Patent balance materiality and appointment of industry/account specialist auditors

近年全球產業競爭日趨激烈，我國國內專利訴訟亦日漸增加。加上我國財務會計準則公報第37號「無形資產之會計處理準則」及第35號「資產減損之會計處理準則」生效後，企業需要每年對專利權資產進行減損測試，使得國內專利權評價更顯複雜，同時亦產生較多盈餘操縱空間，導致專利權資訊之不確定性增加，間接降低財務報表資訊品質。為了增加財務報表使用者對於報表資訊之信賴，企業需要藉由慎選查核會計師以達到賦予財務報表公信力的目的，本研究首先分析近十年財務報表揭露之專利權資訊概況，接著探討其金額重大性與企業選任會計師決策之關聯。 實證結果顯示企業專利權金額重大性越高，越傾向於委任專長會計師事務所（含大型事務所、產業專長與專利權科目專長會計師事務所）查核財務報表，且專利權金額重大性之顯著，主要來自於第35號公報生效後之效果。As world competitions within industry strengthen, patent-related law suits have also increased these days. After the adoption of TSFAS No. 37 and No. 35, Taiwanese companies need to test patent impairment every year, which makes asset valuation complicated and increases patent information uncertainty. While bringing more room for earnings management, it also reduces financial reporting quality. To enhance users’ confidence, management needs to choose auditors of higher credibility. This study first analyzes patent disclosure information of publicly listed Taiwanese companies for the latest 10 years, and examines how the materiality of patent assets influences companies’ choice of specialist auditors. We find that the more important the materiality of a company’s patent assets, the more likely it will choose to hire a specialized auditor, being a large firm, an industry specialist, or an account specialist auditor. The significant positive association between patent materiality and choices of specialized auditors is mainly effected by the adoption of TSFAS No. 35