基于双调节效应下的关键审计事项披露对审计费用的影响研究

Research on the Impact of Key Audit Matters Disclosure on Audit Fees Based on Dual Moderating Effects

摘要: 新审计报告准则的全面实施，标志着审计报告从传统的标准化格式向风险导向的信息沟通范式转变。关键审计事项(KAM)的披露作为此次改革的核心，其经济后果备受关注。然而，现有研究对KAM披露如何通过市场传导机制影响审计费用，以及内外部治理机制的协同调节作用，仍缺乏系统性的探讨。研究以2018~2023年中国A股上市公司为研究对象，基于风险导向审计理论、信息不对称理论、保险理论与公司治理理论，构建了一个整合“中介传导”与“双重调节”机制的理论框架，实证检验了KAM披露对审计费用的影响路径、边界条件与异质性特征。研究发现：1) KAM披露数量与审计费用显著正相关，且该结论经过一系列稳健性检验后依然成立；2) 市场风险感知在KAM披露与审计费用之间起部分中介作用，揭示了“KAM披露→市场风险感知→审计费用”的传导路径；3) 内部控制质量仅对“市场风险感知→审计费用”阶段具有显著的负向调节作用，而媒体关注度对中介路径的两阶段均具有显著的抑制作用；4) KAM披露对审计费用的影响在东部地区企业和大型企业中更为显著。本研究从动态市场感知与内外部治理协同视角，深化了对审计报告改革微观经济后果的理解，拓展了审计定价理论与公司治理理论的交叉研究，并为监管机构、上市公司、会计师事务所及投资者提供了具有理论深度与现实针对性的政策建议与实践启示。

Abstract: The full implementation of the new auditing reporting standards marks a paradigm shift in audit reports from traditional standardized formats to a risk-oriented information communication model. The disclosure of Key Audit Matters (KAM), as the core of this reform, has drawn significant attention regarding its economic consequences. However, existing literature lacks a systematic exploration of how KAM disclosure influences audit fees through market transmission mechanisms and the synergistic moderating effects of internal and external governance mechanisms. Focusing on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2018 to 2023, and grounded in risk-oriented audit theory, information asymmetry theory, insurance theory, and corporate governance theory, this study constructs an integrated theoretical framework encompassing “mediating transmission” and “dual moderation”. It empirically examines the influencing paths, boundary conditions, and heterogeneous characteristics of KAM disclosure on audit fees. The findings reveal that: 1) the number of KAM disclosed is significantly positively correlated with audit fees, and this conclusion remains robust after a series of stability tests; 2) market risk perception plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between KAM disclosure and audit fees, uncovering the transmission path of “KAM disclosure → Market risk perception → Audit fees”; 3) internal control quality exhibits differential moderating patterns: it only significantly and negatively moderates the “market risk perception → audit fees” stage, while media attention demonstrates significant inhibitory effects on both stages of the mediating pathway; 4) the impact of KAM disclosure on audit fees is more pronounced in firms located in eastern regions with more developed market institutions and in large-scale enterprises with greater operational complexity. From the perspectives of dynamic market perception and the synergy of internal and external governance, this study deepens the understanding of the microeconomic consequences of audit report reforms, extends the interdisciplinary research between audit pricing theory and corporate governance theory, and provides theoretically profound and practically relevant policy recommendations for regulators, listed companies, accounting firms, and investors.