外文翻譯--對(duì)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表舞弊的思考

1、<p>　　1970單詞，2910漢字</p><p>　　出處：出處: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Consideration Of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit[J]. Accounting Research Manager, 2002,5:24-30.</p><

2、;p><b>　　外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯 </b></p><p><b>　　原文: </b></p><p>　　Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit</p><p>　　Description and Characteristics of Fraud&

3、lt;/p><p>　　Fraud is a broad legal concept and auditors do not make legal determinations of whether fraud has occurred. Rather, the auditor's interest specifically relates to acts that result in a material

4、misstatement of the financial statements. The primary factor that distinguishes fraud from error is whether the underlying action that results in the misstatement of the financial statements is intentional or unintention

5、al. For purposes of the Statement, fraud is an intentional act that results in a mater</p><p>　　Intent is often difficult to determine, particularly in matters involving accounting estimates and the applicat

6、ion of accounting principles. For example, unreasonable accounting estimates may be unintentional or may be the result of an intentional attempt to misstate the financial statements. Although an audit is not designed to

7、determine intent, the auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of materi</p><p>　　Two types of misstatements a

8、re relevant to the auditor's consideration of fraud - misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting and misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets. </p><p>　　1、Misstatements arisin

9、g from fraudulent financial reporting are intentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures in financial statements designed to deceive financial statement users where the effect causes the financial state

10、ments not to be presented, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Fraudulent financial reporting may be accomplished by the following: </p><p>　　(1)Mani

11、pulation, falsification, or alteration of accounting records or supporting documents from which financial statements are prepared</p><p>　　(2) Misrepresentation in or intentional omission from the financial

12、statements of events, transactions, or other significant information</p><p>　　(3) Intentional misapplication of accounting principles relating to amounts, classification, manner of presentation, or disclosur

13、e </p><p>　　Fraudulent financial reporting need not be the result of a grand plan or conspiracy. It may be that management representatives rationalize the appropriateness of a material misstatement, for exam

14、ple, as an aggressive rather than indefensible interpretation of complex accounting rules, or as a temporary misstatement of financial statements, including interim statements, expected to be corrected later when operati

15、onal results improve.</p><p>　　2、Misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets (sometimes referred to as theft or defalcation) involve the theft of an entity's assets where the effect of the thef

16、t causes the financial statements not to be presented, in all material respects, in conformity with GAAP. Misappropriation of assets can be accomplished in various ways, including embezzling receipts, stealing assets, or

17、 causing an entity to pay for goods or services that have not been received. Misappropriation of assets may </p><p>　　Three conditions generally are present when fraud occurs. First, management or other empl

18、oyees have an incentive or are under pressure, which provides a reason to commit fraud. Second, circumstances exist - for example, the absence of controls, ineffective controls, or the ability of management to override c

19、ontrols - that provide an opportunity for a fraud to be perpetrated. Third, those involved are able to rationalize committing a fraudulent act. Some individuals possess an attitude, character</p><p>　　Manage

20、ment has a unique ability to perpetrate fraud because it frequently is in a position to directly or indirectly manipulate accounting records and present fraudulent financial information. Fraudulent financial reporting of

21、ten involves management override of controls that otherwise may appear to be operating effectively.6 Management can either direct employees to perpetrate fraud or solicit their help in carrying it out. In addition, manag

22、ement personnel at a component of the entity may be in</p><p>　　Frauds have been committed by management override of existing controls using such techniques as (a) recording fictitious journal entries, parti

23、cularly those recorded close to the end of an accounting period to manipulate operating results, (b) intentionally biasing assumptions and judgments used to estimate account balances, and (c) altering records and terms r

24、elated to significant and unusual transactions. </p><p>　　Typically, management and employees engaged in fraud will take steps to conceal the fraud from the auditors and others within and outside the organiz

25、ation. Fraud may be concealed by withholding evidence or misrepresenting information in response to inquiries or by falsifying documentation. For example, management that engages in fraudulent financial reporting might a

