Journal of Applied Finance & Banking

Auditor’s Industry Specialization and Disclosure Quality of IAS No. 39-Related Accounts

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• Abstract

  Following International Accounting Standards (IAS) No. 39, Taiwan implemented the No. 34 and No. 36 Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) that regulate the measurement and disclosure of financial instruments, respectively. Both IAS and Taiwan SFAS allowed companies to “reclassify” their financial assets in order to avoid having to report a huge loss as a result of the market value measurement; however, the standard also allowed some companies to hide huge losses through this reclassification. The empirical results show that, when financial statements are audited by industry specialists and auditors with market knowledge, the level of information disclosure is higher, and the auditor’s attitude is more rigorous. However, when the client is particularly important, economic factors interfere with the auditor’s attitude toward the client’s financial information disclosure.