影響重大內控缺失改善之因素-以小公司為例

Determinants of Remediation of Material Internal Control Weaknesses: Evidence from Non-accelerated Filers

陳俊宏(Chun-Hung Chen)

指導教授 ： 林嬋娟

國立臺灣大學/管理學院/會計學研究所/碩士(2011年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2011.10641

摘要

本研究的主要目的在於檢視美國小公司在沙賓法案第404條款有關內部控制規範下，會計師事務所規模與公司治理機制對其重大內控缺失改善速度之影響。
小公司具有異於大公司的特性。例如，內控機制較不完善易有內控缺失、易受財務能力限制、缺乏帶領公司遵循沙賓法案之經驗人才並且難以聘請獨立董事，此外，由於風險及獲利性之考量，大規模之會計師事務所漸停止與小公司之業務。時至今日，小公司不必遵循沙賓法案第404條款中，去聘請會計師出具對該公司有關財務報導之內部控制是否有效之意見報告。這些與大公司不同之特性使本研究欲探討雇用四大會計師事務所與公司治理機制對小公司內控缺失改善之影響。
自2007年12月15日起，小公司始須遵循沙賓法案第404條之部分規定。因此本研究係以2007年12月15日至2008年1月15日之期間內，第一次在沙賓法案第404條規範下，揭露至少一項重大內控缺失之56家小公司為樣本，並自該次算起，連續觀察三年，改善速度係以改善年度為衡量標準，亦即於較早年度改善其重大內控缺失者其速度愈快。實證結果顯示雇用四大會計師事務所及審計委員會人數較多之公司較能及時改善重大內控缺失，而高嚴重度的重大內控缺失類型、揭露內控缺失後更換會計師及較複雜的營運則不利內控缺失之改善。

關鍵字

內部控制缺失 ； 沙賓法案第404條款 ； 公司治理 ； 四大會計師事務所 ； 重大缺失 ； 改善

並列摘要

This paper investigates whether the use of large accounting firms and the corporate governance mechanisms play important roles in helping small public firms speed up the remediation of material weaknesses (MWs) under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) section 404 reporting requirements.
Compared with large firms, small companies are more likely to have internal control deficiencies, constrained by financial resources, lack the experienced personnel to perform the SOX-related work, and are hard to allure individuals to serve as independent directors. What’s more, large accounting firms also stopped engaging with small clients due to lack of profitability and risk concern. To date, small firms are exempted from SOX section 404(b) internal control audit requirement. These differences motivate me to examine the effects of Big 4 auditor choice and corporate governance on MWs remediation.
Since December 15, 2007, non-accelerated filers have been required to comply with SOX 404(a). I collect data on 56 non-accelerated filers that first disclosed at least one MW from December 15, 2007 to January 15, 2008 under SOX 404(a) and then trace these firms for two more consecutive years. I determine firms’ timeliness in the remediation of MWs on the basis of how fast the firms fully remediate their MWs. The results from ordered logistic regression indicate that firms with Big 4 auditors, more audit committee members are more likely to remediate MWs in a timely manner. However, firms with more severe MWs, auditor changes subsequent to the detection of MWs, and more complex operation may impede the remediation.

並列關鍵字

internal control deficiencies ； Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 ； corporate governance ； Big 4 accounting firms ； material weakness ； remediation

參考文獻

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