【作者】 李斌；

【导师】 王善平；

【作者基本信息】 湖南大学 ， 会计学， 2004， 硕士

【摘要】 一直以来，会计师事务所充当着双重角色，它既是追求自身利益最大化的“经济人”，又是维护社会公众利益的“经济警察”。这两种角色存在潜在利益冲突，现实中的会计师事务所在这两者之间徘徊，直至找到一个有效的均衡点，即会计师事务所在维护社会公众利益的前提下实现自身利益的最大化。而这一有效均衡点的出现取决于审计市场中寡头垄断型市场结构的形成。认识到这一点，对解决当前我国注册会计师行业的“信誉危机”有着十分重要的现实意义。我国会计师事务所数量多、规模小是导致过度价格竞争，审计质量低下，国际竞争力不强的重要原因，合并是解决这些问题的重要途径。因此，研究会计师事务所合并问题具有重要的理论意义与现实意义。 通过回顾国际会计师事务所的历史演变，我们发现，“五大”是经过无数次合并才最终形成的，这一事实为我国会计师事务所通过合并扩大规模，形成寡头垄断型审计市场结构提供了经验证据。会计师事务所一方面作为追求自身利益最大化的“经济人”，其合并行为有着重要的内在动因，即提高经营效率或获取垄断能力；另一方面，会计师事务所具有“社会公信力重于营利”的特殊性质，审计需求的价格无弹性以及审计产品是一种信誉产品的特殊性决定了有效的审计市场结构必然是寡头垄断型的市场结构。通过中外审计市场结构的比较分析，我们发现，我国审计市场中存在过度竞争，因此，推动会计师事务所合并是优化我国审计市场结构，解决审计收费低、会计师事务所规模小等问题的重要途径。最后，本文具体研究了我国审计市场中已发生的两次大规模的合并，指出其取得的成就与存在的问题，并在此基础上就我国会计师事务所未来的合并重组提出了若干建议。 本文的主要观点与创新：(1)在回顾“五大”会计师事务所的历史演变过程后，从会计师事务所作为理性的“经济人”以及代表公众利益的“经济警察”这双重角色分别论证了寡头垄断型审计市场结构的可能性与必要性，并通过对美国、英国、澳大利亚三国审计市场结构的比较研究验证了这一寡头垄断型的市场结构，从而得出结论：合并是形成大规模会计师事务所与寡头垄断型审计市场结构的重要途径；(2)对我国会计师事务所审计收费与会计师事务所规模之间的关系进行了实证分析，结果表明，规模大的会计师事务所收费更高。这为我国会计师事务所通过合并来优化审计市场结构，提高审计收费，改善审计质量提供了有力的经验证据；(3)在总结我国审计市场中已发生的两次大规模合并的经验教训的基础上，利用新制度经济学的分析框架研究我国会计师事务所未来合并的若干会计师事务所合并问题研究对策。更多还原

【Abstract】 Public accounting firms are always economic entities who pursue the maximization of their own interests. At the same time, they are also economic policemen who must protect the public’s benefits. However, there exists potential interest conflict between these two tasks. Public accounting firms in reality then linger between them until they can find an efficient equilibrium where they will achieve the maximum of their own interests on the basis of the public’s benefits. And the appearance of this efficient equilibrium depends on the formation of oligopoly in audit market. The knowledge of this market structure is of great current significance in solving CPA trade’s "credit crisis" in our country. As we know, there are a large number of public accounting firms and these firms’ scale are very small, which have led to excessive price competition in the audit market, low audit quality and poor international competitive ability of the accounting firms. Consolidation is a major way to solve all these problems. Therefore, the research on public accounting firms’ consolidation has important theoretical and practical meanings.By reviewing the history of international public accounting firms, we find that the formation of "Big 5" is the final result of uncountable mergers. And this fact provides empirical evidence for our accounting firms’ enlargement of scale through consolidation in order to develop oligopoly in the audit market. For one thing, public accounting firms are economic entities who pursue the maximum of their own interests and their conducts of mergers have important internal incentives, namely the improvement of operational efficiency and the acquisition of monopoly power. For another, accounting firms have a special character, that is, public reputation over profit-making. The audit demand’s price rigidity and the peculiarity of audit product’s being a kind of credit product necessarily determine that oligopoly is the efficient audit market structure. Then by comparing the present audit market structure between China and some other foreign countries, we find that there exists excessive competition in our audit market. So the encouragement of public accounting firms’ consolidation is one of important ways to improve our audit market structure and solve the problems of low audit fees and small scale of the accounting firms. Finally, this thesis analyzes the two mergers in detail which took place in audit market in our country, points out their achievements and shortcomings, and then advances several suggestions for accountingfirms’ future consolidation in our country.This thesis’s main viewpoints and innovations include: (1) after reviewing the history of "Big 5", the thesis demonstrates the probability and necessity of oligopoly in audit market from the angle of accounting firms as rational economic entities and from the point of view of public accounting firms as economic policemen, respectively. Then the comparative study of present audit market structure among America, United Kingdom and Australia proves this oligopoly audit market structure. Therefore, we safely draw the conclusion that consolidation is an important way to develop large accounting firms and oligopoly in audit market; (2) the thesis provides a positive analysis of the relationship between accounting firms’ audit fees and accounting firms’ scale in our country. The results suggest that large accounting firms’ audit fees are higher than small firms’, and this conclusion provides strong empirical evidence for our accounting firms’ consolidation to improve audit market structure, to increase audit fees and to better audit quality; and (3) on the basis of the summarization of the experience and lessons of the last two mergers that took place in audit market in our country, the thesis makes use of the framework of new institutional economics and puts forward several strategies for accounting firms’ future consolidation in our country.更多还原