벤포드 법칙 관점에서의 지방자치단체 재무제표 신뢰성 검증

This study analyzes the reliability of accounting figures in local government financial statements using Benford’s Law. Benford’s Law is a law that states that the first digit of a number is more likely to be a small number such as 1 or 2 than a large number such as 8 or 9, and is often used to detect data outliers or verify reliability. In our study, we found that the accounting figures in local government financial statements do not follow Benford’s law, unlike KOSPI companies, indicating a possible problem with the reliability of local government financial statements. However, a comparison before and after 2015, the first year that financial statements were required to be submitted to local councils, showed a slight, but not statistically significant, shift towards the Benford distribution after the mandatory submission, rather than before. In order for local government financial statements to be more reliable, it is necessary to understand why the distribution of accounting figures is so far from the Benford distribution. In addition, it is necessary to analyze the impact of some accounting treatment methods in local accounting standards being different from corporate accounting standards and to convert the external auditor’s review opinion on financial statements into an audit opinion.