26、lter shipping documents. Employees or members of management who misappropriate cash might try to conceal their thefts by forging si</p><p>　　Fraud also may be concealed through collusion among management, em

27、ployees, or third parties. Collusion may cause the auditor who has properly performed the audit to conclude that evidence provided is persuasive when it is, in fact, false. For example, through collusion, false evidence

28、that controls have been operating effectively may be presented to the auditor, or consistent misleading explanations may be given to the auditor by more than one individual within the entity to explain an unexpecte</p

29、><p>　　Although fraud usually is concealed and management’s intent is difficult to determine, the presence of certain conditions may suggest to the auditor the possibility that fraud may exist. For example, an

30、important contract may be missing, a subsidiary ledger may not be satisfactorily reconciled to its control account, or the results of an analytical procedure performed during the audit may not be consistent with expectat

31、ions. However, these conditions may be the result of circumstances other than</p><p>　　As indicated in paragraph 1, the auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assuran

32、ce about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. However, absolute assurance is not attainable and thus even a properly planned and performed audit may not de

33、tect a material misstatement resulting from fraud. A material misstatement may not be detected because of the nature of audit evidence or because the characteri</p><p>　　The Importance of Exercising Professi

34、onal Skepticism </p><p>　　Due professional care requires the auditor to exercise professional skepticism. See SAS No. 1, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol.

35、 1, AU sec. 230.07–.09, “Due Professional Care in the Performance of Work”). Because of the characteristics of fraud, the auditor’s exercise of professional skepticism is important when considering the risk of material m

36、isstatement due to fraud. Professional skepticism is an attitude that includes a questioning mind a</p><p>　　Considering Fraud Risk Factors </p><p>　　Because fraud is usually concealed, material

37、 misstatements due to fraud are difficult to detect. Nevertheless, the auditor may identify events or conditions that indicate incentives/pressures to perpetrate fraud, opportunities to carry out the fraud, or attitudes/

38、rationalizations to justify a fraudulent action. Such events or conditions are referred to as “fraud risk factors.” Fraud risk factors do not necessarily indicate the existence of fraud; however, they often are present i

39、n circumstances </p><p>　　When obtaining information about the entity and its environment, the auditor should consider whether the information indicates that one or more fraud risk factors are present. The a

40、uditor should use professional judgment in determining whether a risk factor is present and should be considered in identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement due to fraud. </p><p>　　Exampl

41、es of fraud risk factors related to fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets are presented in the Appendix . These illustrative risk factors are classified based on the three conditions generally pre

42、sent when fraud exists: incentive/pressure to perpetrate fraud, an opportunity to carry out the fraud, and attitude/rationalization to justify the fraudulent action. Although the risk factors cover a broad range of situa

43、tions, they are only examples and, accordingly, the au</p><p>　　Overall Responses to the Risk of Material Misstatement </p><p>　　Judgments about the risk of material misstatement due to fraud ha

44、ve an overall effect on how the audit is conducted in the following ways: </p><p>　　Assignment of personnel and supervision. The knowledge, skill, and ability of personnel assigned significant engagement res

45、ponsibilities should be commensurate with the auditor's assessment of the risks of material misstatement due to fraud for the engagement. For example, the auditor may respond to an identified risk of material misstat

46、ement due to fraud by assigning additional persons with specialized skill and knowledge, such as forensic and information technology (IT) specialists, or by assi</p><p>　　Accounting principles. The auditor s

47、hould consider management’s selection and application of significant accounting principles, particularly those related to subjective measurements and complex transactions. In this respect, the auditor may have a greater

48、concern about whether the accounting principles selected and policies adopted are being applied in an inappropriate manner to create a material misstatement of the financial statements. In developing judgments about the

49、quality of such principl</p><p>　　source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Consideration Of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit[J]. Accounting Research Manager, 2002,5:24-30. </p>&

