Audit Committee Attributes on Audit Fees： The Impact of Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance （MCCG） 2007

The evolution of corporate governance has created a competitive environment among the companies to catch the attention of investor＇s confidence. This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit committee attributes and the audit fees. Specifically, this paper aims to examine the effects of audit committee expertise （number of financial-related director＇s trainings and experience） on audit fees. The data are obtained from annual reports of the population of Bursa Malaysia listed companies for both Main and Ace markets in year 2008. The results show that audit committee size is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. However, audit committee＇s financial related training is significant and has a negative association with audit fees. These results suggest that financial training of audit committee could have an impact on the lower audit fees. However, audit committee expertise is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. This suggests that financial-related training is needed in order to enhance the expertise of audit committee members.

On determinants of audit fee： New evidence from China

Summarizing many audit service pricing models, we use the method ‘stepwise’ of OLS to establish our audit service pricing. And then, we get a result that the four factors determine audit fees and total assets at year-end and sales of the current year are complementary each other in measuring the auditee size better than respectively.

Board of Directors, Independent Directors and Audit Fees： Based on the Empirical Data of the GEM of China

As one of the alternative variables of audit quality, audit fees have been researched widely in the Mainboard of China stock market, but empirical research based on the GEM （Growth Enterprise Market） of China is very few. From the perspective of GEM of China, this article observes and studies the impact of corporate governance structure represented by board of directors and independent directors on audit fees. This article selects the data of 348 listed companies in the GEM of China in 2012, proves that there is a positive correlation between the number of meetings, independent directors＇ salaries and audit fees through the use of multiple linear regression model, and accordingly proposed suggestions that improve the corporate governance structure of the GEM of China.

Audit fees and audit quality

The audit industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years, the formulation of national policy also needs the support of audit industry. The number of accounting firms has been increasing, and the final audit quality in the audit is one of the most concerned by the public. Any product quality and price are equivalent, the higher the cost of investment, the better the quality, the higher the price. The audit process is also the case. This paper is mainly based on the relevant audit fees and audit quality is the summary of the existing research results on the relationship between the two for further exploration, consider the audit pricing regulation and audit industry brand and scale effect, and put forward to improve the audit fees and audit quality relationship advice.

Impacts of equity structure on audit fees: Evidence from Chinese A-share listed companies in Shanghai Stock Exchange

Based on the data of 923 Chinese listed companies in 2013 to 2014, we investigated the impact of company equity structure on audit fees from the perspective of cross section and period duration. It is found that there is a positive correlation between the proportion of state-owned shares in listed companies and audit fees. To be more specific, there is a U-shaped relation between audit fees and equity concentration which is represented by the proportion of the largest shareholder. And the equity restriction ratio, represented by the sum of the proportion of the second largest shareholder to the tenth, has a positive effect on audit fees.

Spillover effect of digital transformation along the supply chain:From the perspective of suppliers’audit fees

This research contributes to understanding the spillover effect of customer digital transformation along the supply chain.We take a supply chain relationship perspective to explore the influence of customers’digital transformation on suppliers’audit fees and find a significant reduction in such fees when customers undergo digital transformation.An economic mechanism analysis reveals that this transformation reduces audit fees by lowering the risks and costs encountered by auditors.This is achieved by mitigating suppliers’business risks and improving earnings quality.Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of customers’digital transformation on suppliers’audit fees is more pronounced when the supply chain is geographically distant,suppliers with more specific investments and with high levels of market competition.

Association Between Independent Auditor Fees and Firm Value： A Study of Brazilian Public Companies

This article investigates the relationship between fees for audit and non-audit services with Tobin＇s Q. Using a sample of Brazilian public companies in the period from 2009 to 2011, we estimate the association between Tobin＇s Q and the auditors＇ remuneration scaled by total assets. Additionally, to strengthen the conclusions, we present a second model with the remuneration of the auditors in absolute terms. The results suggest a significant relationship between Tobin＇s Q and audit and non-audit fees, positive and negative, respectively. Specifically, increases in audit fees and non-audit fees respectively increase and decrease the Tobin＇s Q of the audited company. The results of this study have important implications for those interested in good corporate governance practices. Managers and board members concerned with value carefully evaluate the remuneration and nature of services creation, when engaging independent auditors, should provided.

CFO narcissism and audit fees: Evidence from listed companies in China

This paper examines the effects of CFO narcissism on audit fees in China.Using the size of CFO signatures in annual audit reports to measure individual narcissism,we find that CFO narcissism is associated with higher audit fees.We find empirical evidence that CFO narcissism significantly increases the audit fees of listed companies,and this effect is stronger in state-owned enterprises.This paper also explores the mediating effects of financial information and the engagement of prestigious Big-4 and Big-10 firms.The results show that companies with narcissistic CFOs have lower quality financial information and prefer more prestigious firms,which leads to higher audit fees.This research highlights the importance of CFO narcissism in corporate performance and provides new evidence that will be useful for listed companies that plan to hire senior executives.

