本研究以1980年至2015年美國及加拿大上市公司為研究對象，探討具有會計專長之執行長（CEO）與外界反應的關係。在探討外界反應之前，本文先檢視具有會計專長之CEO對於盈餘品質的影響，透過此結果，推論專業人士（包含會計師與分析師）與市場投資人之反應。本研究預期，當CEO具有會計專長時，會使盈餘品質降低，故審計風險隨之提高，導致審計公費增加，且分析師的追隨意願降低，同時也將影響市場投資人的反應。 研究結果發現，具會計專長CEO與盈餘管理、審計公費、公司累積異常報酬呈現顯著正相關，與分析師追隨數則為顯著負相關，顯示當CEO具有會計專長時，因有盈餘操控的情況，所以審計公費提高、分析師追隨數減少；但市場投資人或許無法體認盈餘操控的事實，故仍相信具有會計專長之CEO，有可能為公司帶來正面的影響。 / This study investigates the relationship between CEOs with accounting expertise and external reactions of investors, auditors and analysts. The sample firms used in this study are all the stock-listed companies in America and Canada during 1980-2015. Before examining such external reactions, this paper explores the association between CEOs with accounting expertise and earnings quality, which help us to obtain an explanation why auditors, analysts and investors have such reactions. The empirical results show that CEOs with accounting expertise manage earnings more aggressively than CEOs without such expertise. As a consequence, the firms with such CEOs will be charged higher audit fees and have less analyst following. However, investors might not recognize this fact; they still believe that CEOs with accounting expertise will have a positive influence on firms. Our findings could offer a reference for a company looking for a CEO that could bring accounting quality.

在市場競爭不斷加劇之環境下，會計師事務所究竟要如何因應？削價競爭固然為一種經營策略，但並非長久之計。過去文獻指出，會計師事務所可藉由發展產業專業化以因應市場競爭，且會計師產業專精對審計公費有正向之影響。然而，過去文獻亦指出客戶產業特性對審計公費訂價有一定之影響力，故本研究目的乃在探討會計師產業專精對審計公費影響力之大小，及是否會計師產業專精對審計公費之影響力會大於客戶產業特性對審計公費之效果。實證結果顯示會計師產業專精與客戶產業特性兩者對審計公費皆有相當之影響力，但客戶產業特性對審計公費訂價之影響較大。另外，在將樣本區分為高科技產業與傳統產業後可發現，會計師在高科技產業之專長對客戶而言較具有價值，產業專精會計師在高科技產業對審計公費訂價之影響力較大、能夠收取較高之審計公費。 / How can accounting firms build up competitive advantages when they face increased competition? One way is to cut costs and decrease prices, but this may not be the best strategy in the long run. Casterella et al.(2004) suggest that product differentiation based on industry expertise may be a more sustainable solution because auditor specialization shows a significantly positive association with audit fees. Prior researches also indicate that client industry characteristics influence audit fees. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine whether auditor specialization and client industry characteristics influence audit fees and which one has greater effect. We find evidence that auditor specialization and client industry characteristics both have an influence on audit fees, while client industry characteristics exhibit even greater impacts. Furthermore relative to conventional industries, auditor specialization in high technology industries demonstrates greater value, and contributes to higher audit fees.

本文主要研究支付給審計委員會較多的權益薪酬會不會影響到審計委員會的獨立性，從而支付較低的審計公費，選擇非產業專家的會計師。以2007至2015年間美國的上市公司為樣本，本研究發現審計委員會獲得的權益薪酬與審計公費，產業專家的會計師選擇呈負相關。此結果與預期一致，權益薪酬會誘導審計委員會妥協獨立性，從而買較少，品質較低的審計服務。