隨著新冠肺炎(Covid-19)的全球傳播以及彈性工作的安排與日俱增，審計產業對遠距工作的需求也隨之增加。此外，輔助審計員判斷的人工智慧(AI)輔助軟體變得越來越多樣化。儘管AI輔助軟體對審計員法律責任的影響可能因審計工作的性質有所差異（Backof, Grenier 和 Rasso 2022），但對於遠距工作與AI輔助下的工作性質對於審計員法律責任的共同影響方面的研究較少。在本研究中，我將研究遠距工作(在客戶端工作 vs.遠距工作vs.在家工作)與運用AI輔助軟體的工作性質(具體 vs.模糊)如何影響陪審團在審計失敗情況下對審計員過失的評估。我招募有資格擔任陪審團的參與者進行實驗，結果顯示，當審計失敗是發生在審計員以遠距工作的方式(相比於客戶端工作)完成工作時，陪審團更容易判定過失。然而，如果審計員在需要具體判斷(而非模糊)的工作中運用人工智慧，這種過失判定的影響往往會減輕。在遠距辦公與輔助AI軟體應用更加普及的時代，這項研究透過探討如何減少相關法律風險，為實踐與文獻提供貢獻。

The worldwide spread of Covid 19, coupled with the increasing flexibility in work arrangements, has led to a rise in telecommuting within audit firms. Additionally, there is increasing variety of artificial intelligence (AI) based software in assisting auditors’ judgment. Although the effect of AI-based software on auditors’ liabilities may vary depending on audit task nature (Backof, Grenier and Rasso 2022), there has been little investigation into the joint effect of telecommuting and the nature of AI-assisted task on auditors’ legal liabilities. In this study, I investigate how telecommuting (on-site working vs working remotely from the client site vs. working from home) and nature (concrete vs. opaque) of AI-assisted tasks affect jurors’ negligence assessment of the auditor in case of an audit failure. Utilizing an experiment with juror-eligible participants shows that jurors tend to deliver increased negligence verdicts when an audit failure is related to the work completed by the in-charge auditor during telecommute, compared to when it is not. However, this effect tends to be diminished if the auditor has utilized an AI in a task that requires concrete (as opposed to opaque) judgment. In an era where telecommuting and AI-based software are more prevalent, this study contributes to the practice and literature by considering how to reduce related legal risks.

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