Analysis of the relationship between company characteristics and key audit matters disclosed

ABSTRACT The general objective of this study is to analyze whether the particularities of audited companies influence the volume of key audit matters (KAMs). Its specific objectives are to identify the number of KAMs disclosed by Brazilian companies and analyze the main factors associated with their disclosure. The paper aims to contribute to an area of investigation still lacking in studies that analyze the factors affecting KAM disclosure, which makes audit reports more individualized. The study contributes to understanding the main auditing issues in Brazilian companies that auditors consider relevant, by providing evidence on factors associated with their disclosure. This research is relevant for agencies that issue auditing standards and for financial information users. For issuers of auditing standards, the study is relevant because it identifies the factors associated with KAM disclosure, enabling it to be confirmed that the new audit report model has contributed to its destandardization. For financial information users, the study demonstrates that KAM disclosure varies from company to company, thus contributing to greater transparency of the audit report. Data were collected from the Audit Reports and Consolidated Financial Statements of the 447 Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Securities, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBovespa), on December 31st of 2016, and an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was applied to the defined model. The results show a positive relationship between the number of KAMs disclosed and both the auditor being a Big 4 and the complexity of the audited company. The auditor’s fees and auditor’s opinion being modified show a negative relationship with the number of KAMs. The article is relevant for companies, auditors, and regulatory and supervisory bodies as it identifies company characteristics that influence KAM disclosure and are determinants for the non-standardization of the auditor’s report.

摘要 本研究的总体目标为分析被审计公司的特殊性是否会影响关键审计事项（Key Audit Matters，KAMs）的数量。本研究的具体目标包括：确定巴西上市公司披露的关键审计事项数量，并分析与其披露相关的主要影响因素。本研究旨在为现有研究仍较为匮乏的关键审计事项披露影响因素分析领域提供学术贡献，此类探索可推动审计报告更具个性化特征。本研究通过提供与关键审计事项披露相关的影响因素实证证据，有助于学界理解审计师认为重要的巴西公司主要审计问题。本研究对审计准则制定机构及财务信息使用者均具有参考价值：对于审计准则制定机构而言，本研究识别出了关键审计事项披露的影响因素，可证实新型审计报告模式确实推动了审计报告的去标准化进程；对于财务信息使用者而言，本研究表明不同公司的关键审计事项披露情况存在差异，有助于提升审计报告的透明度。本研究收集了2016年12月31日在圣保罗证券商品期货交易所（BM&FBovespa）上市的447家巴西公司的审计报告与合并财务报表数据，并对设定的模型应用了普通最小二乘法（OLS）回归分析。研究结果显示，披露的关键审计事项数量与审计师为四大会计师事务所（Big 4）、被审计公司的复杂度均呈显著正相关关系；而审计收费与审计师出具修改后的审计意见则与关键审计事项数量呈显著负相关关系。本研究识别出了影响关键审计事项披露的公司特征，而这些特征正是审计报告非标准化的决定因素，因此对企业、审计师以及监管机构均具有参考意义。