外文翻譯--環(huán)境審計審計理論缺口

1、<p>　　中文4390字，2267單詞</p><p><b>　　原文一：</b></p><p>　　Environmental auditing: the audit theory gap</p><p>　　The international accounting profession is actively seeking

2、 opportunities to position itself within the potentially lucrative environmental audit market. To date, accountants have utilized a number of strategies to advocate for a greater role in this field. These strategies have

3、 primarily focused on attempts to establish the ability of accountants to orchestrate environmental audits. As a short term alternative to a direct management role in environmental audits. However, accountants appear to

4、h</p><p>　　Introduction to environmental auditing</p><p>　　The term 'environmental audit' is not yet a commonly interpreted term. At present it is used both in practice and in the litera

5、ture to refer to a wide range of environmental assessments and reviews. For example, a recent publication jointly sponsored by IFAC and AARF referred to environmental audits as including:</p><p>　　? assessme

6、nt of site contamination;</p><p>　　? environmental impact assessments of planned investments;</p><p>　　? environmental due diligence audits (pre-acquisition audits);</p><p>　　? the

7、audit of corporate environmental performance reports; </p><p>　　? the audit of the entity's compliance with environmental laws and regulations.</p><p>　　An environmental audit is a systemati

8、c, documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating audit evidence to determine whether specified environmental activities, events, conditions, management systems, or information about these matter

9、s conform with audit criteria, and communicating the results of this process to the client. </p><p>　　Essential knowledge for environmental auditors: an audit theory gap</p><p>　　The accounting

10、literature to date has focused on seeking a direct role for accountants in the environmental audit process. In particular, it has focused on trying to advocate that accountants can and should undertake the principal role

11、 of coordinating environmental audits. However, the literature has not addressed in any depth alternative opportunities for the accounting profession to contribute their knowledge to the environmental auditing field. One

12、 such 'niche market' that could be targeted b</p><p>　　Surveys conducted by Tozer and Mathews (1994) in New Zealand and Mathews, Tozer and Mathews (1995) in Australia indicated that most environmenta

13、l audits are conducted by individuals with skills/knowledge predominantly in the areas of civil and industrial engineering and biological and chemical sciences. Other skills/knowledge utilized were ecology, conservation,

14、 resource/waste management and legal skills (see table 1). No respondents employed accountants to conduct environmental audits. </p><p>　　Table 1 - Skills and knowledge of internal staff members and external

15、 experts employed by organizations performing environmental audits in Australia and New Zealand.</p><p>　　Note: 'The number of organizational respondents will not equal the total of the staff/expert disc

16、iplines utilized as some respondents utilize more than one discipline group'.</p><p>　　Establishing relevance</p><p>　　Attempts to establish the relevance of accountants' knowledge to th

17、e practice of environmental auditing are widespread in the accounting literature. Publications by professional accounting bodies and accounting practitioners throughout the world commonly acknowledge the potential for in

18、ternal and external accountants to contribute to the conduct of environmental audits. Academics argue that accounting practitioners have the skills and knowledge to enable them to contribute as both members and le</p&

19、gt;<p>　　While accountants may not have the range of skills necessary to conduct an environmental audit, they are well positioned to play a pivotal role as part of the audit team. The accountant is able to provide

20、 input with regard to the verification of financial data, cost-benefit analysis, compliance status and the design and implementation of EMS to capture and utilize the required environmental information, (emphasis added).

