【導(dǎo)讀】公司的基本建設(shè)，為此ERP系統(tǒng)軟件開發(fā)供應(yīng)商也增加了對內(nèi)部控制的應(yīng)用。這項研究測試，通過檢查薩班斯法案第404條在1994年和2021年之間實施ERP. 其結(jié)果表明，應(yīng)用ERP的公司相對于未應(yīng)用ERP的樣本公司。較少報告內(nèi)部控制弱點。它還發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種差異存在一般控制和特別控制中。整體努力，以減少欺詐和恢復(fù)完整的財務(wù)報告過程的一部分。已強調(diào)，ERP系統(tǒng)的重要作用是運用“內(nèi)置”控制反映公司基本建設(shè)。的，因為之前薩班斯法案內(nèi)部控制的數(shù)據(jù)并沒有被公開報道。稱和降低投資者的風(fēng)險以及權(quán)益資本成本。時間的推移日益增加，并建議企業(yè)加強ERP系統(tǒng)提供的內(nèi)建控制以獲得系統(tǒng)控制的經(jīng)驗。成本往往是共同點，隨著遵從薩班斯法案高成本以及實施ERP. 這些發(fā)現(xiàn)提供了證據(jù)表明，ERP系統(tǒng)可能有。助于改善內(nèi)部控制，這是在辯解的ERP系統(tǒng)使用成本高許多論據(jù)之一。報告對金融市場的信號和ERP系統(tǒng)來推動這一進程的聯(lián)系。鑒證報告及由注冊會計師事務(wù)所出具單獨的管理報告。

　　

【正文】 tively new, there is a considerable body of prior literature related to corporate governance, most of it using an agency theory foundation（ Brennan and Soloman 2021） . Eisenhardt （ 1989） provides the theoretical basis for the use of monitoring mechanisms such as financial reporting and audits to provide information to the principal about the behavior of the agent. ERP systems facilitate this monitoring process into ways. First, they enable fast, accurate reporting of financial information to the principal, but more importantly, they include features that facilitate implementation and enforcement of internal controls that are used to ensure the accuracy of financial information being reported. One would expect firms that implement ERP systems to maximize use of these builtin control features to not only reduce agency costs, but to minimize the number of internal control weaknesses reported under SOX Section 404. These builtin controls are made possible in part because the systems are designed around the concept of a single, integrated system that captures data in a mon database for use throughout the pany. By contrast, most legacy systems, which evolved around the needs of individual functional areas, have information spread across dozens or even hundreds of separate puter systems （ Davenport 1998） . Although legacy systems may include some builtin controls, one would not expect these controls to be as effective as those that are designed into an integrated ERP system. For instance, a typical ERP system will include builtin controls for matching purchase orders, receiving documents, and invoices （ threeway match） , taking advantage of the integrated nature of all three functional areas. Legacy systems, on the other hand, may have different applications for purchasing, receiving, 第 12 頁 共 13 頁 and accounts payable that have some builtin control features, but do not municate with each other. Consequently, manual controls would have to be used to supplement the builtin controls and physically, rather than electronically, match the documents prior to authorizing payment. Auditing Standard No. 5 （ AS No. 5） , issued by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board （ PCAOB） , provides some insight into the perceived relationship between information technology and internal controls. For instance, in Appendix B of AS No. 5, it states that “entirely automated application controls are generally not subject to breakdowns due to human failure. This feature allows the auditor to use a ?benchmarking? strategy … benchmarking automated application controls can be especially effective for panies using purchased software when the possibility of program changes is remote—., when the vendor does not allow access or modification to the source code” （ PCAOB 2021, B28, B32） . Since ERP systems are purchased software, in contrast to legacy systems, which are developed and maintained internally, pany employees would most likely have access to the source code for legacy systems, but not for ERP systems. Given all of these factors, one would expect ERP systems to have a positive impact on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. However, a counter argument could be made that just because panies implement ERP systems, they may not take advantage of all the builtin control features. It is possible, for instance, that during implementation, some of the control features might not be activated. Or, in a more sinister view, senior management may opt to override control features in order to manipulate data to “manage earnings.” This argument would be more consistent with Brazel and Dang （ 2021） , who argue that increased control by senior management over financial data in a centralized ERP system will lead to an increase in earnings management. In support of their argument, they cite prior research that finds reductions in audit and internal control quality following ERP adoption（ Bagranoff and Vendrzk 2021。 Wright and Wright 2021。 Hunton et al. 2021。 Janvrin et al. 2021。Brazel and Agoglia 2021） . But Brazel and Dang （ 2021） also point out that most of this research, including theirs, relates to implementations that took place during the early years of ERP adoption, prior to SarbanesOxley, and argue that it is possible that these safeguards have since improved. 第 13 頁 共 13 頁 Indeed, the increased emphasis on internal controls following SOX makes it likely that firms that adopted ERP systems early in the cycle have since taken advantage of the builtin features to improve their internal controls, which leads to the following hypothesis stated in the alternate form.