外文翻譯--小企業(yè)決策中財務(wù)報表的使用（節(jié)選）

1、<p>　　英文1770單詞，10300字符；中文3250漢字</p><p>　　出處：Shawn Carraher, Howard Van Auken. The use of financial statements for decision making by small firms[J]. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 201

2、3, 26(3):323-336.</p><p><b>　　外文文獻：　</b></p><p>　　The use of financial statements for decision making by small firms</p><p>　　Shawn Carraher，Howard Van Auken</p>

3、<p>　　Abstract This paper uses a sample of 312 small firms to examine the use of financial statements by analyzing factors that (1) affect the use of financial statements and (2) owners' comfort in interpreting

4、 financial statements. Financial statements provide important information that should be used to help guide decisions. The findings showed that owner comfort in using financial statements to make decisions was inversely

5、associated with frequency of preparation and directly associated with level</p><p>　　Keywords: Small firm financing; Small firm decisions</p><p>　　Financial statements allow stakeholders to use

6、available financial information to gain a better understanding of and manage their firm. Although the use of financial statements can help stakeholders and owners make better decisions, owners of small firms often are po

7、orly equipped to use financial statements effectively. In this case, even reliable, timely financial statements are insufficient, if owners do not know how to interpret and use them (Van Auken 2005).</p><p>

8、　　Furthermore, the use of financial statements is closely linked to and supportive of the firm's strategic goals, because decisions made without regard to their financial impact can lead to a confused company focus a

9、nd financial distress (Horngren et al. 2009). The importance of the decisions is evident from the high discontinuance/failure rate among small firms (van Praag 2003). Owners of small firms often lack strong finance skill

10、s and may not fully understand the impact of their decisions; thei</p><p>　　Such usages and interpretations tend to be influenced by owners' perceptions of their firms' potential. Entrepreneurs gener

11、ally are optimistic—perhaps overly so—about their firm's financial potential, which can lead to inaccurate assessments of the probability of failure, ineffective decisions, and financial distress (Landier and Thesmar

12、 2009; Smith 2011). Assistance with interpreting the meaning of and appropriate usage of information contained in financial statements therefore might help owner</p><p>　　To address the issues associated wit

13、h owners' use of financial statements, we examine which factors determine the use of financial statements by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as their owners' comfort in interpreting them. Both i

14、ssues are critical, especially considering that financial statements affect all stakeholders, yet most research on the use of financial information and financial statements has focused on large firms, with few examples o

15、f studies of how SMEs use financ</p><p>　　A key determinant of decision making tactics is the entrepreneur's background and firm characteristics (Avery, Bostic, and Samolyk 1998; Chaganti, DeCarolis and

16、Deeds 1996; Watson 2002). For example, business owners who lack knowledge about the likely impact of their decisions on their firms may make choices that create risk and reduce potential returns (Van Auken 2001). Romano

17、and Ratatunga (1994) and Romano, Tanwwski, and Smyrnios (2001) recognize that decision making in small firms is complex</p><p>　　Owners' comfort with using financial statements to make decisions</p>

18、;<p>　　Owners who are not comfortable using financial statements to inform their decisions likely use the statements less than do owners who are more comfortable. This type of comfort may be affected by various fa

19、ctors. For example, firms that prepare financial statements internally rather than externally have employees who are knowledgeable about financial statements. Such internal expertise should facilitate greater interaction

20、 and explanations between the owner and the hired expert (Smallbone, North</p><p>　　Educational level also influences financial decisions (Watson 2002). Advanced levels of education increase the likelihood t

21、hat business owners have access to traditional debt and investment funding (Carter et al. 2003). They also help owners understand financial statements and communicate more effectively (Hanlon and Saunders 2007; Neeley an

22、d Van Auken 2010). Cassar (2009) thus reports that owners with a stronger finance and accounting background are more likely to use external sources for advic</p><p>　　In terms of firm characteristics, the le

23、vel of revenue, which can serve as a proxy for firm size, affects many small firms' decisions, including both operational and strategic decisions. Higher revenue suggests that the firm has greater resource levels and

24、 access to more resources. Changing levels of revenue also alter the firm's perspective on its resource constraints and needs (Byers, Groth, and Wiley 1997). Neeley and Van Auken (2010) confirm that the level of reve

25、nue affects small firms' dec</p><p>　　Finally, the frequency of preparation may be an indicator of an owner's comfort in using financial statements to make decisions. Firms that have financial statem

26、ents prepared less often likely are less sophisticated and suffer from less understanding of their importance for decision making (Cassar 2009; Cassar 2008). The reduction of uncertainty, especially in competitive enviro

27、nments, is directly associated with the frequency of financial statement preparations. Small firms that have their fina</p><p>　　H1: An owner's comfort in using financial statements to make decisions is

28、associated (a) positively with whether financial statements are prepared internally, (b) positively with the firm's total revenue during previous year, (c) negatively with how often the firm's financial statement

