理中的免疫系统这一观点是国家审计研究与政治学相结合的产物。国家审计是国家治理中免疫系统的一个子系统,其实质是一种权力制约行为,其职责更多的是一种对受托经济责任的检查与证明。基于此,审计工作重心的确立应以政治发展为基础,包括:维护好人民群众根本利益、满足国家治理中各方面审计监督需求、以财政审计为基点并不断扩展审计领域、维护法治建设和发挥权力制约功能。     

中国人民银行绩效审计的现状与思考

绩效审计已经成为现代政府审计发展的一种主流趋势。人民银行内审部门近年来积极探索转型,发挥咨询与增加组织价值的作用,探索开展绩效审计无疑是一个很好的突破口。本文分析了当前人民银行绩效审计现状与不足,并提出了人民银行内审部门如何推进绩效审计的思路。     

美国联邦政府财务报告编制与审计研究

上世纪90年代开始的美国联邦政府财务报告编制与审计改革是联邦政府加强财务管理的一项重要内容。经过多次改革,形成了以权责发生制为主要会计计量基础的联邦政府财务报告体系,和以审计署的外部审计与监察长办公室的内部审计相结合的联邦政府财务报告审计模式。当前这种财务报告体系与审计模式仍处于发展与完善过程中,需不断改进财务信息质量和强化审计的作用。