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korean management review - Vol. 54, No. 4

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korean management review - Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 893-924
Abbreviation: kmr
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Aug 2025
Received 09 Apr 2025 Revised 22 May 2025 Accepted 23 May 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2025.54.4.893
The Relation Between Key Audit Matters and the Cost of Equity Capital: Investors’ Risk Valuation
Sung-Min Jeon ; Hyeonjung Kim
(First Author) Chonnam National University (sungmin.jeon@jnu.ac.kr)

(Corresponding Author) Kyungsung University (hyeonj7im@ks.ac.kr)

핵심감사사항 공시와 자기자본비용: 시장에서의 위험 평가
전성민 ; 김현정

(주저자) 전남대학교 경영학부 조교수

(교신저자) 경성대학교 상경대학 회계학과 조교수
Copyright 2025 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Funding Information ▼ Korean Accounting Association FnGuide Inc.

Abstract

This study investigates whether Key Audit Matters (KAMs) provide valuable information to the capital market and whether their disclosure increases investor-assessed risk or reduces uncertainty. The implementation of KAM disclosure aims to enhance the informational usefulness of audit reports. While a high number of KAMs described in an audit report could signal an increase in useful information, it might also indicate a greater number of audit issues within the company. This study, therefore, examines how investors evaluate the informational role of KAMs. First, our analysis reveals a significant negative relationship between the number of KAMs and the cost of equity. Second, this significant negative relationship was particularly pronounced in firms with a poor information environment. These findings suggest that the implementation goals of KAM disclosure are being achieved in practice. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence that KAMs play a crucial role in reducing uncertainty for information users in the capital market.

초록

본 연구는 핵심감사사항으로 선정된 회계적 이슈에 대한 정보 공시가 투자자에게 회계 리스크를 부각시키는 신호로 작용하는지, 혹은 정보의 투명성을 제고하여 불확실성을 완화하는 역할을 하는지를 자기자본비용(cost of equity capital)을 통해 실증적으로 확인하고자 한다. 핵심감사제도는 감사보고서의 정보 유용성을 높이기 위한 방안으로 외부감사인이 전문가적 판단에 따라 가장 유의한 사건을 선정하며 감사보고서에 선정된 항목에 대한 설명과 더불어 선정 이유, 수행 절차 및 결과를 기재한다. 감사보고서에 기재되는 핵심감사사항의 항목 수가 많다면 기업의 회계적 위험이 크다고 볼 수 있으나 동시에 외부감사인이 이러한 위험을 식별하여 해소하기 위한 노력을 공시함으로써 긍정적인 정보효과를 유발할 수 있다. 분석결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 핵심감사사항 항목 수와 자기자본비용 간 유의한 음(-)의 관계를 확인하였다. 둘째, 이러한 핵심감사사항 항목 수와 자기자본비용 간의 관련성은 정보환경이 열악한 기업에서 강하게 나타났다. 본 연구는 핵심감사제도의 시행 목표가 실질적으로 달성되고 있는지 확인했다는 점에서 공헌점을 지니며 핵심감사사항이 정보이용자의 불확실성을 해소하는 역할을 하는 것을 확인함으로써 외부감사인과 피감기업의 정책적 비용 부담을 낮출 수 있다는 시사점을 제시한다.


Keywords: key audit matter, cost of the equity capital, financial reporting quality, information usefulness 키워드: 핵심감사제도, 자기자본비용, 재무보고 품질, 정보 유용성

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Korean Accounting Association and FnGuide Research Grant Program.

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∙저자 전성민은 현재 전남대학교 경영대학 회계학 조교수로 재직 중이다. 고려대학교 경영대학을 졸업한 후, 한국씨티은행에서 근무하였다. 이후 고려대학교 경영학과에서 경영학 석사 및 박사 학위를 취득하였다. 주요 연구분야는 기업가치평가, 기업지배구조, 경영자 보상 등이다.

∙저자 김현정은 현재 경성대학교 상경대학 회계학과 조교수로 재직 중이다. 한국외국어대학교 포르투갈어과 및 일반대학원 경영학석사(회계전공)를 졸업하였으며, 고려대학교에서 경영학박사(회계전공)를 취득하였다. 주요연구분야는 회계감사, 경영자 인센티브, 재무보고 품질 등이다.