21、For example, the ISO 14012 definition above notes that environmental audits </p><p>　　(1) systematic evaluation;</p><p>　　(2) documented evaluation;</p><p>　　(3) objective driven ev

22、aluation;</p><p>　　for the purpose of evaluating control by management and compliance with environmental regulatory requirements. These requirements are similar to those for financial audit and audit related

23、 services where the range of engagements are defined as to:</p><p>　　(1) involve a systematic examination for which audit-based skills;</p><p>　　(2) can be applied to an accountability matter th

24、at is capable of evaluation against reasonable criteria; </p><p>　　(3) result in an independent, written report that provides assurance or information from which the user can derive assurance;</p><

25、;p>　　Accountants thus argue that the commonalities between the principles of financial auditing and environmental auditing allow their expertise in financial auditing to be applied to the conduct of environmental audi

26、ts. </p><p>　　In summary, the accounting profession has argued that accountants are qualified to play a significant role in the provision of environmental audit services. Such relevance is based on accountan

27、ts' expertise in 'audit procedures, processes and techniques' that can be applied to many types of assessment, including environmental audits.</p><p>　　Establishing superiority</p><p&g

28、t;　　Accountants are particularly focused on promoting the relevance of their auditing expertise in the growing market for systems based environmental audits. As noted earlier, environmental audits have, to date, been pri

29、marily focused on compliance with technical standards. Compliance audits are concerned with ascertaining the degree of compliance by an organization with applicable technical regulations or legislation. Environmental per

30、formance requirements now address specific aspects of air, land </p><p>　　As public awareness of the environmental impacts of the behaviour of corporations and individuals has grown over the last decade, ind

31、ustry and government regulators have responded by enacting new regulations and by imposing increasingly severe penalties for non compliance. Proactive management of environmental matters has thus become an important cons

32、ideration for many organizations. In response to such demands, many tools have been promoted to facilitate and support responses to the growing com</p><p>　　not about managing the environment but about manag

33、ing people and organization—about culture change, changing attitudes and guiding behaviour. They are all about demonstrating commitment to environmental protection and the integration of environment management with every

34、day business decisions and practices.</p><p>　　These environmental management tools cut across accepted organizational, functional and disciplinary boundaries, requiring a blend of management and technical s

35、kills. In order for management to monitor the effectiveness of such systems and to justify the content of reports to external stakeholders, such systems require auditing. These audits may comprise EMS audits, product lif

36、e-cycle audits, and waste audits. Such audits will need to go beyond an evaluation of compliance with specific regulatio</p><p>　　Accountants have also utilised their experience with financial audits in thei

37、r attempts to subordinate the knowledge of other professional groups involved with the conduct of environmental audits. Financial auditors have a long tradition of relying on the work of non-accounting specialists to pro

38、vide additional skills required for the conduct of audits and have established extensive guidelines governing reliance on such outside expertise (see, for example, AUS 606: Using the Work of an Expert). </p><p

39、>　　The potential for an accounting profession contribution</p><p>　　The existing efforts by the accounting profession to establish a position within the environmental audit field have been summarised usin

40、g Power's strategic framework. This set of strategies will again be adopted in this section to structure a consideration of the potential for both individual accountants and the accounting profession to advocate for

41、an education role in the environmental audit field. The successful application of these strategies should raise an awareness of the need for improve</p><p>　　Establishing relevance</p><p>　　The

42、leading international environmental audit standard setting body, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has clearly established the need for all environmental audits to be 'conducted according to d

43、ocumented and well-defined methodologies' (ISO 14010 1995, para 5.4). In order to do this, environmental auditors are required to possess an understanding of 'audit procedures, processes and techniques'(ISO 1

44、4012 1995, para 4). However, the ISO has not explicated the underlying k</p><p>　　Establishing superiority</p><p>　　Power's description of accountants' strategic responses to the environ

45、mental audit market argues that establishing the superiority of accountants' know-how has been undertaken by promoting accountants' knowledge as more central to the environmental audit than the knowledge of their

46、 competitors. Thus promoting an environmental audit education role for accountants will require accountants to, first, market the need for such skills and, second, to highlight the 'audit theory gap' in the knowl

47、edge b</p><p>　　First, the existence of the 'audit theory gap' may suggest that the importance of such knowledge is not widely appreciated by those training or using the work of environmental auditor

48、s. The accounting profession could thus play an advocacy role by promoting the benefits to be derived from audits grounded in a sound understanding of audit theory. Such a role would require the accounting profession to

