會計師客戶篩選與查核努力之策略性互動分析

The Strategic Interaction between Client-Risk Screening and Audit Effort

10.6656/MR.2005.24.1.CHI.109

戚務君(Wu-Chun Chi)

查核努力 ； 客戶篩選 ； 保險角色 ； 訴訟風險管理 ； Audit Effort ； Client-Risk Screening ； Insurance Role ； Litigation

管理評論

24卷1期（2005 / 01 / 01）

109 - 132

繁體中文

基於深口袋之會計師除了其原有的資訊功能角色外，同時也扮演保險功能的角色，且投資人與會計師之間有期望差距等因素的存在，均使得會計師很容易在受查公司破產時，成為投資人要求索賠的對象。因此，會計師如何以有效的策略管理其相關之訴訟風險，成為一項重要的研究議題。本文係以分析性研究的方式檢視決定其篩選作業與查核努力水準之會計師，應如何從事最適的篩選投資與查核努力水準。有別於過去相關研究忽略會計師於接受審計委任合約前會謹慎地從事篩選作業，而一致地得到會計師法律責任與其查核努力水準間有正向關聯性的結果，本研究在納入會計師的篩選作業後發現，在會計師之客戶風險評估的後驗信念對篩選訊號品質具有相當敏感性的前提下，可以存在一個會計師法律責任與其查核努力水準為反向關聯性的結果。換言之，過去與會計師法律責任相關之研究的重要論述，在某些特定情況下，可能應適度地予以保留。

This paper examines an audit setting in which the auditor sequentially determines the client-risk screening investment and his effort level. I investigate the impact of auditor's litigation cost on audit effort when the auditor screens the client risks before the acceptance of audit engagement. While prior analytical research demonstrated that audit efforts increase with the size of damage award, however, this paper reaches an opposite linkage under certain conditions. In particular, the inverse relation can exist when the discrepancy of the auditor's posterior beliefs on the risk of clients is sensitive to the quality of the client-risk screening. After incorporating the auditor's screening decision, I believe some prior arguments on auditor's behavior that are based on the positive relation between the auditor litigation and the audit effort involved might need to be reappraised under certain circumstances.

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