Journal of Systems & Management ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (5): 860-878.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1005-2542.2021.05.003

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Effect of Signature Auditor’s Personal Experience on Tax Avoidance Behavior of Enterprises

LIU Xiaoxia, LI Minghui   

  1. 1. School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; 2. Business School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  • Online:2021-09-28 Published:2021-10-09

签字会计师个人经验对客户避税行为的影响

刘笑霞,李明辉   

  1. 1.南京理工大学 经济管理学院,南京 210094;2.南京大学 商学院,南京 210093
  • 作者简介:刘笑霞(1979-),女,博士,教授,博士生导师。研究方向为审计
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金青年项目(71602047);江苏高校哲学社会科学研究重大项目(2020SJZDA072);国家社会科学基金后期资助项目(20FJYB002)

Abstract: There is a close connection between external auditing and tax avoidance behaviors of enterprises. Auditing can directly or indirectly affect the implementation of tax avoidance strategies of enterprises. Due to the complexity of tax avoidance activities, the personal experience of auditors is an important variable affecting the tax avoidance behaviors of enterprises. There are different theories about whether experienced auditors will promote or inhibit the aggressive tax avoidance of enterprises. This paper examines the impact of the signature auditor’s personal experience on the tax avoidance behaviors of enterprises by using the data of A-share nonfinancial listed companies in China from 2007 to 2018. The results show that the signature auditor’s personal experience has a significant negative relationship with effective tax rate. This result demonstrates that the auditor may use his/her experience to help client to avoid tax. Further tests show that an experienced auditor may promote the tax avoidance an enterprise by partly improving the accounting information quality of the enterprise, which is consistent with the information hypothesis. In addition, the personal experience of the signature auditor is relevant to tax avoidance only when the degree of tax avoidance (and related risk) of the enterprise is at a low level. Moreover, the significantly negative relationship between the personal experience of the signing auditor and effective tax rate only exists in the areas with poor legal environment, and that the importance of the enterprise can strengthen the impact of the signature auditor’s personal experience on tax avoidance of the enterprise. The above results indicate that experienced auditors will weigh the risks (legal and regulatory risks) and benefits (retaining customers) and then make decisions on whether to help customers to avoid tax or not. This paper expands the research on the relationship between auditing and tax avoidance of enterprises from the perspective of signature auditor’s personal experience, and helps to understand auditor’s risk decisions.

Key words: audit, tax avoidance, personal experience, accounting information, trade-off

摘要: 审计与公司避税活动之间具有紧密的联系,审计可以直接或间接地影响公司避税策略的实施,而由于避税活动的复杂性,审计师的个人经验就成为影响公司避税活动的一个重要变量。然而,经验丰富的审计师究竟是会促进还是抑制客户避税,存在不同的理论预期。利用中国A股上市公司数据,检验了签字会计师个人经验对公司避税活动的影响,结果表明,签字会计师个人经验与公司实际税率呈显著负向关系。这表明,经验丰富的签字会计师会利用其经验帮助客户进行避税,这一结果拒绝了监督假说。进一步研究发现,签字会计师个人经验可以部分通过提高会计信息质量来促进公司避税,这与信息假说相一致;研究还发现,仅在公司避税程度处于较低水平时,签字会计师个人经验才与公司税收激进度呈显著正向关系,并且,签字会计师个人经验对避税的促进作用仅存在于法律环境较差地区,而客户重要性会强化签字会计师个人经验对税收激进度的促进作用。这表明,签字会计师会在权衡帮助客户避税的风险(法律与监管风险)与收益(保留客户)的基础上做出是否帮助客户避税的决策,并在一定程度上支持了合谋假说。研究从签字会计师个人经验层面进一步拓展了审计与公司避税之间关系的研究,并有助于理解审计师的风险决策。

关键词: 审计, 避税, 个人经验, 会计信息, 权衡

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