會計師負荷與關鍵查核事項溝通價值

Auditor Workload and the Communicative Value of Key Audit Matters

新式查核報告中增加關鍵查核事項段之目的在增進查核報告溝通價值，本研究探索會計師負荷對該目的之影響。金管會在《審計委員會解讀審計品質指標（AQI）指引》中指出會計師負荷與審計品質為負向相關。本研究對2016年至2020年新式查核報告中關鍵查核事項進行文本探勘，以可讀性及具體性二項文本特徵衡量關鍵查核事項的溝通價值。實證結果顯示負荷較重的會計師所撰擬的關鍵查核事項段語句較短且使用專業術語的比重較低，即可讀性較高，內容亦較具體。本研究實證顯示在既有的管制下，會計師負荷對關鍵查核事項提升查核報告溝通價值無不利影響。

Present study uses texts of key audit matters (KAMs) in auditors’reports from 2016 to 2020 to explore whether the auditor busyness undermines the communicative value of KAMs. Using text mining analysis, we measure two KAM characteristics: readability and specificity. We find that the busier the auditors, the more readable the KAMs, i.e., the shorter the content and the lower frequency in using jargon. We also find that busy auditors provide more specific information in KAMs. Our empirical results suggest that auditor workload does not undermine the communicative value of KAMs in current regulatory settings.