董監事暨重要職員責任保險與會計師的風險評估有關聯嗎？來自關鍵查核事項的證據

The Association between Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance and Auditors' Risk Assessment: Evidence from Key Audit Matters

本研究以2016年至2018年台灣上市櫃公司為研究對象，探討董監事暨重要職員責任保險（簡稱D&O保險）是否與會計師評估的查核風險有關聯。本研究以會計師揭露的關鍵查核事項項數作為會計師風險評估的衡量，實證結果發現，公司購買D&O保險與關鍵查核事項項數呈負向關聯性。其次，針對有購買D&O保險的公司，正常投保金額與關鍵查核事項項數呈負向關聯性，而超額投保金額則與關鍵查核事項項數呈正向關聯性。本研究之結果意謂著當公司適度投保D&O保險，會計師評估較低風險，但當公司投保金額超過公司所需，則董監事與管理階層的投機動機較大，會計師可能評估較高查核風險而出具較多關鍵查核事項。

Using a sample of listed firms for the 2016-2018 period, we investigate whether directors' and officers' liability insurance (D&O insurance hereafter) is associated with auditors' risk assessments, as proxied by the number of key audit matters disclosed in the audit reports. We find that firms with D&O insurance receive fewer key audit matters compared to firms without D&O insurance. For firms with D&O insurance, we find a negative association between normal (appropriate) D&O insurance coverage and the number of key audit matters. However, the association between abnormal (excess) D&O insurance coverage and the number of key audit matters is positive. Our results suggest that D&O insurance is associated with auditors' risk assessments. Auditors assess lower risks if firms obtain appropriate insurance coverage. In contrast, auditors might assess higher risks if firms carry excess coverage. This implies that greater managerial opportunism revealed by excess coverage might cause auditors to assess higher risks by issuing more key audit matters.