投保董監事責任險與保險金額於審計公費之影響

Does Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance Matter to Audit Fee?

本研究探討公司購買董監事責任險與審計公費之關聯性，並進一步探討已投保責任險之公司投保金額高低是否會影響會計師審計公費之制定。實證結果發現公司購買董監事責任險與審計公費呈正向相關，顯示相較於未投保公司，投保董監事責任險之公司具有較高之審計公費。進一步研究發現，針對已投保董監事責任險之公司而言，投保金額越高之公司亦具有較高之審計公費。此一結果隱含公司因經理人機會主義行為而購買董監事責任險情事，可能會使會計師對購買董監事責任險之審計客戶產生高審計風險的懷疑，而提高審計公費。此外，會計師在決定審計公費時，除了將是否購買董監事責任險納入審計風險之評估中，保險金額之高低亦影響審計公費之水準。

In this study, we investigate whether directors' and officers' liability insurance (D&O liability insurance) are associated with audit fees. The results show that companies with D&O liability insurance have higher audit fees compared with other firms. For further test by focusing on firms with D&O liability insurance, we also find that the level of D&O liability insurance are positively associated with audit fees. The results imply that auditors price the litigation risk of opportunistic management behavior in the presence of D&O liability insurance.