49、lobby bodies such as: local and national environmental legislators; environmental protection auth</p><p>　　Second, as the majority of environmental audit training is presently delivered through post-qualific

50、ation commercial courses, the accounting profession (both as a group and as individuals) should actively seek to work with the organizations developing such training courses to ensure the programs are based on, and provi

51、de, a sufficient knowledge of 'core' audit theory. Although undergraduate and postgraduate engineering and science courses presently incorporate little environmental audit content,</p><p>　　Conclusio

52、n</p><p>　　In conclusion, individual accountants and the professional accounting bodies have been seen to have adopted a series of strategies focused on establishing a managerial role for accountants within

53、the environmental audit market. However, little consideration has been given to alternative roles for accountants in this emerging field. This paper argues that the literature has not addressed an important potential con

54、tribution that could be made by accountants to closing the 'audit theory gap' that a</p><p>　　Material Source: Nederland.. Accounting Forum[J], Jun 2000</p><p><b>　　譯文一：</b>&

55、lt;/p><p>　　環(huán)境審計:審計理論缺口</p><p>　　隨著經濟的發(fā)展，人類的生存環(huán)境正受到嚴重的破壞，環(huán)境污染已成為全球化的問題，國際會計職業(yè)界正積極尋找能夠準確定位擁有無限潛力的環(huán)境審計市場的最好時機。到目前為止，注冊會計師仍為之努力，他們運用大量的環(huán)境監(jiān)督和治理的手段，倡導能在環(huán)境審計領域發(fā)揮更大的作用。這些戰(zhàn)略的運用主要集中在嘗試建立注冊會計師的執(zhí)業(yè)能力體系，以協(xié)調環(huán)境審計

56、工作。注冊會計師在環(huán)境審計中扮演短期替代品的角色，直接行使管理企業(yè)環(huán)境的權利。然而，形勢不容樂觀，注冊會計師在環(huán)境審計領域取得一定成果時遇到了瓶頸。本文對會計人員的專業(yè)知識與環(huán)境審計進行了相關性分析，并指出會計人員在環(huán)境審計實施中所占的優(yōu)勢，最后就會計職業(yè)界怎樣才能在環(huán)境審計中扮演重要角色提出了幾點建議。</p><p><b>　　一、闡述環(huán)境審計</b></p><p

57、>　　國際審計界對術語“環(huán)境審計”一詞并不是進行一般意義上的解釋。目前它常常被應用在實踐當中并且國際上所指的環(huán)境審計有更寬泛的內容：除了包括傳統(tǒng)觀念下對環(huán)保資金籌集、使用情況的財務審計，對有關組織的業(yè)務活動是否符合環(huán)境法律法規(guī)進行的合規(guī)性審計，對有關組織的環(huán)境管理責任及其工作成果進行的績效審計，由環(huán)境管理機構對所管轄范圍內單位的審核稽查，環(huán)境管理體系認證機構的工作人員對被認證組織是否達到了其有關要求而進行的考核外；還可以是環(huán)境咨詢

58、服務、對場所的評價，對機器設備進行的全面環(huán)境檢查，乃至對有關活動實際和潛在的環(huán)境影響進行衡量的專門技術。例如，最近一份由國際會計師聯(lián)合會和贊助商AARF共同合編出版的刊物，綜覽多方對環(huán)境審計的定義，構建如下框架：</p><p>　?。ㄒ唬鏊廴镜脑u價；</p><p>　?。ǘM投資項目的環(huán)境影響評價；</p><p>　　（三）、環(huán)境應有關注審計(購

59、買前審計)；</p><p>　?。ㄋ模?、對企業(yè)環(huán)境績效報告的審計；</p><p>　?。ㄎ澹⒃搶嶓w的合規(guī)性審計；</p><p>　　環(huán)境審計是一項管理工具，它對于環(huán)境組織、環(huán)境管理和儀器設備是否發(fā)揮作用進行系統(tǒng)的、文化的、定期的和客觀的評價，其目的在于通過以下兩個方面來幫助保護環(huán)境：一是簡化環(huán)境活動的管理；二是評定公司政策與環(huán)境要求的一致性，公司政策要滿足環(huán)