50、lt;p><b>　　譯文: </b></p><p>　　對(duì)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表舞弊的思考</p><p>　　(一) 舞弊的特征 </p><p>　　舞弊是一個(gè)廣泛的法律概念，審計(jì)師無法準(zhǔn)確判斷是否發(fā)生了舞弊行為。 相反， 審計(jì)師的利益特別是有關(guān)行為往往會(huì)造成誤報(bào)。判斷舞弊的主要要素是: 舞弊行為是否是有意或無意而造成了財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的錯(cuò)報(bào)

51、。所以，舞弊是一種故意的欺詐行為， 對(duì)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表進(jìn)行了虛假的描述。 </p><p>　　然而是否是故意行為往往難以確定，特別是在涉及會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)和會(huì)計(jì)原則的適用問題時(shí)。例如: 不合理的會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)可能是無意的或可能是故意虛報(bào)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表。雖然審計(jì)的目的不是要確定是否是故意， 但審計(jì)師有責(zé)任計(jì)劃和實(shí)施審計(jì)程序，去檢測(cè)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表是否存在重大錯(cuò)報(bào)和誤報(bào)是否是有意還是無意造成的。 </p><p>　　審計(jì)師必

52、須考慮的兩種類型的錯(cuò)誤陳述: 虛假陳述而產(chǎn)生的虛假財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告和錯(cuò)誤陳述而產(chǎn)生的資產(chǎn)挪用。</p><p>　　1、虛假財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告是故意虛報(bào)或遺漏金額或欺騙財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表使用者，使財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表在所有重大方面，都遵照公認(rèn)的會(huì)計(jì)原則，進(jìn)那而致使財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表在審查時(shí)通過。虛假財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告可能要完成以下: </p><p>　　(1) 操縱、 偽造、 變更會(huì)計(jì)記錄或編制財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的文件</p><p&g

53、t;　　(2) 虛假陳述或故意遺漏主要事件、財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表信息或其他重要信息 </p><p>　　(3) 故意誤用會(huì)計(jì)原則披露有關(guān)金額，分類等 虛假財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告不一定是一個(gè)宏偉的計(jì)劃或陰謀的結(jié)果。這可能是管理層為了進(jìn)行某項(xiàng)測(cè)試而做的重大錯(cuò)報(bào)，例如，為了遵循會(huì)計(jì)規(guī)則而作得一個(gè)積極的而不是站不住腳的解釋，或作為臨時(shí)過渡性的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表，在后期得到糾正后，有望改善經(jīng)營(yíng)業(yè)績(jī)。 </p><p>　　2、挪用或

54、盜竊實(shí)體資產(chǎn)致使虛報(bào)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表， 審計(jì)師在遵循美國(guó)通用會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則前提下，未能發(fā)現(xiàn)這一現(xiàn)象。挪用的資產(chǎn)可以通過各種方式完成，包括貪污收據(jù)，竊取資產(chǎn)，捏造一個(gè)實(shí)體來支付商品或服務(wù)尚未收到。挪用的資產(chǎn)可能會(huì)伴隨著虛假或誤導(dǎo)性的紀(jì)錄，也可能繞過監(jiān)管措施。 </p><p>　　當(dāng)以下的三個(gè)條件存在時(shí)，一般都存在舞弊行為。第一，管理人員或其他雇員有動(dòng)力或壓力下，這會(huì)促使他們舞弊; 第二，控制力不足或管理力度不大的企業(yè)，往往會(huì)提

55、供一個(gè)良好舞弊環(huán)境; 第三，有關(guān)人士能夠合理化犯有欺詐行為。有些人持有這樣一種價(jià)值觀: 他們或明知卻還去舞弊。然而，即使是一些誠(chéng)實(shí)的人也可以受其身邊的環(huán)境或壓力的影響而進(jìn)行舞弊。越大的激勵(lì)或壓力，越有可能使一個(gè)人做出舞弊行為。</p><p>　　管理者具有獨(dú)特的優(yōu)勢(shì)，容易進(jìn)行舞弊行為，因?yàn)樗麄兘?jīng)常是有權(quán)利直接或間接地操縱會(huì)計(jì)記錄和財(cái)務(wù)信息。如果舞弊性財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告被管理層的控制所覆蓋，則可能會(huì)被有效地運(yùn)作。 管理者既

