审计师关注公允价值分层计量信息披露吗——基于会计师事务所行业专长视角

Do Auditors Pay Attention to the Disclosure of Fair Value Hierarchical Measurement Information?——Based on the Industry Expertise of Accounting Firms

审计师对公允价值分层计量是否给予充分关注,关系到高度不确定性会计事项的审计效率与效果。本文以2014-2018年我国A股上市公司为样本,检验了不同层次公允价值计量信息披露对审计收费的影响。研究发现,第一层次公允价值信息披露与审计费用不相关,第二三层次公允价值信息披露与审计费用显著正相关,这说明审计师对高度不确定性会计事项给予了充分关注。进一步研究发现,国际“四大”会计师事务所和具有行业专长的会计师事务所针对第二三层次公允价值信息披露较多的公司收取了更高的审计费用;审计任期削弱了第二三层次公允价值信息披露与审计费用之间的正相关性。本文有助于深入理解审计师针对高度不确定性会计事项的审计决策行为和资源分配机制,为内资会计师事务所从“做大”转向“做强”的“专精化”发展提供政策建议。

Whether auditors pay sufficient attention to the hierarchical measurement of fair value is related to the audit efficiency and effectiveness of highly uncertain accounting matters.This article uses China's A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2018 as a sample to test the impact of different levels of fair value measurement information disclosure on audit fees.The study found that the disclosure of fair value information at the first level is not correlated with audit fees,while the disclosure of fair value information at the second and third levels is significantly positively correlated with audit fees,indicating that auditors have paid sufficient attention to highly uncertain accounting matters.Further research has found that international“Big Four”accounting firms and accounting firms with industry expertise charge higher audit fees for companies that disclose more fair value information at the second and third levels;Audit tenure weakens the positive correlation between fair value information disclosure at the second and third levels and audit fees.This article helps to deeply understand auditors'audit decision-making behavior and resource allocation mechanisms for highly uncertain accounting matters,and provides policy recommendations for the“specialization”development of domestic accounting firms from“becoming larger”to“becoming stronger”.