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