Fairness perception of ancillary fees: Industry differences and communication strategies

This study examines fairness perception of ancillary fees across different industries, and ways to communicate ancillary fees in a way that reduces customers' feeling that they are being unfairly treated. Through surveys and consumer experiments, we show that consumers’ perception of fairness decreases as the level of ancillary fees increases, with differences across industries. Also, when the customer is given a cue that the ancillary fees are necessary for low base prices, fairness perception increases, explained by the “dual entitlement” concept. Another effective communication strategy is early disclosure, as opposed to late disclosure which decreases fairness perception and willingness to recommend.     

Client Importance and Audit Quality at the Individual Audit Partner,Office, and Firm Levels

We investigate whether audit partner level data provides a more powerful measure than office or firm level measures of client importance. We find that the likelihood of issuing a going-concern opinion (any and first-time) increases, and the absolute value of discretionary accruals decreases, in relation to the proportion of audit fees to the total audit fees received by audit partners from all their clients. We also find that the likelihood of issuing a going-concern opinion (any and first-time) increases, and the absolute value of discretionary accruals decreases, in relation to the proportion of non-audit services fees from a client to total non-audit service fees, and the proportion of total audit and non-audit service fees from a client to total fees from all their clients at the office and firm levels. Our findings provide evidence to regulators, audit clients, and stakeholders that audit partners do not succumb to pressure from economically more important clients as audit quality has a positive association with client importance.     

Option implied volatilities and the cost of issuing equity

The structure of a firm-commitment Seasoned Equity Offering (SEO) resembles a put-option underwritten by an investment bank syndicate (Smith, 1977). Employing implied volatilities from issuers’ stock options as a direct forward-looking measure, this paper examines the impact of expected price risk around SEO issue dates on the direct cost of issuing equity. Using a comprehensive sample of 1208 SEOs between 1996 and 2009, we find issuers with higher option implied volatilities raise less external equity capital and pay higher investment bank fees in the stock market, ceteris paribus. The effect of implied volatility on the investment bank fees is stronger for larger issuers with lower pre-SEO abnormal realized stock volatilities, and for SEOs with higher expected price pressures around issue dates. These relationships are robust to adjustments for correlations among control variables, sample selection bias and also simultaneous determination of offer size and SEO fees.     

定额结算下保险医疗费用支付制度安排

医疗保险机构与医院实行定额结算后,医院可通过分科定额结算办法将价格风险下移给科室,促使科室主动控费。而这种制度下,科室将通过牺牲患者利益实现自身效用;若医院按按实结算办法与科室结算医疗费用,则可在一定程度上解决上述问题。本文将针对按实结算办法建立数学模型,确定科室进行合理医疗的费用区间,并通过此模型说明按实结算下,科室通过均衡医患博弈,可在同时保证医院与患者双方利益的基础上有效地控制医疗费用。     

声誉激励、财务重述与审计费用

选取2001—2016年深沪两市主板上市公司为研究样本,实证检验财务重述对审计费用的影响。结果表明：财务重述与审计费用显著正相关,发生财务重述的公司审计费用显著高于没有财务重述的公司;发生财务重述的公司具有变更事务所和购买审计意见的动机倾向,行业竞争激烈加剧了事务所间的恶意竞争,事务所有可能蓄意降低审计费用招揽有财务重述的低端公司客户;由于声誉激励效应,声誉良好的大规模事务所对财务重述的公司所收取的审计费用显著升高,形成事务所竞争的“马太效应”。     

The effect of general counsel prominence on the pricing of audit services

We investigate the effect of corporate general counsel (GC) ascension to the senior management team on the pricing of audit services. Prior research suggests that the GC position may have a significant influence in setting the tone at the top by promoting corporate integrity, ethics, and serving as a governance and monitoring mechanism, but also recognizes that prominent GCs may face ethical dilemmas, causing them to disregard professional responsibilities to curry the favor of the CEO and other executives. Using audit fees to proxy for audit engagement risk, we find a negative association between GC ascension to top management and audit fees. We investigate the mechanisms behind this relation and find GC ascension is associated with a reduction in both default risk and financial misstatement risk, which supports auditors’ perceived reduction in client business risk and audit risk, respectively.     

国际金融危机、审计费用溢价与审计质量

以2003-2017年我国A股上市公司为样本,考量当企业受到金融危机冲击时,审计费用与审计质量之间关系的变化。研究结果表明,金融危机期间存在审计费用溢价现象,然而更多的收费却伴随着审计质量的下降。研究结论对于在市场危机环境下进行审计风险管控和审计市场的规范具有一定的借鉴意义。     

The pricing of audit and non-audit services in a regulated environment: a longitudinal study of the UK life insurance industry

This paper studies the relationship between audit and non-audit service fees paid to the statutory auditor by UK life insurance firms, utilising an extensive panel-data sample set for the period 1999–2009. Consistent with a knowledge spillover (impairment of independence) hypothesis, we predict and find that audit fees are positively (negatively) associated with actuarial (tax service) fees. Additionally, our results indicate that regulatory changes enforced after 2004 deterred UK life insurance firms from purchasing non-audit services that are perceived to impair auditor independence. Finally, we find evidence concerning the inter-temporal determination of audit fees.     

竞争压力、竞争对手特征与会计师事务所审计定价

使用2001—2013年会计师事务所向上市公司提供审计服务的审计收费数据,考察会计师事务所面临的竞争压力以及竞争对手特征如何影响审计定价。结果表明,会计师事务所面临的竞争压力会对审计定价产生重要影响。当竞争对手声誉较低、不具有行业专长、处于相对弱势竞争地位时,会计师事务所会迫于竞争压力而降低审计收费与其对手竞争。稳健性测试与正文结果保持一致。     

产权性质、会计-税收差异与审计收费——来自中国A股上市公司的经验证据

］通过考察注册会计师对审计服务定价时是否考虑会计利润与应纳税所得额之间差异（以下简称“会计-税收差异”）所包含的财务信息,研究发现会计-税收差异与审计收费显著正相关。进一步区分产权性质后发现,对于国有控股上市公司来说,会计-税收差异与审计收费正相关,但这种相关性并不显著;而对于民营上市公司来说,会计-税收差异与审计收费显著正相关。研究结果表明,会计-税收差异会影响注册会计师对审计风险的判断,进而通过增加审计程序来降低审计风险,提高审计收费。且在审计定价时,对于不同产权性质的公司,注册会计师差别对待了会计-税收差异中所包含的信息。