关键审计事项段的特征具有信息含量吗?——来自中国A股上市公司2017年报审计的经验证据

Do the Characteristics of Critical Audit Matters Have Information Content?Empirical Evidence from the Annual Report of 2017 of China A Share Listed Companies

关键审计事项被审计准则制定者寄予厚望,以期提升审计质量和公司的信息披露水平。使用关键审计事项段的特征衡量上市公司披露关键审计事项的充分适当性,采用事件研究法的结果发现,总体而言,披露的关键审计事项个数越多、篇幅越长,越具有信息含量,但稳定结论只出现在替代信息源较少的小公司样本组中。这说明就目前的披露情况而言,增设关键审计事项仅仅对替代信息源较少的小公司起到了补充披露的作用,而对信息披露渠道本就比较完备的大公司没有信息增量,说明关键审计事项准则需要进一步细化并提高要求。

Critical audit matters(CAMs)are expected by the standard setters to improve the audit quality and the company s information disclosure level.The characteristics of CAMs can reflect the adequacy and appropriateness of the disclosure,thus reflecting the appropriateness of the disclosure of CAMs by listed companies.The results of event study show that,in general,the more the number and length of disclosure of CAMs,the more information content,but the stable conclusion only appears in the sample group of small companies with less alternative information sources.Therefore,as far as the current disclosure situation is concerned,the CAMs play a supplementary role only in small companies with less alternative information sources,while they have no information increment for large companies with relatively complete information disclosure,which indicates that the standards of CAMs need to be further refined and put forward higher requirements.