“四大”与本土会计师事务所的竞争结构变动及其对审计效率的影响：基于制度干预的研究

我国审计市场上的频繁制度变更以非市场机制干预市场竞争，影响市场结构、审计定价及审计效率。本项目以“四大”所的市场份额和收费溢价来描述其与本土所之间的竞争结构，采用理论研究和实证检验相结合的方法，以事务所的民事赔偿责任和内部控制规范两项审计制度为切入点，研究制度干预对我国审计市场的竞争结构及审计效率的影响。首先，采用一般经济均衡分析建立审计选择模型，探明制度干预影响“四大”所和本土所竞争结构的理论机制，并进行实证检验；其次，运用横截面和时间序列数据，考察不同市场竞争结构下事务所的审计效率；最后，分析并检验制度干预对审计效率的作用路径和影响程度。本项目基于制度干预研究“四大”所和本土所的相对竞争优势，扩展了审计市场结构领域的研究视野；结合我国审计市场的特殊制度考察审计效率，丰富审计效率领域的研究内容。本项目研究成果可以为监管者安排制度、事务所制定战略、客户选择审计师提供参考。

The adjustment in regulations is a frequently observed characteristic of Chinese audit market. It is a non-market-based mechanism that govern market competition, and hence have significant effect on audit market structure, audit pricing, and audit efficiency. So the regulatory intervention in audit market is worth exploring further given that it is not fully addressed by prior literature. The purpose of the project is to investigate how and to which extent that the regulatory interventions derive the audit market competitive structure of Big4 versus local audit firms, measured empirically by Big4s’ market share and the fee premium. Specifically, we will develop an audit choice model to theoretically explore the rule that how regulatory intervention affect audit market competitive structure, and then determine magnitude that Big4s’ market share and fee premium are derived by internal control regulation and civil liability of audit firms, respectively. Second, we intent to investigate the relation between audit market competitive structure and audit efficiency based on cross-section datasets of Chinese listed firms, as well as time-series datasets. At last, the economic consequences of the mentioned regulations, measured by audit production efficiency and the quality of accounting information, will be investigated as they alter audit market competitive structure. This project is expected to contribute prior literature by determining the underlying rule of evolution in audit market structure, and providing strong support for regulation-makers to govern audit market, for audit firms to select strategies, and for client to select audit service.