财务困境、退市监管与审计意见——基于我国连续亏损上市公司的经验证据

Financial Distress, Delisting Regulation and Audit Opinion：An Empirical Research Based on Consecutive Loss Companies in China

本文以2004--2010年因连续亏损而触碰退市政策临界点的A股上市公司为研究对象，分析了其连续亏损前后四年期I＂-I的审计意见及其变化特征。研究发现：连续亏损公司非标准审计意见的比例更高；审计意见与财务能力相关，获得标准审计意见公司的财务能力要显著好于非标准审计意见公司；审计意见类型与退市监管政策临界点具有显著相关性；对凭借非经常性损益避免亏损或扭亏为盈的上市公司，审计师倾向于发表非标准审计意见。可以认为，审计意见类型传递了公司盈余质量和经营不确定性风险的信息；在审计意见不具有直接退市管制后果的制度背景下，审计师能够保持一定的职业谨慎性。

This paper studies the audit opinions of listed companies which suffered consecutive losses during 2004--2010. According to China Securities Regulatory Commission, consecutive losses will result in special treatment, suspending or termination of the listing of stocks. And if these firms get dirty audit opinions, SSE and SZSE may call for investigations into the reality of the earnings. So these firms will force pressure on the auditors. However, consecutive losses means the company has fallen into financial distress and financial distress usually causes audit risk. So auditors would prefer to issue non-standard audit opinions. This study collects 258 samples which suffered two year＇s consecutive losses and analyzed the audit opinions for four years in a row： the two consecutive loss years （T1 and T2 ）, the previous year（T-1 ） and the third year（T3）. We presume that auditors can identify the difference of earnings quality, and also know clearly that the loss companies are exposed to the risk of delisting. We examine the statistical significance of the difference of audit opinion and financial capability by the independent two-sample t-test, and then set up two logistic models to find those elements which influence audit opinions and opinion changes. We find that the consecutive loss listed companies receive more non-standard audit opinions; Audit opinions are related with the companies＇ financial capability, the financial ratios of those companies which receive unqualified audit opinions are better than those which receive dirty audit opinions. Loss firms usually manipulate their profit by using non-recurring gains in year T-1 and T3, and non-recurring loss in year T1 and T2. While auditors could distinguish these profits manipulation and give non-standard audit opinions. But on some critical point of delisting system, especially in year T3, unqualified opinions with explanatory paragraph are issued extensively. According to the results of the logistic model, non-standard audit opinions are positively related to last year＇s opinion, debt ratio and extraordinary gains or loss to net profit ratio, and negatively related to EBIT to assets ratio and sales growth percentage. We conclude that audit opinions convey the message about the earnings quality and going concern uncertainty. Under the background that audit opinions had no economic results before 2012, the auditors could keep professional care.