56、可以直接雇員進(jìn)行舞弊或要求他們幫助進(jìn)行舞弊。此外，在合并財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表時(shí)，管理者更容易利用職務(wù)之便進(jìn)行舞弊。管理人員也可能運(yùn)用不可預(yù)知的方式進(jìn)行舞弊。</p><p>　　管理人員往往運(yùn)用以下的手段進(jìn)行舞弊:(1) 虛構(gòu)賬目，尤其是那些被記錄接近一個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)期間的;(2) 故意運(yùn)用假設(shè)，并用賬戶余額的判斷來估計(jì);(3) 改變記錄和有關(guān)重大或異常交易的條款。</p><p>　　通常情況下，管理人員和

57、員工進(jìn)行舞弊，他們往往會(huì)采取措施，掩蓋其行為，逃過該組織內(nèi)部審計(jì)師和外部審計(jì)師的審計(jì)。他們常通過偽造文件或歪曲證據(jù)而不予回應(yīng)信息查詢。例如，管理人員可能改變裝運(yùn)單據(jù)進(jìn)行舞弊，雇員通過偽造電子簽名或批文來掩蓋挪用現(xiàn)金的行為。審計(jì)人員很難通過審計(jì)程序來發(fā)現(xiàn)這些問題，此外，一個(gè)側(cè)面協(xié)議，管理人員或第三人不透露的話審計(jì)人員可能無法發(fā)現(xiàn)這些文件的存在。 </p><p>　　舞弊也可通過管理層，雇員或第三方之間的勾結(jié)來進(jìn)行

58、。合謀可能導(dǎo)致審計(jì)師認(rèn)為提供的證據(jù)是有說服力，事實(shí)上這些是假的。例如，通過合謀，虛假的證據(jù)表明，管里已有效運(yùn)作，或者一致的解釋可能誤導(dǎo)審計(jì)師。又例如，審計(jì)人員可能會(huì)遭遇來自管理層和第三方串通，而得到在一個(gè)虛假的消息。</p><p>　　盡管舞弊通常是隱蔽的和管理者的意圖往往是難以確定的，但審計(jì)師可以通過某些存在的條件判斷是否存在舞弊。 例如， 一個(gè)重要的合同可能會(huì)丟失， 但企業(yè)一定會(huì)備有明細(xì)賬可，或一個(gè)分析程序

59、的執(zhí)行在審計(jì)過程中不得與預(yù)期的結(jié)果一致。 這些條件的結(jié)果也許并不全是舞弊。 文件或合同可能已丟失; 明細(xì)分類賬可能是出于其控制的帳戶，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)無意的會(huì)計(jì)錯(cuò)誤而導(dǎo)致平衡; 不理想的解析關(guān)系可能是由于基本經(jīng)濟(jì)因素意想不到的變化導(dǎo)致的。甚至涉嫌舞弊的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告可能并不總是可靠的，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)員工或第三人可能被誤或可能出于對(duì)未知的原因 而作出虛假的報(bào)告。 </p><p>　　如前面所述的， 審計(jì)師有責(zé)任計(jì)劃和實(shí)施審計(jì)程序，

60、去檢測(cè)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表是否存在重大錯(cuò)報(bào)和誤報(bào)是否是有意還是無意造成的。然而， 審計(jì)師是無法做出絕對(duì)保證的， 因此即使是在策劃和進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)膶徲?jì)程序， 也可能無法檢測(cè)到全部由由舞弊造成的重大錯(cuò)誤陳述。重大錯(cuò)報(bào)可能無法檢測(cè)到， 因?yàn)閷徲?jì)證據(jù)的性質(zhì)或舞弊行為的特點(diǎn)， 正如上面所述的，審計(jì)師審核所依靠的審計(jì)證據(jù)， 似乎是有效的，事實(shí)上是虛假的。 此外， 為檢測(cè)舞弊的審核程序， 有可能是無效的。 </p><p>　　(二) 審計(jì)師

