감사인 특성과 내부회계관리제도 취약점 개선에 따른 발생액 질의 향상

[Purpose] If a material weakness in the internal control over financial reporting(ICFR) that existed in the past is disclosed as having disappeared, accounting information users will accept that the ICFR and the reliability of accounting information has improved. According to previous studies dealing with the subject, the accruals quality improved when material weaknesses in the ICFR disappeared, but it remained relatively low compared to the accruals quality of companies in which the ICFR had been operating normally for a long time. This study extends the preceding study, analyzing the moderating effect of auditor characteristics related to audit quality in the process of improving the accruals quality. [Methodology] Companies that disclosed material weaknesses of the ICFR in the past but did not disclose them during consecutive periods were selected as experimental samples. In the same way as in the preceding study, the dependent variable uses a change in the absolute value of the discretionary accrual. The analysis is performed using a variable representing the Big4 auditor and abnormal audit fees as auditor characteristic variables. [Findings] The main results are as follows. First, when a Big4 auditor conducts an audit of a KOSPI company whose material weakness has disappeared, the improvement in accrual quality is relatively increased compared to when a non－Big4 auditor conducts the audit. Second, when a non－Big4 auditor conducts an audit of a KOSDAQ company whose material weakness has disappeared, the improvement in accrual quality is relatively increased compared to when a Big4 auditor conducts the audit. These results can be interpreted as having the effect of controlling the extent of improvement in accrual quality by the size of auditors. However, the moderating effect of the size of auditors works in the opposite direction in each sample. Finally, there was no control effect of abnormal audit fees in the process of improving accrual quality. [Policy Implications] The contribution of this study is as follows. First, this study empirically shows the interaction effect between the characteristics of auditors and the ICFR at the beginning of the system reorganization to strengthen the role of auditors in relation to the ICFR. The results of this study may provide a basis for supervisory agencies to refer to in establishing and revising policies. Second, this study is expected to provide additional perspectives in the field of audit quality research by examining the effects of the size of auditors and abnormal audit fees on accrual quality in situations where inherent and control risks are high.