非审计服务与审计质量

Non-Audit Services and Audit Quality

本文讨论会计师事务所向其客户提供非审计服务与审计质量的关系。审计质量包括技术性与独立性两大内涵特征。会计师事务所向其客户提供非审计服务，可以从技术上促进审计质量的提高，但是否会损害审计独立性则取决于非审计服务所得利益是否大于放弃独立性的可能成本。如果前者不大于后者，作为经济人的审计师将选择保持独立。笔者认为，在目前中国审计市场，对绝大多数事务所而言，尚不存在使非审计服务损害审计独立性的条件。因此，事务所适当开拓非审计服务业务，将有利于我国审计职业的发展。

This article discusses therelationship between non-auditservices and audit quality. Auditquality is featured with the technicalsense and the independent sense.Though auditor's providing non-audit services could technicallyenhance audit quality, whether theprovision of non-audit services couldimpair the auditor's independencedepends on the balance betweenbenefits from and costs of providingnon-audit services. If the benefit doesnot exceed the cost, the auditorshould remain independent. Theauthor believes that currently thebenefit from providing non-auditservices does not exceed the cost formost accounting firms, implying thatit would be appropriate and helpfulfor Chinese accounting firms todevelop non-audit services.