01
原文：Ashraf M. Does automation improve financial reporting? evidence from internal controls[J]. Review of Accounting Studies, 2024.
Does automation improve financial reporting? Evidence frominternal controls
ABSTRACT: Automation—such as machine learning, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence—is the next major technological leap in accounting and financial reporting, and I empirically study whether public firms’ use of automation technology improves their financial reporting, specifically focusing on the internal control environment. I document two critical inferences. First, I find evidence which suggests that automation improves financial reporting quality. Specifically, firms’ use of automation in the financial reporting process is associated with a reduction in internal control material weaknesses. This association is consistent in a levels analysis with firm and year fixed effects, in a changes analysis, and in a propensity score matched difference-in-differences analysis. Second, I find evidence which suggests that monitoring of the financial reporting process decreases after automation, likely because of a perception that automation reduces the need for monitoring vis-à-vis stronger internal controls. Specifically, automation is associated with higher external audit fees and audit committee meetings in the initial years after a firm implements automation but associated with lower external audit fees and audit committee meetings in subsequent years. I also find evidence which suggests that this decreased monitoring may be costly: when internal control failures do happen for firms with automation, the failures are more material, as proxied by stronger negative market reactions. In aggregate, my evidence provides nuanced insights regarding whether automation technology improves financial reporting.
自动化技术是否改善了财务报告?来自内部控制的证据
摘要：自动化技术——如机器学习、机器人流程自动化和人工智能——是会计和财务报告的下一个重大技术飞跃，文章实证研究了上市公司使用自动化技术是否改善了财务报告，特别关注了内部控制环境。文章记录了两个关键的推论。首先，文章发现自动化提高了财务报告质量。具体来说，企业在财务报告过程中使用自动化技术降低了内部控制重大缺陷。这种关系在控制了公司和年份固定效应、变化分析以及使用倾向得分匹配的双重差分分析后仍保持一致。第二，文章发现证据表明，使用自动化技术后，公司对财务报告流程的监控减少。这可能是因为人们认为自动化技术降低了对更强的内部控制进行监控的需要。具体而言，在公司实施自动化后的最初几年，自动化技术与较高的外部审计费用和较多的审计委员会会议相关，但在随后的几年中与较低的外部审计费用和较少的审计委员会会议相关。文章还发现证据表明，这种监控的减少可能会付出高昂的代价：当采用自动化技术的公司真的发生内部控制失败时，失败的程度会更大，表现为更强烈的负面市场反应。总的来说，文章的证据提供了关于自动化技术是否改善财务报告的细致见解。
亮点：（1）相较于以往研究外部审计公司在客户审计过程中使用自动化技术的文献，这篇文章研究了上市公司在自己的财务报告流程中使用自动化技术的影响。同时，文章还发现了自动化可能带来的负面外部性，即对财务报告流程的监督减少，从而导致当财务报告失误发生时产生更严重的后果。这篇文章的新的研究结果补充了相关文献内容。（2）在变量的衡量上，现有的文献使用职位发布或员工简历中具有自动化技能的员工作为审计师应用自动化技术的代理变量，而这篇文章基于定期会计文件的文本分析，捕捉了上市公司实际实施自动化技术的效果。
02
原文：Eulerich M, Masli A, Pickerd J, et al. The impact of audit technology on audit task outcomes: evidence for technology-based audit techniques*[J]. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2023, 40(2): 981–1012.
The Impact of Audit Technology on Audit Task Outcomes: Evidence for Technology-Based Audit Techniques
ABSTRACT: As audit technology becomes more widespread, practice and academia are raising concerns about the costs and benefits of these technologies. We examine how internal auditors use technology based audit techniques (TBATs) and how TBATs impact the efficiency and effectiveness of their audits. We use two surveys and interviews of individual auditors and chief audit executives (CAE) to examine their perceptions of TBATs. Auditors perceive TBATs as beneficial. Specifically, an increase in the use of TBATs is associated with completing more audits, finding more risk factors, providing more recommendations, and decreasing audit days. However, CAEs also perceive TBATs to be costly. An increase in the use of TBATs is associated with an increase in the size of the internal audit function. Finally, interviews with CAEs suggest that TBATs are not used more often because of difficulties in quantifying their benefits, observing their benefits in a timely manner, and hiring auditors with appropriate skills. Overall, TBATs stand to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of audit tasks, but auditors struggle to quantify their net cost-benefit tradeoff. Our findings validate the issues raised by both proponents and opponents of audit technologies and help provide empirical data to inform their decision-making process regarding the future of these tools. Additionally, our study prompts several avenues for future research that can help inform regulators, practitioners, and researchers on how these technologies are impacting the auditing profession.