60、境管理的要求。</p><p>　　二、環(huán)境審計人員的知識體系：審計理論差距</p><p>　　迄今為止，會計專業(yè)文獻對環(huán)境審計的論述主要集中在環(huán)境審計過程中環(huán)境審計人員的準確定位上。特別是，它的重點就是要倡導環(huán)境審計人員能夠甚至是必須承擔起協(xié)調環(huán)境審計的責任。然而，文獻中并沒有針對會計人員在環(huán)境審計領域運用自身專業(yè)技能進行審計這一特性，進行深入研究?！袄袌觥钡膽?zhàn)略是指企業(yè)選定一個很

61、小的產品或服務領域，集中力量進入并成為領先者，從當?shù)厥袌龅饺珖俚饺?，同時建立各種壁壘，逐漸形成持久的競爭優(yōu)勢。雖然環(huán)境審計的潛在性有助于會計人員的職業(yè)素質和專業(yè)技能的培養(yǎng)，會計類刊物只是略微提及（例如，參考文獻：《Limberg研究所的費用和電力研究》），這一問題還沒有得到任何直接或詳細的處理結果。因此，本節(jié)旨在環(huán)境審計人員對審計理論和實踐有新的領悟。通過比較目前澳大利亞的環(huán)境審計人員的職業(yè)素質和專業(yè)技能分析其實際的審計能力。<

62、;/p><p>　　1994年Tozer和Mathews合作在新西蘭的調查以及Mathews，Tozer和Mathews先后于1995年在澳大利亞所進行的調查顯示：大多數(shù)的環(huán)境審計業(yè)務都是由擁有土木工程學、工業(yè)工程和生物化學工程等領域知識的內部工作人員來實施，其它涉及到的知識包括：生態(tài)學、自然資源保護學、資源/廢棄物的管理學以及法律知識（見表一）。沒有任何一個調查對象去聘請環(huán)境審計專家進行環(huán)境審計。</p>

63、;<p>　　表1 澳大利亞和新西蘭開展環(huán)境審計工作中內部工作人員與環(huán)境審計人員</p><p>　　施展技術和經驗的參與程度分析表</p><p>　　注：環(huán)境審計工作中的受訪總人數(shù)并不等同于內部工作人員/環(huán)境審計人員的總人數(shù)。</p><p>　　三、 會計人員的專業(yè)知識與環(huán)境審計的相關性分析及其在環(huán)境審計實施中所占的優(yōu)勢</p>&

64、lt;p>　　1、環(huán)境審計人員的專業(yè)知識與環(huán)境審計的相關性分析</p><p>　　環(huán)境審計人員并沒有如其可能的那樣，廣泛地介入到不斷改變的環(huán)境議題之中。更令人擔憂的是，人們普遍認為，會計人員的傳統(tǒng)方法無法適應環(huán)境的變革；同時有案例表明，在環(huán)境領域，會計人員仍然很少將其轉化為實踐。在環(huán)境審計這個日益重要的領域中，會計職業(yè)界要做的努力就是要樹立一個可供選擇的目標為其自身定位。問題的爭議是會計人員是否對環(huán)境審計

65、有所幫助，環(huán)境管理研究所列舉了主要爭議，諸如環(huán)境管理技能的不足，本職工作能力的不足。在澳大利亞的一份專業(yè)期刊中，Wilmshurst和Frost曾指出：</p><p>　　盡管會計人員的知識層面不足以去實施環(huán)境審計，但是作為審計團隊的一部分，他們仍起著關鍵的作用。會計人員能夠為環(huán)境信息提供關于財務數(shù)據(jù)、成本收益和合規(guī)性的分析。環(huán)境審計中涉及到系統(tǒng)評價、證據(jù)評價和客觀因素評價等，是為了評價管理當局是否遵守了環(huán)境法

