• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.477-488
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• 2015

This study investigates the association between non-audit services and audit quality, using a sample of firms in which audit services and non-audit services are provided by a same audit firm. This study extends previous studies by separating auditors into Big4 and Non-Big4 audit firms as each group may have different incentives to impair their independence. According to the empirical results, audit quality, proxied by absolute value of discretionary accruals has significant negative association with non-audit service fee for Non-Big4 audit firms, but not for Big4 audit firms, suggesting that Non-Big4 audit firms may impair their independence with increased non-audit service fees. Non-Big4 audit firms are known to be relatively small and local firms that might be highly economically dependent upon a specific client firm whereas Big4 audit firms are not. This results may be of interest to regulators and capital market investors and standard setters who concern a recent trend of increasing non-audit services that are provided by an audit firm which also provides audit service at the same time.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.593-604
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• 2022

This study examines how auditors respond to labor investment inefficiency, specifically its impact on audit fees and audit hours. Using a sample of Korean firms listed on the Korea Stock Exchange from 2003 to 2018, our empirical results indicate that firms involved in inefficient investment in labor incur higher audit fees and audit hours. This implies that auditors consider inefficient labor investment to cause considerable business risk, thus requesting higher external audit fees to compensate for higher audit risk. Furthermore, auditors expend more time and effort while auditing those firms by expanding the audit procedures to reduce the audit risk to an acceptable level. Finally, this study provides empirical evidence on whether the investment inefficiency in labor, an important factor in firms' competitiveness, incur higher audit fees as well as audit hours.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.229-239
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• 2014

Smartwork technology, using teleworking, smartwork centers and mobile terminal, provides a flexible work environments without constraints of time and space. Smartwork system to increase the work efficiency has the information protection threats according to their convenience. Thus, in order to build smartwork, it is proper to provide information protection audit to help ensure the information protection. In this paper, we have proposed an infortaion protection audit model at the practical and technical level for building a smartwork environment. We were classified as a terminal, network and server area for information protection, and derived a professional information protection check items. Further, by establishing a smartwork information protection audit time to map ISMS control items, we have proposed an audit model so that it is possible to improve the security and efficiency. It also verified whether the proposed model is suitable or not by doing a survey if deduced audit domain and check items correspond with the purpose of the smartwork information protection audit to auditors and IT specialists. As the result, this study was 97% satisfaction out of 13 check items.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.13-20
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• 2015

Purpose: In order to upgrade the energy performance of existing building, energy audit stage should be implemented first because it is useful method to find where the problems occur and know how much time and cost consumption for retrofit. In overseas researches, three levels of audit is proposed whereas there are no standards for audit in Korea. Besides, most studies use dynamic simulation in detail like audit level 3 even though the level 2 can save time and cost than level 3. Thus, this paper focused on audit level 2 and proposed the audit method with the simple linear regression analysis model. Method: Two parameters were considered for the simple regression analysis, which were the monthly electric use and the mean outdoor temperature data. The former is a dependent variable and the latter is a independent variable, and the building's energy performance profile was estimated from the regression analysis method. In this analysis, we found the abnormal point in cooling season and the more detailed analysis were conducted about the three heat source equipments. Result: Comparing with real and predicted models, the total consumption of predicted model was higher than real value as 23,608 kWh but it was the results that was reflected the compulsory control in 2013. Consequently, it was analyzed that the revised model could save the cooling energy as well as reduce peak electric use than before.

• Journal of East Asia Management
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-51
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• 2023

We investigate whether the association between management overconfident tone and the level of audit effort measured by audit fees and hours differs depending on the level of earnings management. Prior studies suggest that firms led by overconfident managers are likely to initiate risky investments, report low quality financial statements, and have material weaknesses in internal control system. These characteristics, combined together, result in higher audit risk. At the same time, auditors assess audit risk based on the quality of financial reporting, measured by level of earnings management. As a result, the assess audit risk is likely to reflect the combined effect of management overconfidence and the level of earnings management. In this paper, we investigate whether auditors differentiate the effects of real earnings management (REM) and accrual-based earnings management (AEM) when they assess the audit risk related management overconfident. Using the CEO's letter published in 2018, we measure the CEO's tone representing the degree of overconfidence (i.e., activity). Based on this measure, we find that the positive association between managerial overconfident tone and audit effort is more pronounced as the level of REM is higher. However, we find that the baseline association does not vary depending on the level of AEM. These results suggest that auditors consider the managerial overconfident severer when such characteristic accompany the higher level of REM, which can be outcome of aggressive business decisions possibly leading to the higher audit risks. We further find that these results are stronger for Big 4 auditors and continuing auditors. This paper contributes to the literature and practice as follows. First, we provide contextual evidence on how auditors reflect managerial characteristics in the audit process by documenting that auditors actively increase their audit efforts only when overconfident managerial characteristics are highly likely to lead to audit risk. This result suggests that auditors conduct external auditing considering both the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process. Second, we suggest that auditors use information obtained from a wide range of sources to identify audit risks. Our results provide evidence of how the auditing standards, which do not provide detailed guidelines for audit risk assessment, are being applied in practice. Finally, our results also enhance the understanding of how audit fees are determined. Combined with the studies related to audit pricing, we provide the important reference for discussion between the auditor and the auditee about the audit fee that has created acute tension after the enforcement of the new External Audit Act.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.51-61
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• 2020

