公司发行绿色债券影响审计定价吗?——来自中国A股市场经验证据

Do Green Bonds Affect Audit Pricing?—Evidence from China’s A-Share Market

摘要: 绿色债券是我国绿色金融体系的重要组成部分，是实现“双碳”目标的关键金融手段。文章以2010~2022年中国A股上市公司为样本，深入探究企业发行绿色债券对审计定价的影响及作用机制，研究发现：企业发行绿色债券能够通过显著降低审计定价；重复发行的绿色债券和受到第三方认证的绿色债券可以强化绿色债券对审计定价的降低效果；然而，如果企业受到环境处罚，则会抵消这种效应。文章在理论上将绿色债券的经济后果拓展到审计领域，深化和丰富了审计定价理论；在实务中对于优化绿色债券的发行和监管均有较强的启示意义。

Abstract: Green bonds are a key component of China’s green finance architecture and an essential financial instrument for achieving the “dual-carbon” targets. Using a sample of China A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2022, this paper investigates whether and how corporate issuance of green bonds influences audit pricing. We find that issuing green bonds significantly reduces audit fees. The fee-reducing effect is stronger when green bonds are repeatedly issued and when they are certified by third-party verifiers. However, the effect is offset if the issuer has received environmental penalties. This study extends the literature on the economic consequences of green bonds to the auditing domain and enriches theories of audit pricing. Practically, the findings offer implications for improving the design and supervision of green bond issuance.