61、保持職業(yè)懷疑的重要性 </p><p>　　應(yīng)有的職業(yè)謹(jǐn)慎要求審計(jì)師保持專業(yè)的懷疑(SAS 第 1 號(hào)審計(jì)標(biāo)準(zhǔn))。 由于舞弊的特點(diǎn)，審計(jì)人員的職業(yè)懷疑鍛煉很重要，特別當(dāng)遇到由舞弊引起重大錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)時(shí)。職業(yè)懷疑是一種態(tài)度，其中包括一個(gè)質(zhì)疑的心態(tài)和審計(jì)證據(jù)時(shí)的嚴(yán)格評(píng)估。 審計(jì)人員應(yīng)該保持職業(yè)懷疑態(tài)度， 因?yàn)橐蛭璞滓鸬闹卮箦e(cuò)報(bào)可能存在， 無論該公司過去時(shí)怎么樣的或?qū)徲?jì)師的經(jīng)驗(yàn)如何豐富。 此外， 審計(jì)師要以專業(yè)的懷疑態(tài)度

62、， 判斷得到的資料和證據(jù)材料是否表明舞弊已經(jīng)發(fā)生。 審計(jì)師在收集和評(píng)價(jià)證據(jù)時(shí)要保持職業(yè)懷疑態(tài)度， 審計(jì)師不應(yīng)該滿足管理人員提供的證據(jù)， 因?yàn)檫@些是低于說服力的。 </p><p>　　(三) 舞弊風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素 </p><p>　　由于舞弊通常是隱蔽的，所以重大錯(cuò)報(bào)難以察覺到。然而，審計(jì)人員可以識(shí)別一些事件或情況，這些是否存在因激勵(lì)/壓力或有一個(gè)良好的機(jī)會(huì)或認(rèn)為舞弊合理的狀況而進(jìn)行舞弊。這樣的

63、事件或條件被稱為“舞弊風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素”，舞弊風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素的存在并不一定意味著存在會(huì)出現(xiàn)舞弊行為，然而，他們的存在往往增加舞弊行為出現(xiàn)的概率。</p><p>　　在獲取有關(guān)單位及其環(huán)境的信息時(shí)，審計(jì)人員應(yīng)當(dāng)考慮所收集的資料顯示:是否存在一個(gè)或多個(gè)舞弊風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。審計(jì)人員應(yīng)該使用專業(yè)判斷確定是否存在危險(xiǎn)因素，應(yīng)考慮是否存在因舞弊引起的重大錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。</p><p>　　當(dāng)存在舞弊時(shí)，可以根據(jù)以下三個(gè)條件

64、來確定舞弊風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。首先，因激勵(lì)或壓力而進(jìn)行舞弊; 其次，環(huán)境提供了一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，誘使舞弊行為的發(fā)生。最后，認(rèn)為舞弊行為合理化的思想不斷滋生。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素涉及范圍十分廣泛，他們只是些例子，審計(jì)人員可以考慮額外或不同的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。所有這些例子并非囊括所有相關(guān)情況，一些例子可能會(huì)綜合的出現(xiàn)在不同規(guī)模和不同所有制性質(zhì)的企業(yè)。此外，提供的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素的例子并不能夠全面地反映其重要性或發(fā)生的頻率。 </p><p>　　(四) 應(yīng)對(duì)重大

65、錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的總體反應(yīng) 如何反應(yīng)由于舞弊引起的重大錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)， 審計(jì)師是按以下步驟進(jìn)行的: </p><p>　　1、 作業(yè)人員和監(jiān)督。參與審計(jì)的重要職責(zé)人員的知識(shí)、技能和能力應(yīng)該和審計(jì)師對(duì)因舞弊引起的重大錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)所做出的評(píng)估相符合。例如，審計(jì)人員在對(duì)一家 IT 企業(yè)進(jìn)行審計(jì)時(shí)，可以聘請(qǐng)有相關(guān)技術(shù)的專家，或通過指定更多的審計(jì)人員參與審計(jì)。此外，監(jiān)管程度應(yīng)反映由舞弊引起的重大錯(cuò)報(bào)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)(SASNo. 22, AUsec.