審計品質與債務成本：以借貸關係為例

Abstract

本研究參考Causholli and Knechel(2012)之研究設計，以台灣上市櫃公司為研究對象，並以2001年至2007年為研究期間，探討公司在此期間掛牌上市櫃後，接下來五年債務成本的變化。本研究旨在探討在不同情況下，審計品質對降低債務成本的效果，並加入產業、借貸關係以及公司治理環境作討論。 本研究以融資生命週期模型去討論公司於掛牌上市櫃前與債權人的借貸關係，並將公司分為科技產業及非科技產業。實證結果發現，(1) 掛牌上市櫃時，債務成本與公司年齡並不顯著相關。且審計品質與債務成本並不是顯著相關，加入產業因素討論時，也不顯著相關。然而，(2) 將樣本以產業作區別時，在非科技產業的子樣本中，公司年齡與債務成本呈顯著負相關，較年輕的公司其債務成本會較高。而審計品質對降低債務成本的效果在年輕的非科技公司中比較大，與預期不符。(3)在科技產業的子樣本中，公司年齡與債務成本呈顯著負相關。而審計品質對於降低債務成本的效果對年輕公司較大，與預期相符 (4) 審計品質與良好的公司治理交互作用下，會產生互補效果，能更加降低債務成本。

Following Causholli and Knechel (2012), this thesis uses a sample of listed and OTC firms in Taiwan from 2001 to 2007 to examine how high quality audits reduce a firms’ cost of debt under different circumstances. The thesis extends Causholli and Knechel (2012) by considering industry, lending relationships and board governance to analyze the relationship between audit quality and costs of debt. The thesis uses the life-cycle model of financing to analyze firms’ lending relationships before they become listed and OTC firms, and separates total samples into technology firms and non-technology firms. The empirical results indicate that at the time that firms become listed and OTC firms, a firm’s private age is not significantly related to the cost of debt, and the audit quality isn’t significantly related to lowering the cost of debt. Besides, the effect of audit quality isn’t larger for firms in high tech industry sector. Among firms in the non-tech sector, I find that firms that are young at the time that they become listed and OTC firms pay higher cost of debt. Among firms in the tech sector, I find that firms that are young at the time that they become listed and OTC firms pay higher cost of debt, and the benefit of hiring a high quality auditor is larger in young firms. Finally, I find that there is a complementary relationship between audit quality and board governance in reducing the cost of debt.