企业ESG评级结果分歧与审计师风险应对——基于异常审计费用与审计团队变更的视角

Corporate ESG Rating Divergence and Auditor Risk Response:From the Perspective of Abnormal Audit Fees and Audit Team Changes

不同的ESG评级机构对企业的环境、社会、公司治理(ESG)的评级结果存在分歧。利用2018—2021年A股上市公司ESG表现的数据,研究了企业ESG评级结果分歧对审计师风险应对行为的影响。研究发现,企业ESG评级结果分歧越大,审计师收取的异常审计费用越高,会计师事务所配置的审计团队越好。机制检验发现,企业ESG评级结果分歧大会提高企业的经营风险,从而会使审计师采取增加审计投入并收取较高的异常审计费用的风险应对行为。进一步研究发现,相较于企业的环境评级结果分歧和社会责任评级结果分歧,审计师更有可能针对企业的治理评级结果分歧采取风险应对行为。经济后果分析发现,审计师和会计师事务所针对企业ESG评级结果分歧而采取的风险应对行为可以提高审计质量。为此,审计师要加强对存在ESG评级结果分歧企业的风险评估,政府部门要制定并推广规范统一的ESG评级体系和ESG信息披露标准。

There are differences in the ratings of the environmental,social,and corporate governance(ESG)of enterprises by different ESG rating agencies.By making use of the data of ESG performance of A-share listed companies from 2018 to 2021,this study investigates the impact of the differences in ESG rating results on auditor risk response behaviors.The findings show that the greater the divergence in ESG rating results among companies,the higher the abnormal audit fees charged by auditors,and the better the audit team configured by accounting firms.The mechanism testing reveals that the differences in ESG rating results among companies can increase their operational risks,leading auditors to adopt risk response behaviors such as increasing audit investment and charging higher abnormal audit fees.Further research has found that compared to the differences in the environmental rating results and the social responsibility rating results of enterprises,auditors are more likely to take risk response actions in response to the differences in corporate governance rating results.The economic consequence analysis reveals that the risk response actions taken by auditors and accounting firms in response to the differences in ESG rating results can improve audit quality.To this end,auditors should strengthen the risk assessment of enterprises with differing ESG rating results,and the government departments should develop and promote a standardized and unified ESG rating system and ESG information disclosure standards..