29、s are prepared, and (d) negatively with the owner's level of education.</p><p>　　Owners' actual use of financial statements to make decisions</p><p>　　Few published studies examine the u

30、se of financial statements by small businesses. Bruns and McKinnon (1993) report that managers want better information and that the quality of information they obtain determines the effectiveness of their decisions (Berg

31、er and Udell 1998; Gibson 1992). Traditional finance theory assumes rational decision making, but behavioral finance also acknowledges the potential influence of overconfidence and optimism on decisions (Barberis and Tha

32、ler 2002; Ritter 2003). S</p><p>　　Holmes and Nichols (1988) also note that the use of annual financial statements is associated with firm characteristics and demographics. For example, the frequency of fina

33、ncial statement preparation varies with the use of outside funding and venture size (Cassar 2009). Small firms also may tend to be less financially sophisticated (McMahon 2001; McMahon and Stanger 1995), so they rarely u

34、se financial statements when making decisions (Halabi, Barrett and Dyt 2010). In addition, the type of finan</p><p>　　Sales, often used as a proxy for firm size (Carter and Van Auken 2005), may help signal t

35、he likely complexity of a firm's operations and financial reporting needs. Berger and Udell (1998) suggest that smaller firms are more financially opaque but become more financially transparent as they grow; accordin

36、gly, owners' use of financial statements should vary with sales. Higher sales imply higher resource needs, greater financial exposure, and the need for more financial information. Lower sales ins</p><p>

37、　　Not only are owners who are better educated more likely to use financial statements,but so should owners of firms with higher levels of revenue be, because they have needed to learn about financial statements as the f

38、irm grew. That is, they should be more likely to use and more comfortable interpreting financial statements. In firms that prepare their own financial statements internally, as we reasoned previously, the firm and its ow

39、ner should be more capable in using financial statements. Fina</p><p>　　H2: An owner's use of financial statements to make decisions is positively associated with (a) the owner's comfort with using f

40、inancial statements, (b) the internal preparation of financial statements, (c) the firm's total revenue during the previous year, and (d) the owner's level of education.</p><p><b>　　中文譯文：</b

41、></p><p>　　小企業(yè)決策中財務(wù)報表的使用</p><p>　　摘要 本文運用312家小型企業(yè)作為研究樣本來檢驗財務(wù)報表的使用情況，其中主要分析了兩方面的因素: (1)影響財務(wù)報表使用情況的因素；(2) 企業(yè)所有者在財務(wù)報表解讀過程中獲得的舒適感。財務(wù)報表通常會揭示重要的信息，從而幫助企業(yè)高層做出決策。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，企業(yè)所有者依據(jù)財務(wù)報表使用時獲得的舒適感來做出決策, 這種舒適

42、感與財務(wù)報表的編制頻率呈負相關(guān)關(guān)系, 而與企業(yè)收入水平呈直接相關(guān)關(guān)系。此外，研究結(jié)果表明，企業(yè)所有者在做決策時是否會采用財務(wù)決策與他們的受教育水平以及非內(nèi)部人士編制的財務(wù)報表呈間接相關(guān)關(guān)系，而與他們在財務(wù)報表信息的解讀過程中獲得的舒適感呈直接相關(guān)關(guān)系。研究結(jié)果應(yīng)該有助于中小企業(yè)所有者和中小企業(yè)服務(wù)供應(yīng)商，以便他們更好地理解哪些因素影響了財務(wù)報表的使用，以及財務(wù)報表納入決策過程。</p><p>　　關(guān)鍵詞：小企業(yè)

43、融資；中小企業(yè)決策</p><p>　　財務(wù)報表允許利益相關(guān)者使用有效的財務(wù)信息，以便更好地了解和管理他們的公司。盡管財務(wù)報表的使用可以幫助利益相關(guān)者和企業(yè)所有者做出更好的決策，但是小企業(yè)的所有者往往都沒有充足的準備，難以有效使用財務(wù)報表。在這種情況下，如果企業(yè)所有者不知道如何解讀和使用它們，即使是可靠的、及時的財務(wù)報表也是不夠的 (Van Auken 2005)。</p><p>　　此

44、外，財務(wù)報表的使用是與公司的戰(zhàn)略目標緊密聯(lián)系在一起的，并且支持公司的戰(zhàn)略目標，因為沒有考慮財務(wù)影響而做出的決策可能會導(dǎo)致公司陷入混亂和財務(wù)困境(Horngren et al. 2009)。從小公司高中止/失敗率中可以很明顯看出決策的重要性(van Praag 2003)。小企業(yè)的所有者往往缺乏強有力的財務(wù)技能，可能沒有完全理解他們決策的影響；他們不恰當?shù)臎Q策威脅到企業(yè)的生存能力，造成運營問題(Timmons和Spinelli 2004)

