審計失敗對會計師保守主義的影響：ENRON案是否存在產業蔓延效果？

Abstract

在面對不利的審計環境時，會計師對客戶的會計選擇會趨於保守以降低訴訟風險。在Enron案的衝擊下，各界對於審計品質的質疑可能導致會計師簽證行為的改變。本文以產業蔓延效果的角度探討我國會計師的簽證行為是否因Enron案的衝擊而趨於保守。實證結果顯示Enron案發生後，財務報表的裁決性應計數，有顯著降低。並且，會計師簽發標準式無保留意見的數量亦顯著低於該案發生之前。因與Enron公司的簽證會計師事務所Andersen有聯盟的合作關係，勤業會計師事務所在事件之復簽發標準式無保留意見的數量，亦顯著低於未受牽連的其他會計師事務所。此結果意味Enron案的確對我國會計師的簽證行為產生衝擊。整體而言，受到Enron案的蔓延衝擊，我國會計師普遍採取較為保守的簽證行為。

The Enron audit failure casting doubts in audit quality may change auditor behaviors. To decrease investors` misgivings, auditors might adopt a conservative attitude toward clients` choice of accounting methods. This study investigates the auditor conservatism in Taiwan owing to the unfavorable change in audit environment that originated from Enron. The empirical results show that a lower magnitude of discretionary accruals is significantly associated with the change in audit environment and that auditors issue non-standard unqualified audit reports more frequently after Enron, supporting the hypothesis. It is also observed that TNS CPA firm, which then was a member firm of Arthur Andersen, adopts more conservative behaviors than her competitors to reflect the Enron effect. Hence, although not directly involved with the Enron litigation risk, auditors in Taiwan are sensitive to the contagious effect of the Enron event.