台灣依證券交易法設置審計委員會制度實證研究

Abstract

自證券交易法第14條之4通過後，「公開發行公司審計委員會行使職權辦法」自2007年開始生效，至今已四年有餘。截至2010年底，公開發行以上公司，累計僅有75家公司由原本的「董事會—監察人」雙軌制，轉向單一董事會制而設有審計委員會。 此一轉變，顯示公司一般仍傾向維持傳統的監察人制度。惟此究係審計委員會之公司治理功能無法彰顯、亦或有其他因素，則有待進一步的分析討論。有鑑於實務上審計委員會之公司治理功能在台灣資本市場究竟如何運作並發揮影響，尚未有全面性實證研究予以詳加討論，因此本文擬先自法制面比較台美兩方差異，並輔以台灣實際公司資料依審計委員會成立時間、成員、資本額、投資人組成、是否有控制股東、公司獲利情形與審計委員會運作之實務運作方式與實質績效等面向進行分析與討論。最後，將訪談審計委員會委員以評估其實行情況及對於企業之真正實益，並對審計委員會未來的發展提出初步評估。

Article 14-4 of Securities and Exchange Act was passed and ‘Regulations Governing the Exercise of Powers by Audit Committees of Public Companies’ became effective since 2007. After four years’ implementation, only 75 companies have been switched from original dual board to single board system. The low switch rate reflects questions within Taiwanese companies and its legal system and requires further careful reading thereof. In this view, a comprehensive empirical research is needed to understand the actual situation of audit committee and measure its impact to the capital market in Taiwan. This thesis starts with a comparison between the legal systems of audit committee in Taiwan and United States. After a brief introduction of legal rules involed, quantitative data analysis which includes the date of establishment, members, capital structure, control structure, and profitability is employed to represent the actual operating situations of audit committee in Taiwan. Later it discusses the relationship of this introduction of audit committee to the performance of implementing/non-implementing companies. Beside quantitative data, qualitative interviews with several audit committees’ members are used to provide a better understanding about the details about the operation of audit committee and the actual benefit this new design can achieve. Finally, conclusion will briefly summarize and discuss possible points of observation for the development of audit committee in Taiwan in the future.