비정상 감사보수 및 감사시간과 감사품질 간의 관계 재분석 (A Reexamination of Abnormal Audit Fees or Audit Hours and Audit Quality29) －New Data and New Evidence－)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국세무학회
· 수록지 정보 : 세무와회계저널 / 19권 / 5호 / 9 ~ 53페이지
· 저자명 : 박종일, 전규안

초록

본 연구는 상장기업을 대상으로 비정상 감사보수와 감사시간이 감사품질에 미치는 영향을 선행연구보다 확장된 기간으로 재분석을 하였다. 또한 비정상 낮은(높은) 감사보수와 감사시간이 감사품질에 어떤 차별적 영향을 주는지도 분석하였다. 특히 본 연구는 감사품질의 대용치로 재량적 발생액과 실제 이익조정을 중심으로 살펴보았다. 분석기간은 2004년부터 2015년까지로 감사보수(감사시간) 표본은 15,912개(15,652개) 기업/연 자료이다.
실증결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 비정상 감사보수와 감사시간 모두 재량적 발생액 및 실제 이익조정에 유의한 음(－)의 관계로 나타났다. 둘째, 비정상 낮은 감사보수(감사시간)는 그렇지 않은 경우보다 재량적 발생액이 높게 나타난 반면, 비정상 높은 감사보수(감사시간)는 유의한 결과를 보이지않았다. 이와 달리, 비정상 낮은 감사보수(감사시간)는 그렇지 않은 경우보다 실제 이익조정이 높게 나타난 반면, 비정상 높은 감사보수(감사시간)는 실제 이익조정이 낮게 나타났다. 이는 앞서 재량적 발생액에서 평균적인 음(－)의 결과가 주로 비정상으로 낮은 감사보수(감사시간)에 기인한 반면에, 실제 이익조정에서 평균적인 음(－)의 결과는 비정상으로 낮거나 높은 감사보수(감사시간) 모두에 기인한 것임을 나타낸다.
이를 종합하면, 본 연구는 비정상 낮은 감사보수(감사시간)는 재량적 발생액과 실제 이익조정을높여 감사품질을 훼손하나, 비정상 높은 감사보수(감사시간)는 실제 이익조정을 낮추는 효과가 있음을 보여주었다는데 의의가 있다. 또한 비정상 감사보수와 감사시간은 재량적 발생액과 실제 이익조정에 평균적으로 음(－)의 관계가 있음을 보여준 결과 역시 선행연구에 추가적인 증거를 제공한다. 특히 본 연구의 발견은 비정상 낮은 감사보수나 감사시간 모두 이익의 질을 낮추는 것으로 나타나 최근 논의거리인 최저 감사보수나 표준 감사시간 설정에 대한 실증적 근거를 제공한다는 점에서 감사품질에 관심 있는 규제기관과 정책입안자에게도 정책적인 시사점을 줄 것으로 예상된다.

영어초록

This paper investigates the effects of abnormal audit fees and abnormal audit hours on audit quality. Specifically, we test the effect of audit quality on both discretionary accruals and real earnings management as firms’ opportunistic earnings management activities. This is, we reexamine the association between abnormal audit fees (or abnormal audit hours) and audit quality using new data recently. (i.e., years 2004－2015).
Abnormal audit fees and audit hours are typically proxied by the residuals obtained from audit fee or hour determinant models. Therefore, consistent with prior research (e.g., Park and Choi 2009；Choi et al. 2010；Asthana and Boone 2012；Eshleman and Guo 2014 etc.), we decompose total audit fees (or total audit hours) into normal and abnormal components, and test for an association between audit quality and abnormal audit fees (or abnormal audit hours), and also conditioning our tests on the sign of the abnormal audit fee (or audit hour) metric (i.e., abnormal low audit fees or high audit fees, abnormal low audit hours or high audit hours). To the extent that audit fees are a measure of audit effort in the case of Korea’s audit environment is significantly associated with lower level of audit fees for auditors, higher fees indicate that the auditor worked more hours, could higher audit quality. Thus, we expect that the association between abnormal audit fees or abnormal audit hours and audit quality is positive, and also we expect that the negative association between abnormal low audit fees or abnormal low audit hours and audit quality, and the positive association between abnormal high audit fees or abnormal high audit hours and audit quality.
To test this prediction, we utilize audit fees data from 15,912 firms－year observations and audit hours data from 15,652 firms－year observations 2004－2015 period, respectively. The sample firms are all listed firms in Korean Stock Exchange, December year－end firms, and firms do not belong to banking industry. For analysis, we utilize signed discretionary accruals (hereafter DA) calculated using both Dechow et al. (1995) and Kothari et al. (2005) models. We utilize real earnings management (hereafter RM) calculated using the Roychowdhury (2006) models, this study identify three empirical proxies for RM based on prior research, and also similar to Cohen and Zarowin (2010) and Ge and Kim (2014), we utilize a single as well as combinatorial or comprehensive measure of RM.
The empirical findings of this paper are following. First, after controlling for several factors that affect earnings management, we find that there is the negative relationship between abnormal audit fees or abnormal audit hours and discretionary accruals as well as real earnings management. The result is not consistent with the prior studies (e.g., Park and Choi 2009) mostly using to data from the pre－IFRS period (i.e., years 1999－2005). But, with data taken from both the pre－ and post － IFRS periods, we are able to probe for a positive association between abnormal audit fees or abnormal audit hours and audit quality, averagely. Specifically, the results show the negative association between abnormal audit fees or abnormal audit hours and earnings management is more pronounced in the case of real earnings management and in some cases, destroy firm value.
Therefore, this result suggests that all of both abnormal audit fees and abnormal audit hours are significantly positive associated audit quality.
Second, we find that the auditors with abnormal low audit fee or abnormal low audit hour have higher discretionary accruals and real earnings management. This result supports the hypothesis of this study that audit quality is impaired when audit fees or hours are abnormally low. On the other hand, the effect of abnormal high audit fees or abnormal high audit hours on the level of discretionary accruals is insignificant. In contrast, we find that the auditors with abnormal high audit fee or audit hour have lower real earnings management. These results suggest that the association between abnormal audit fees or audit hours and discretionary accruals as audit quality differs systematically between auditors with positive and negative abnormal fees or hours. As a result, the association between abnormal audit fees or audit hours and discretionary accruals is asymmetric non－linearity. Whereas, the positive association between abnormal audit fees or audit hours and real earnings management is asymmetric linearity.
Overall, these evidence is consistent with the notion that abnormal audit fees as well as abnormal audit hours are indicative of greater auditor effort and, ultimately, better audit quality in a situation of Korea’s audit environment. Additionally, this result is consistent with concerns raised by practitioners and regulators that lower audit fees could reflect a lower level of effort provided by the auditor and, ultimately, worse audit quality. Thus, this paper provides evidence to help resolve the debate on whether abnormal audit fees and abnormal audit hours are a sign of audit quality. And the findings of this paper also contribute to the related literature on the relationship between earnings management and audit quality by providing empirical results.
Furthermore, this information is of interest to accounting researchers as well as investors, practitioners, and regulators who decide which firms to inspect using publicly available information, such as audit fees and audit hours.

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