审计技术对审计任务结果的影响：基于科技的审计技术的证据
摘要：随着审计科技变得越来越普遍，实践和学术界越来越关注这些科技的成本和成效。文章研究了内部审计师如何使用基于科技的审计技术 (TBAT) 以及 TBAT 如何影响其审计的效率和效果。文章对个别审计师和首席审计执行官 (CAE) 进行了两项调查和访谈，以检验他们对 TBAT 的看法。审计师认为 TBAT 是有益的。具体而言，TBAT 使用的增加与完成更多审核、发现更多风险因素、提供更多建议以及减少审核天数相关。然而，CAE 也认为 TBAT 成本高昂。TBAT 使用的增加与内部审计职能规模的扩大相关。最后，对 CAE 的采访表明，由于难以量化其效益、及时观察其效益以及雇用具有适当技能的审计师，TBAT 并未得到更频繁的使用。总体而言，TBAT 可以提高审计任务的效率和有效性，但审计师很难量化其净成本和效益的权衡。文章的研究结果验证了审计科技的支持者和反对者提出的问题，并为他们关于这些工具的未来决策提供了实证数据。此外，文章为未来的研究提供了多种思路，可以帮助监管机构、从业者和研究人员了解这些科技如何影响审计行业。
亮点：（1）这篇文章发现，审计师通过采用新技术提高了效率和有效性，然而这些好处可能会也可能不会超过与该技术相关的成本，采用科技技术并不是一个明确的选择。（2）文章通过问卷和访谈收集了有关特定审计业务以及这些业务中使用的技术数量的独特数据，补充了有关审计技术的成本和效益的实证文献。
03
原文：Goldstein I, Yang S, Zuo L. The real effects of modern information technologies: evidence from the edgar implementation[J]. Journal of Accounting Research, 2023, 61(5): 1699–1733.
The Real Effects of Modern Information Technologies: Evidence from the EDGAR Implementation
ABSTRACT: Using the implementation of the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system from 1993 to 1996 as a shock to information dissemination technologies, we examine how a significant reduction in disclosure processing costs affects the real economy. We find that the EDGAR implementation leads to an increase in corporate investment and that this effect is concentrated in value firms. We provide evidence that improved equity financing and enhanced managerial incentives are likely the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, the EDGAR implementation leads to an increase in a firm's stock liquidity, a decrease in the cost of equity capital, and an increase in the level of equity financing. Consistent with the monitoring effect of broad information dissemination, the EDGAR implementation leads to an increase in a firm's operating performance. Our findings suggest that it is important to consider information dissemination beyond information production when examining the real effects of corporate disclosures.
现代信息技术的实际影响：EDGAR（电子数据收集、分析和检索系统）实施的证据
摘要：利用 1993 年至 1996 年电子数据收集、分析和检索 (EDGAR) 系统的实施对信息传播技术的冲击，文章研究了披露处理成本的显着降低如何影响实体经济。文章发现 EDGAR 的实施导致企业投资增加，并且这种效应集中在价值型企业中。文章提供的证据表明，改善股权融资和增强管理激励可能是潜在机制。具体来说，EDGAR 的实施会导致公司股票流动性增加、股权资本成本下降、股权融资水平提高。与广泛信息传播的监控效果一致，EDGAR 的实施会导致公司经营绩效的提高。文章的研究结果表明，在审查公司披露的实际影响时，重要的是要考虑信息生产之外的信息传播。
亮点：（1）直觉上，技术进步通常会通过降低信息处理成本来使投资者受益，这篇文章利用EDGAR的实施研究了技术进步带来的信息披露处理成本的显着降低如何影响企业的投资决策，从实证上回答了这些技术是否以及如何影响实体经济，丰富了相关领域的文献。（2）过往有关财务报告和披露对企业投资的影响的文献通常假设投资者获取和分析公司披露信息的成本可以忽略不计，并侧重于披露内容、数量、质量或时间是否以及如何影响管理行为，而这篇文章的结果表明信息传播技术会影响企业投资水平，强调了在审查公司披露的实际影响时考虑信息传播而不是信息生产的重要性。
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总编：游家兴
解析：黄家蔚
审校：伟丽斯 黎俞宏
编辑：潘芳妍