Corporate governance and audit fees:Evidence from companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

This study uses data from companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and audit fees. Full sample results reveal a significant negative relationship between corporate governance and audit fees, and subsample results further show that corporate governance's influence on audit fees is affected by corporate growth. The negative relationship between corporate governance and audit fees is economically and statistically significant in sample companies that grew moderately during the sample period, and mixed or insignificant in companies that experienced overly fast or negative growth.

Abnormal Audit Fees and Audit Opinion–Further Evidence from China's Capital Market

The existing literature on audit opinion shopping provides inconsistent evidence on whether such shopping has any association with abnormal audit fees. In this paper, we hypothesize that firms engage in audit opinion shopping and pay an abnormal audit fee only when their degree of accounting quality is low. To examine the issue, we group firms on the basis of their change in return on assets(ROA), and show that abnormal audit fees improve audit opinions only among firms that engage local auditors and have a low degree of ROA, but report a large increase in ROA, especially when the ROA change is the result of abnormal accruals. We find no association between abnormal audit fees and audit opinion improvement for other firms.

Directors＇ Board Characteristics and Audit Quality： Evidence From Belgium

This study investigates the relationship between board characteristics and external audit quality on a sample of 97 Belgian listed companies during the period 2003-2007. Board characteristics proxies are the composition of the board, its independence, its structure in terms of duality or independence and its diligence. Our results are consistent with board independence and size being complements with external audit, rather than substitutes

The Relationship Between Financial Reporting Standards （FRS） 139 and Audit Pricing： The Case of Malaysia

This study provides some insights for auditors to gauge the complexity of the financial statements verification process to comply with the ambiguous standard, namely, Financial Reporting Standards （FRS） 139 in Malaysia. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the adoption of FRS 139 and the audit fees charged to clients. The final sample consists of 1,050 finn-year observations covering the period from 2006 to 2008 from the non-financial companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia. In this study, the static panel data analysis is used to provide richer interpretation and a powerful understanding of the effect of standard adoption on audit pricing. The regression results from the random effects Generalized Least Squares （GLS） suggest that FRS 139 adoption has not significantly increased audit fees. The small number of observations for FRS 139 voluntary adoption is suspected to be the main limitation factor contributing to the insignificant result of the hypothesis. It is suggested that the limitation of small observations of FRS 139 voluntary adopters might be encountered during the period of mandatory adoption. Therefore, future research might investigate the impact of mandatory FRS 139 adoption.

隐性关联关系与审计费用——基于供应链工商大数据的研究

近年来,上市公司将其供应链商业关系隐藏化以规避信息披露要求的趋势越来越明显,不利于投资者评估和判断上市公司的交易性质和盈利能力。本文从审计师角度出发,以2010-2021年度我国A股上市公司为研究对象,基于供应链工商大数据度量隐性关联关系,分析隐性关联关系与审计费用之间的关系,结果发现上市公司与重要交易对象之间存在隐性关联关系提高了审计费用,一系列稳健性检验结果保持一致。在渠道检验中,研究发现隐性关联关系通过影响审计师投入,进一步影响审计费用。在分组检验中,研究发现隐性关联关系对审计费用的影响在高市场化进程地区、低信息透明度的公司以及当上市公司为事务所重要客户时更为显著。本文研究为审计师如何判断隐性关联关系问题提供了经验数据。

数字金融与商业银行审计费用

以2011—2021年中国商业银行为研究对象,探究数字金融对审计费用的影响机理与传导效应。研究发现:数字金融发展初期会增加商业银行的审计费用,当数字金融发展到一定水平后,金融科技增强带来的审计费用下降效应会超过因审计投入和审计风险提升的审计费用上升效应,进而降低商业银行的审计费用,说明数字金融与审计费用之间呈先扬后抑的倒U形关系。机制检验发现,数字金融主要通过作用于代理冲突和信息不对称导致审计风险与成本变动,最终影响审计费用。异质性分析显示,审计主体来自国内四大审计事务所时,数字金融对审计费用的非线性作用增强;审计客体是上市银行与资本充足率较高的商业银行时,数字技术能更有效地对审计费用产生非线性效应;商业银行在市场化程度和法律水平较高、数字金融监管较严的地区时,数字金融与审计费用的倒U形关系更显著。研究结论从审计费用角度丰富了数字金融经济后果研究,为商业银行实施数字化转型战略、注册会计师审计收费决策提供参考。

Does Independent External Auditing Play a Role in Corporate Governance？ An Empirical Study on Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

In China, an emerging economy, where investor protection is relatively weak, it is worthwhile and interesting to investigate whether independent external auditing, a sort of external corporate governance mechanism, exerts its influence. Using a sample of all A-share listed firms in 2005, this paper investigates the effects of independent external auditing on corporate governance via three aspects： （1） choice of auditing institution; （2） auditing fee; and （3） auditing opinion for annual reports. Empirical results show that, with worse agency problems in firms, the possibility of employing the “Big 41” to audit its annual reports is bigger. When determining auditing fees, auditing institutions take both firms＇ agency problems and the firm size into account. When issuing qualified opinions for poor-performing firms, auditors do not consider agency problems embedded in concentrated ownership. Overall, external independent auditing plays a limited role in corporate governance.

