감사위원회 보상이 외부감사에 미치는 영향: 감사보수 및 감사시간을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the compensation level of audit committee plays a role in improving the audit quality. According to prior research, what matters most is not the existence of audit committee, but its characteristics such as board independence, expertise, and board activity. From this perspective, the compensation system can be one of the most important management tools to increase the effectiveness of audit committee. However, it is controversial whether the current compensation level of audit committee members is appropriate and effective. There are two kind of opinions about the compensation level of audit committee. First, some argue that the increase in the compensation level is necessary in order to hire qualified expertise and increase the quality of the committee. However, the other side argue that the extreme compensation aggravates audit committees's independence from managers. Therefore, it is worth to know how the compensation level of audit committee affects the effectiveness of audit committee. In order to answer the question, we examine whether the compensation level of audit committee affects audit fees and audit hours, after controlling other generally known determinants of audit fees and audit hours. The tests are based on the data disclosed in the business reports filed to the Financial Supervisory Services in the period from 2006 to 2008, which has a sample of 242 listed firms. The results of this study are as follows. We find that the audit committee compensation level is positively associated with audit fees and audit hours. The results suggest the compensation level of audit committee plays an important role in enhancing the audit quality and improving the effectiveness of audit committee.