近年全球產業競爭日趨激烈，我國國內專利訴訟亦日漸增加。加上我國財務會計準則公報第37號「無形資產之會計處理準則」及第35號「資產減損之會計處理準則」生效後，企業需要每年對專利權資產進行減損測試，使得國內專利權評價更顯複雜，同時亦產生較多盈餘操縱空間，導致專利權資訊之不確定性增加，間接降低財務報表資訊品質。為了增加財務報表使用者對於報表資訊之信賴，企業需要藉由慎選查核會計師以達到賦予財務報表公信力的目的，本研究首先分析近十年財務報表揭露之專利權資訊概況，接著探討其金額重大性與企業選任會計師決策之關聯。 實證結果顯示企業專利權金額重大性越高，越傾向於委任專長會計師事務所（含大型事務所、產業專長與專利權科目專長會計師事務所）查核財務報表，且專利權金額重大性之顯著，主要來自於第35號公報生效後之效果。 / As world competitions within industry strengthen, patent-related law suits have also increased these days. After the adoption of TSFAS No. 37 and No. 35, Taiwanese companies need to test patent impairment every year, which makes asset valuation complicated and increases patent information uncertainty. While bringing more room for earnings management, it also reduces financial reporting quality. To enhance users’ confidence, management needs to choose auditors of higher credibility. This study first analyzes patent disclosure information of publicly listed Taiwanese companies for the latest 10 years, and examines how the materiality of patent assets influences companies’ choice of specialist auditors. We find that the more important the materiality of a company’s patent assets, the more likely it will choose to hire a specialized auditor, being a large firm, an industry specialist, or an account specialist auditor. The significant positive association between patent materiality and choices of specialized auditors is mainly effected by the adoption of TSFAS No. 35.

隨著國際化發展及企業併購相關法令陸續開放，愈來愈多國內企業以控股及 併購方式來提升競爭力，衍生出來的商譽性質特殊，且可能金額重大，因此，公 司管理當局有可能需要高審計品質會計師來提升商譽認列、管理及續後評價之品 質與公信力。近年來在公允價值的趨勢下，大家更關心商譽會計處理準則改變所 帶來的影響，本研究首先就我國近十年商譽及其減損的會計實務發展，進行基本 概況分析，並探討會計師選任與商譽及其減損之關聯性。 實證結果顯示，針對特殊科目商譽，產業界不但有委任高審計品質會計師的 需求，並且有委任商譽科目專家的現象。除此之外，相較於其他會計師事務所， 大型會計師事務所能抑制公司藉由認列商譽減損損失來操縱盈餘，特別是在公司 認列商譽減損損失前已是虧損的情況下，其抑制公司洗大澡的效果更為顯著。 / With the development of internationalization and the release of related regulations, more and more companies enhance their competitiveness by means of investment and acquisition, which is often followed by the recognition of goodwill. Since the nature of goodwill is unique and its amount is often significant, the demand of high quality auditors is on the increase. Companies need them to improve and monitor the recognition, management and evaluation of goodwill. Recently, due to the fair value accounting concept, more attention is drawn on the change of goodwill accounting. Therefore, in this study we summarize the accounting treatment of goodwill and its impairment in Taiwan during the past ten years. Our main objective is to examine whether specialist auditor choice is associated with the importance of goodwill. We find evidence that goodwill is positively associated with the choice of auditors who specialize in auditing goodwill account. Additionally, compared to the other auditors, big 4 auditors can restrain earnings management, especially when companies experienced financial distress and tended to take a big bath by recognizing goodwill impairment.