市场结构、地方保护与异常审计费用

构建公平有序的市场体系需要厘清市场垄断和地方保护对审计契约的影响。以沪深两市2015-2022年的上市公司为研究样本,实证检验市场结构集中度对异常审计费用的影响,进一步考察地方保护对审计契约的调节效应。研究发现:(1)市场结构集中度对异常审计费用具有显著负向影响,而地方保护进一步增强负向关系;(2)在异常审计费用为负时市场结构集中度和地方保护对异常审计费用的影响更显著,而年报问询函外部监督效用受地方保护制约;(3)市场结构集中度通过代理成本和审计时长影响异常审计费用,进而损害会计信息的稳健性和可比性。

新收入准则会影响审计费用吗?——来自A+H股上市公司的经验证据

收入是企业利益相关者评价企业财务状况和经营业绩的关键指标。新收入准则的实施成效也成为理论界与实务界共同关注的焦点议题。从审计费用的视角,以2018年修订后的新收入准则在A+H股上市公司的实施为研究契机,选取2017—2019年中国A股上市公司数据,实证检验新收入准则对审计费用的影响。研究发现,新收入准则的施行提高了企业的审计费用。机制检验发现,新收入准则通过增加重大错报风险和提高审计投入两条路径提高了审计费用。异质性检验发现,新收入准则对审计费用的正向影响主要存在于受新收入准则影响较大、存在内部控制缺陷、由大规模事务所审计的企业中。进一步研究发现,新收入准则在提高审计费用的同时,还会使审计质量得到一定程度的改善。研究结论丰富了新收入准则经济效应领域的研究文献,同时为审计师在新收入准则背景下提高专业胜任能力、完善审计工作及控制审计风险提供新思路。

绿色信贷政策的溢出效应--基于审计定价决策视角

绿色信贷在改善企业环境治理行为、推动经济社会绿色发展方面发挥了重要作用。从审计定价视角出发,探讨绿色信贷政策引致的溢出效应。以2012年《绿色信贷指引》的出台作为准自然实验,构建双重差分模型检验该政策的实施对绿色信贷限制企业审计定价的影响。研究发现:绿色信贷政策能显著降低受限企业的审计收费。机制检验表明,绿色信贷政策通过引导受限企业进行绿色转型、降低其环境风险以及环境治理中的代理成本,进而降低其审计费用。企业层面的异质性检验表明,绿色信贷政策降低审计费用的正面效应在国有企业、产能利用率较低以及信息质量较差的企业中更为明显;地区层面异质性检验表明,绿色信贷政策的积极效用在银行业竞争更激烈、市场化程度更高以及政府环境规制更强的地区更为明显。结论丰富了绿色信贷政策实施经济后果的相关研究,并从环境规制视角拓展了审计费用影响因素的文献,同时为进一步修订和完善绿色信贷政策提供了经验证据。

企业战略差异、经营风险与审计师决策

近年来,国内外市场竞争加剧,企业为谋求长远发展,倾向于选择有别于行业常规的战略。但是企业战略差异可能导致经营风险增加、信息不对称程度加深,进而影响审计师的相关判断与决策。以2009—2019年A股上市公司为样本,对企业战略差异与审计师决策的关系展开研究。研究结果表明:企业战略差异与非标准审计意见、审计收费显著正相关;经营风险发挥部分中介作用,即战略差异通过影响企业的经营风险影响审计师决策。进一步研究发现,高管性别特征会影响企业战略差异与审计师决策的关系,女性高管能够抑制企业战略差异对审计师决策的不利影响。

退市新规提高了审计收费吗?

为切实提高资本市场的有效性,我国在注册制上市制度出台后,将作为配套制度的退市制度也进行了相应改革。退市新规进一步细化了相关指标,强化了审计师的工作职责,从而提高了审计工作的压力和风险,这是否会对审计收费产生影响?本文以2020年底出台的退市新规为研究契机,选取2016-2022年A股上市公司为样本,研究显示,退市新规通过加大有退市风险公司的审计风险和审计师声誉风险,使得审计师增加了额外的审计收费以弥补过高风险。在非国企、内控水平较差、机构投资者占比较少和媒体关注较少的公司中提高更大,随着审计收费的提高,审计效率上升,审计激进度缓解,审计质量提升。本文从退市制度变革角度丰富了审计收费影响因素的研究,同时为完善退市制度提供了审计市场层面的证据。