Non-audit service and the timeliness of financial statements

• Main Authors: Jian-Chong Yang, 楊健忠
• Other Authors: Hung-Shu Fan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/49764691920526843831

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 會計學系碩士班 === 94 === The CPA firms provide audit services and various non-audit services to their same clients. The aim of this study is to test the independence impairment effect and the knowledge spillover effect of non-audit services on the timing of announcement of their clients’ financial statements. After 2002 fiscal years, all of public companies are supposed to disclose the amount of fee paid to their auditor under the requirement of Article 22-1 of the Regulations Governing the Preparation of Financial Reports by public Companies. The sample firms are public firms that disclose audit fees and non-audit fees in their annual reports. In order to test the possible independence impairment effect and the knowledge spillover effect of non-audit services on the timing of announcement of their clients’ financial statements, I test the effect of non-audit services on the following time lengths: 1. the time length between the end of fiscal year to the audit report date, 2. the time length between the audit report date to the annual report announcement date, 3. The length of time between the end of fiscal year to the annual report announcement date. And this study establishes three hypotheses that predict the effect of non-audit services on the above time lengths: The first hypothesis (the knowledge spillover effect): To provide non-audit service as well as audit service to the same client by CPA firm will make the time length between the end of fiscal year to the audit report date shorten. The second hypothesis (the independence impairmen effect): To provide non-audit service as well as audit service to the same client by CPA firm will make the time length between the audit report date to the annual report announcement date longer. The third hypothesis (the net effect of the knowledge spillover effect and the independence impairment effect): If the magnitude of the knowledge spillover effect of non-audit services is similar to its independence impairment effect, to provide non-audit service as well as audit service to the same client by CPA firm will have no influence on the time length between the audit report date to the annual report announcement date longer. The empirical findings of this study support all three hypotheses. That is: with respect to those companies that don’t buy non-audit service from their auditors, buying non-audit services from their auditors make the time length between the end of fiscal year to the audit report date shorten and the time length between the audit report date to the annual report announcement date longer, but have no effect on the time length between the audit report date to the annual report announcement date longer This results can also be found in some kinds of non-audit services.