连锁董事联结与会计师事务所选择

Interlocking Directorates' Ties and Auditor Selection

本文使用网络分析方法研究董事会的关系特征(连锁董事联结)对会计师事务所选择的影响。文章基于我国A股上市公司2007年的数据样本,使用QAP(Quadratic Assignment Procedure)分析方法,研究发现:通过连锁董事联结的两家公司在选择会计师事务所时表现出一致性,即目标公司与联结公司倾向于选择同一家会计师事务所;外部连锁董事(由独立董事形成的连锁董事)与内部连锁董事(由除独立董事之外的董事形成的连锁董事)联结的两家公司在会计师事务所选择一致性方面均有显著的正向影响,但外部连锁董事联结的影响强于内部连锁董事联结;随着企业间连锁董事联结距离(直接联结为1步距离,间接联结的距离不小于2步)的增加,公司之间的会计师事务所选择一致性程度逐渐减弱。上述结论不仅在理论上表明社会网络情境会影响公司的会计师事务所的选择,而且在实践方面为相关政策提供了有益启示。

Based on the methods of network analysis, the paper explores the influence of inter-corporate interlocking directorates＇ ties on auditor selection. The paper uses the data from the A share listed companies 2007 in China, as well as the QAP analysis method, and finds that： Firstly, two corporate that exist interlocking directorates＇ ties between them have cohesive on auditor selection, that＇s to say, the focus corporate and the tied corporate tend to select the same auditor. Secondly outside interlocking directorates＇ ties and inside interlocking directorates＇ ties both positively influence the inter-corporate auditor selection cohesion, and the former influence is stronger than the latter. Thirdly, as the distance of inter-corporate interlocking directorates＇ ties become longer, the cohesive strength of inter-corporate auditor selection is monotonic decreasing. The findings above not only theoretically show that social network relationships may influence the corporate auditor selection, but also provide beneficial implications for relevant policies in practice.