內部會計管理制度의 導入이 監査報酬에 미치는 影響

Abstract

This study examined the effects of mandatory adoption internal accounting control system on audit fees. The accounting scandals and subsequent mandatory adoption of internal accounting control system in 2004 resulted in large increases in required audit work. This research hypothesizes that mandatory adoption of internal accounting control system would increase audit fees, after controlling other determinants of audit fees. Also, it estimates how much of audit fees increase due to adoption of internal accounting control system. The sample consists of 1,604 firm-years listed on Korean Stock Exchange over the period of 2003∼2007.

According to the results, traditional factors such as firm size and so forth still affect the audit fees, and the mandatory adoption of internal accounting control system is positively associated with audit fees. Additionally, the impact of the securities-related class action law enforced in the same period was analyzed. Accounting firms had incentives to evaluate risk and take this into consideration when they engaged in the audit. This risk influences on auditors' decisions to engage the audit and to determine audit fees. To investigate the effect of the securities-related class action law on the company risk, credit rating by experts as a proxy for measuring company risk is included in the model. According to the results, there was no relation between the enforcement of securities-related class action law and audit fees. Additional analyses, after controlling for the effect of the securities-related class action law, on the effect of inflation rate and etcetera on increases in audit fees showed the same results.

This study concluded that the mandatory adoption of internal accounting control system significantly increases audit fees. We also find that audit fees of the large companies increase an average 5 percent due to mandatory adoption internal accounting control system, but those of the small companies decrease during the same period. These results are consistent with the benefits of internal accounting control system. however, it is expected that the benefits of adoption internal accounting control system are lower than the costs in small companies.