This research investigates the consequences of the increase in corporate use of short-term debt in China over the past decades. Using a sample of Chinese firms from 2007 to 2018, we empirically explore the effect of corporate use of short-term debt for long-term investment (SFLI) on audit pricing. We first examine the relationship between SFLI and audit pricing for different groups of firms. Then, we investigate the role of the increase in short-term debt in alleviating principal-agent conflicts and reducing agency costs. We have four primary empirical findings. First, auditors tend to charge SFLI clients higher fees. Second, the negative relationship between SFLI and audit fee is found in private firms, firms audited by Chinese domestic auditors, and firms with higher information asymmetry. Third, the time auditors spent on SFLI clients is significantly more than that spent on non-SFLI clients, suggesting that the decrease in audit fee is not due to the decrease in cost. Fourth, SFLI significantly reduces the agency costs of the firm, which auditors regard as a low risk signal and grant an audit fee discount. Our findings suggest that the decrease in debt maturity, not only influences managerial behaviors, but also influences auditors' risk assessment and pricing decisions.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2021

This study aims to examine the impact of audit committee characteristics on income management of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Vietnam. Research data was collected from all 745 listed companies on Vietnam's stock market over four years, from 2015 to 2018. After excluding companies that did not qualify, there were 216 companies with 864 observations. With the help of dedicated software Stata 15, the impact of audit committee characteristics (through independent variables and control variables such as Audit Committee Independence, Auditing Committee size, Auditing Committee Expertise, Auditing Committee Meeting Frequency, Company Size, Financial Leverage, and Operating Cash Flow) to earning management through a multivariate regression model was determined. Research results from Vietnamese listed companies during this period show that the size and expertise of the audit committee are inversely related to the discretionary accruals representing earning management. At the same time, the research results also identify a positive relationship between firm size and earning management, and the inverse relationship between financial leverage, net cash flow from operating operations and earning management. However, the multivariate regression results do not find clear evidence of a relationship between audit committee independence and the audit committee meeting frequency to earning management.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.627-637
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• 2021

This research extends the literature on the effect of board characteristics and ownership structure on audit fees; these factors affect the firm's agency costs and how the auditor assesses various risks, hence the audit efforts and fees. The paper introduces political connections as a determinant of audit fees for the first time in Jordan, where the political connection is prevalent and affects decision making on the Jordanian boards. The sample consists of 109 manufacturing and service firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) over the years 2012-2019. Data is obtained from the ASE and the company's annual reports. Board characteristics are measured by board size, independence, leadership duality, meetings frequency, political connections, and audit committee. Ownership structure was measured by concentration, foreign ownership, and Institutional ownership. The study hypotheses were tested by using Generalized Least Squares regression. The Findings showed that larger boards, politically connected firms, and firms with leadership duality are more likely to pay higher fees. Besides, Firms with greater foreign ownership pay less fees, whereas the rest of the variables are insignificant. Results suggest that political connections play a major role in determining audit fees; this provides a recommendation to policymakers in Jordan to reconsider regulations regarding political connections.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.187-193
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• 2017

We examined the effect of Audit Quality on Accounting Policy by using Book-Tax Difference Variability as the proxy of Accounting Information Quality. We used 2,412 sample data from 2010 to 2014. In short, the result of this study's is as followed. Audit Quality have a negative relevance with Book-Tax Difference Variability. Therefore we can support that the firm has a good Audit Quality shows the better Accounting Information Quality according to this study. This study contributes as follow. we can confirm how does Audit Quality affect Accounting Policy by this study's result. We hope that this study can be helped development of capital market and give a good news to investors on firms that has a good Audit Quality

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.169-181
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• 2009

As the situations that important evidences or clues are found in digital information devices increase, digital forensic technology is widely applied. In this paper, forensic based audit system is implemented by associating forensic analysis system with agent system which monitors and collects data for analysis in storage devices over distributed network nodes. Forensic audit system implemented in this paper can prevent, audit and trace the computer related crimes in IT infrastructure by real time monitoring and evidence seizure.