66、律法規(guī)，這些需求與財務審計是相似的，其約定的審計服務范圍包括：運用審計基本技能進行系統(tǒng)檢查；管理當局的受托情況是否違背了原則；出具獨立公正的審計報告，并向報告使用者保證其客觀性。例如，ISO14012《環(huán)境審計準則》對環(huán)境審計的定義：</p><p>　?。?）、系統(tǒng)的評價；</p><p>　?。?）、記錄的評價；</p><p>　?。?）、目標導向的評價；&l

67、t;/p><p>　　為了達到控制管理系統(tǒng)和環(huán)境監(jiān)管規(guī)定的要求，這些要求類似于財務審計和審計相關業(yè)務約定范圍內定義的：</p><p>　?。?）、審計基礎理論體系；</p><p>　　（2）、應用于問責事項給予合理的評價標準；</p><p>　　（3）、在實施審計工作的基礎上對被審計單位發(fā)表審計意見的書面文件，能夠在一定程度上對被審計單位起

68、到保護作用；</p><p>　　因而，會計人員指出，財務審計和環(huán)境審計在原則上有共性，即能把財務審計的專業(yè)技能運用到環(huán)境審計的實施中。在ISO14012和其他一些環(huán)境審計人員資格鑒定的文件中指出：會計人員在“審計程序、步驟和方法”上有其他職業(yè)團體所不可比擬的優(yōu)勢。</p><p>　　總之，國際會計職業(yè)界聲稱，會計人員能夠在環(huán)境審計中扮演重要角色，其相關性是基于會計人員的專業(yè)技能（審計程

69、序、步驟和方法）能夠運用到各類評價中，包括環(huán)境審計在內。</p><p>　　2、會計人員在環(huán)境審計實施中所占的優(yōu)勢</p><p>　　僅憑會計人員的專業(yè)技能和環(huán)境審計具有相關性這一點，還不足以證明其能在環(huán)境審計中扮演重要角色。環(huán)境審計師著眼于運用審計相關性原則，促進以環(huán)境審計為基礎的市場的不斷發(fā)展。如上所述，當今的環(huán)境審計工作主要集中在遵循技術標準的層面。合規(guī)性審計關注于應用技術法規(guī)立

70、法的機構遵循相關法律法規(guī)的程度。現(xiàn)在的環(huán)境現(xiàn)狀是要求解決空氣、土地和水的污染以及廢物管理和資源利用。這些法規(guī)的確立，促進物理，化學和生物方面的科學家與環(huán)境審計師密切互動交流，推進環(huán)境審計的建設。</p><p>　　在過去的十幾年中，隨著公眾環(huán)保意識的日益增強，政府陸續(xù)制定和頒布了新的環(huán)境法律，同時對企業(yè)違反環(huán)境法的行為加大了懲罰力度，因而，環(huán)境管理成為很多組織首先要考慮的重要問題。為了對這一需求做出響應，很多企

71、業(yè)采用了環(huán)境管理手段，包括環(huán)境管理體系、產品生命周期理論系統(tǒng)和廢棄物的綜合管理系統(tǒng)。這些系統(tǒng)包括：</p><p>　　不僅包括環(huán)境管理，還包括管理人員和有關文化變革，改變態(tài)度和行為的指導組織。他們都承諾保護環(huán)境并且在日常業(yè)務決策時實行環(huán)境管理一體化。輔助使用環(huán)境管理工具時，由于組織機構，實用性和學科界限的不同，需要一個能使它們相融合的管理技能。這種制度要求審計的管理監(jiān)察等系統(tǒng)的有效性并向外部利益相關者發(fā)布審計報

