자발적으로 감사위원회를 설치한 기업의 특성에 관한 연구

Abstract

This research has gone through the characteristics of non-financial companies listed on the

Korean Stock Exchange as of December 31st 2002, which have formed audit committee

voluntarily. Previous empirical studies have been conducted in the framework of the agency

cost theory, but this report has used an additional factor, and analyzed the enticement of

voluntary forming of audit committee within the framework of the quality of financial

reporting and agency cost theory.

The empirical results of this study are as follows. First, companies with low current ratio,

low percentage of shares held by institutional investors, hiring non-BIG5 auditors which are

not changed frequently have a tendency to form audit committees. Second, companies with

low return on equity, high sales growth rate and high percentage of shares held by foreign

investors emphasize corporate transparency by forming an audit committee. Third,

companies with high bond/debt ratios tend to form audit committee spontaneously.

However, this variable does not constantly give notable results, so we should be careful in

generalizing the results. On the other hand, asset turnover, debt ratio, shares held by dominant stockholders do not have notable relationship according to this research. On the

basis of these results of the research, it is argued that managerial circumstances affect firms to

form the audit committee.