The Association Between the Internal Control and Going Concern Audit Opinions—Take the Case of AT Co., Ltd

Abstract

Since the promulgation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, corporate internal control has received increasing attention from all stakeholders. For the auditor, internal control audit opinion also generates additional information content, having a significant impact on the auditor's other audit decisions. However, the impact of internal control audit opinion on going-concern audit opinion has received little attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between internal control audit opinion and going-concern audit opinion. The descriptive analysis of listed companies in stock markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2016 and the case analysis of AT Group Co., Ltd. helped drawing the conclusion that, for enterprises in financial distress, non-standard internal control audit opinion will increase the possibility of the issuance of the going-concern audit opinion.