72、告。環(huán)境審計可包括環(huán)境管理體系審核、產品生命周期的審計和審計損失浪費。這種審計需要凌駕于具體的合規(guī)性法規(guī)之上，將它納入到相關管理審核和政府監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)。因為具備專業(yè)知識技能和管理控制系統(tǒng)方面的工作經驗, 環(huán)境審計師再次重申他們獨有的審計協(xié)調方面的經驗比其他環(huán)境審計的參與者更勝一籌。</p><p>　　任何一種審計類型中審計理論與實務的基礎知識都是不可或缺的，審計步驟和程序方面的知識能夠確保高質量環(huán)境審計的實施。毋庸

73、質疑，當會計人員具備了對管理與控制系統(tǒng)進行評價的豐富知識和經驗的時候，相對于其他環(huán)境審計的參與者具備的知識來說，他們“獨有的專業(yè)技能”更適合進行環(huán)境審計。另外，財務審計人員在聘用非會計專家對審計實施提供技能方面有著悠久的歷史，并且建立了全面的指導方針對外界專家進行統(tǒng)一管理。會計人員吸收了財務審計的經驗，試圖聘請其他領域的專家，把其具備的知識融入到環(huán)境審計的實施中。</p><p>　　四、會計職業(yè)界在環(huán)境審計中扮

74、演重要角色</p><p>　　為了在欣欣向榮的環(huán)境審計領域謀求自己的一席之地，會計人員可以采取以下措施：在會計技能與環(huán)境審計基本知識要求之間建立相關性；把會計人員所具備的知識定位在環(huán)境審計技能的最高層。</p><p><b>　　確立相關性</b></p><p>　　國際標準化組織（ISO）作為環(huán)境審計標準體系的領導組織，已經明確指出，環(huán)

75、境審計人員必須掌握“審計程序、步驟和方法”的知識。然而，ISO并沒有具體闡明采用哪些審計程序去實施正確有效的環(huán)境審計。會計職業(yè)團體在自身領域中已經確立了財務審計與環(huán)境審計之間的很多相似處，但是，會計界有必要把精力集中在研究究竟財務審計理論和方法中的哪些組成部分可以被運用在環(huán)境審計中，這是我們會計界應該努力的方向。</p><p><b>　　2、確立優(yōu)勢</b></p><

76、;p>　　Power指出，確立會計人員知識優(yōu)勢這一措施已經成為與其他職業(yè)團隊競爭的重中之重，因而，會計人員為了履行自己的職責，就應該做到：</p><p>　?。?）目前環(huán)境審計人員存在“審計理論空白”的現(xiàn)象并沒有引起足夠的重視，因而，會計界應當為之充當辯護者的角色。這就要求會計界向其他職業(yè)團體游說，例如：地方性和國際性環(huán)境立法者；環(huán)境保護組織；使用環(huán)境審計報告的團體以及為環(huán)境審計人員提供培訓的組織。<

77、;/p><p>　　（2）目前大多數(shù)的環(huán)境審計培訓都由具備資格的商業(yè)性組織提供，所以會計界應當主動尋求與這些組織合作的機會，以保證其課程設置以核心審計理論為基礎。另外，會計專業(yè)院校應該與工程學和自然科學院校共同設置課程，把審計理論內容融入其中。</p><p>　　綜上所述，國家審計機關、政府部門內部審計機構及以獨立意識形態(tài)存在的注冊會計師三個主體采取了一系列優(yōu)化組合策略。在環(huán)境審計工作中側重

78、于建立績效管理體系，它包括有關環(huán)境保護及治理政策的制訂、政策的執(zhí)行、執(zhí)行的情況、執(zhí)行的效果等等，并根據(jù)審計結果提出審計建議。無論是企業(yè)內部的還是外部環(huán)境審計人員，都可以通過在新的領域內施展自己的技術和經驗參與進來，但是，事實上，在全球范圍內目前會計人員對環(huán)境審計的參與程度卻很低。本文認為，目前的會計文獻中并沒有充分關注環(huán)境審計的潛在性，縮短由于環(huán)境審計人員的素質和技能方面的教育程度和實際現(xiàn)狀的不同而存在的審計理論差距。國際會計職業(yè)界需要