Audit Firms, Deferred Taxation and Financial Reporting: The Case of The Athens Stock Exchange

The purpose of this paper is the sectoral analysis and evaluation of the external audit reports in relation to the amounts of deferred taxes on the balance sheets of listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE). External auditors participate significantly in the preparation of financial reporting, reducing agency problems and aiding acceptance of such information by the users as reliable. The “unqualified” audit reports correspond to more than two thirds of the total, while in the banking sector there is no “unqualified” (ie without even issue of ‘emphasis') Audit Report after 2011. More than two thirds of Deferred Tax Assets - including those from Loss Carryforwards - (DTA), Deferred Tax Liabilities (DTL), and Deferred Tax in the Income Statement appear on the Balance Sheets of the companies audited by the Big 5. Audit firms and supervisory authorities do not seem to have made satisfactory evaluation and exploitation of this information.