회계감사에 대한 감사의 역할과 책임

Abstract

The Commercial Act prescribes the duty of accounting audits on auditors for proper accounting of corporations and obliges corporations of a certain size or larger to undergo accounting audits from external auditors as well according to the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies. As such, the duties on accounting audits imposed on various institutions under different laws are causing the authorities and obligations on accounting audits to be ambiguous. Because accounting audits by external auditors start from defects in internal audits, many perceive auditing by auditors as unnecessary or redundant. However, even today with developed capital markets, it is necessary to reevaluate the appropriateness of such perception. This is because the meaning of the existence of audits disappears if accounting audit overlaps with external auditors and business audit coincides with the board of directors. Even today, 40 years after the implementation of the Act on External Audit, audits by auditors are not properly conducted. In this regard, a realism exists that it is not efficient that auditors conduct redundant auditing with external auditors. However, the law maintains the auditing authority of auditors. Additionally, if accounting information is important, duplicate auditing may be necessary, in addition to the view that internal and external auditors perform audits in distinctive roles. In the past, corporations were small in size, and the work was not complicated. Thus, it was possible to eradicate false accounting only with external auditors. However, in the modern society where companies have grown in size and become more complex, using only external auditors who are outsiders of corporations has limits. Therefore, not only the perception but also the system must be improved for auditors to play an active role. First, laws on audit must be improved. in terms of supervision of financial information, the role of an internal monitoring body of a company is lacking. According to the Commercial Code, auditors have the duty to supervise financial information, which is absent under the Capital Markets Act. The legal provisions that apply to auditors are ambiguous. The Commercial Act prescribes the liability of auditors, but it is difficult for victims to receive compensation because the burden of proof is not shifted. Although the burden of proof is switched under the Capital Markets Act and the Act on External Audit, the provisions of auditor liability are unclear. Thus, amendment of current laws is necessary to ensure the liability of auditors. Also, concerning the operation of the audit system, most corporations operate a one-person part-time audit system. Improving such problems must be implemented by legislation unless corporations autonomously solve the issues. In the case of listing corporations, ensuring actual roles performed by auditors will enable eradicating recurring accounting frauds, including making full-time auditors mandatory or differentiating the number of auditors depending on the corporate size.