경제 불확실성이 감사보고서의 발행을 지연시키는가?

Abstract

[Purpose]This study examines the relationship between macro－uncertainty and audit report lag. Also, it analyzes whether this relationship manifests differentially when considering audit hours by rank and auditor characteristics. [Methodology]For analysis, we use a sample of listed firms for the period from 2014 to 2019. Audit report lag was proxied by the number of days from the fiscal year－end to the audit report date. Macro－uncertainty was measured using the volatility index VKOSPI provided by KRX. [Findings]The analysis yields the following results. Firstly, it confirms an increase in audit report lag under high uncertainty. This could be interpreted as auditors increasing audit efforts in response to a rise in audit workload under uncertainty. Secondly, the relation between uncertainty and audit report lag becomes more pronounced in subsamples where audit hours put into by junior and senior staff are high. Thirdly, the relationship between uncertainty and audit report is stronger for Big4 and industry specialist auditors. This could be interpreted as auditors with higher reputation risk or litigation risk allocating relatively more audit effort in response to increased audit risks under uncertainty. [Implications]Despite previous research indicating that uncertainty reduces audit fees and audit hours, this study’s results suggest that reduced audit fees or audit hours does not necessarily imply a decrease in audit effort. Our results provide insight to investors and auditors in providing evidence that increased audit report lag may be due to external environmental factors rather than an increase in firm－specific risk factors.