45、。相反，企業(yè)必須利用財務(wù)報表中包含的信息來評估和創(chuàng)造投資機會 (Breen,Sciulli和Calvert 2004)，獲得信息以管理他們的業(yè)務(wù)，并能夠有效地運作(Shields 2010)?？紤]到糟糕的財務(wù)管理是資金緊張和經(jīng)濟失敗的主要原因，所以說有效的解讀和使用財務(wù)報表尤為重要(Carter和Van Auken 2005; Coleman 2002;Headd 2003; Wiklund和Shepherd 2005)。</p&

46、gt;<p>　　這種使用和解讀往往會被企業(yè)所有者對公司潛力的看法所影響。對于他們公司的潛力，企業(yè)家普遍感到樂觀，甚至是過于樂觀，這會導(dǎo)致對失敗概率、無效決策以及財務(wù)緊張的錯誤評估 (Landier和Thesmar 2009;Smith 2011)。良好解讀和有效使用財務(wù)報表中包含的信息，會有助于企業(yè)所有者做出更好更明智的決策(Breen,Sciulli,和Calvert 2004)。然而Gooderham（2004）等人

47、指出，小企業(yè)往往不會尋求外部的財務(wù)建議；相反，他們依賴于將會計人員作為財務(wù)顧問，并根據(jù)所提供的服務(wù)質(zhì)量來確定對財務(wù)顧問的信心。</p><p>　　為了解決企業(yè)所有者使用財務(wù)報表的相關(guān)問題，我們研究了哪些因素決定中小企業(yè)（SMEs）財務(wù)報表的使用，以及企業(yè)所有者在財務(wù)報表解讀過程中獲得的舒適感。這兩個問題至關(guān)重要，尤其是考慮到財務(wù)報表影響所有的利益相關(guān)者，不過大多數(shù)關(guān)于財務(wù)信息和財務(wù)報表的使用的研究都集中在大公司

48、，而有關(guān)于中小企業(yè)如何在決策中使用財務(wù)報表的研究寥寥無幾 (Shields 2010)。財務(wù)報表中的重要信息必須納入到公司所有的運營和戰(zhàn)略決策過程中，因為忽視或濫用信息會損害公司的所有領(lǐng)域：不可靠的經(jīng)營，無效的營銷，以及無法雇用合格的人員(McMahon 2001;Timmons和Spinelli 2004)。</p><p>　　決策策略的一個關(guān)鍵因素是企業(yè)家的背景和企業(yè)的特征(Avery,Bostic,和Sa

49、molyk 1998;Chaganti,DeCarolis和Deeds 1996;Watson 2002)。例如，如果企業(yè)所有者沒有意識到他們的決策可能會對企業(yè)產(chǎn)生影響，那么他們所作出的選擇可能會導(dǎo)致風險，并減少潛在回報(Van Auken 2001)。Romano和Ratatunga(1994)以及Romano,Tanwwski和Smyrnios(2001)認識到小企業(yè)的決策是復(fù)雜的，涉及到許多因素，而busenitz和Barney（

50、1997）指出，有限的經(jīng)驗和過于自信往往會導(dǎo)致不適當?shù)臎Q策，在這種情況下，由于資源的局限，小企業(yè)特別容易受到糟糕的財務(wù)決策的影響。</p><p>　　企業(yè)所有者依據(jù)財務(wù)報表使用時獲得的舒適感來做出決策</p><p>　　在使用財務(wù)報表時，相比于那些能夠獲得舒適性的企業(yè)所有者，不能獲得舒適性的企業(yè)所有者更少會在決策中使用財務(wù)報表。這種類型的舒適性可能會受到各種因素的影響。例如，與其聘用了

51、解財務(wù)報表的外部雇員，不如企業(yè)內(nèi)部編制財務(wù)報表。這種內(nèi)部的專業(yè)性能夠促進企業(yè)所有者和聘請的專家更好地互動和理解(Smallbone,North和Leigh 1993)，這反過來又可能使企業(yè)所有者更舒適地使用財務(wù)報表。</p><p>　　教育水平也影響到財務(wù)決策 (Watson 2002)。高等的受教育水平增加了企業(yè)所有者獲得傳統(tǒng)債務(wù)和投資基金的可能 (Carter等人，2003)，還可以幫助企業(yè)所有者了解財務(wù)報

52、表，溝通起來也更加有效(Hanlon和Saunders 2007;Neeley和Van Auken 2010)。Cassar (2009)因此報道說，具有較強財務(wù)和會計背景的企業(yè)所有者更容易采用來源于外部的建議。</p><p>　　就代表公司規(guī)模的企業(yè)特征、收入水平而言，影響了許多小企業(yè)的決策，包括具體運營和戰(zhàn)略決策。更高的收入表明，該公司具有更大的資源水平以及獲得更多的資源。收入水平的變化也改變了企業(yè)對其資源

53、的約束和需求的看法 (Byers,Groth和Wiley 1997)。Neeley和Van Auken(2010)確認收入水平影響小企業(yè)的決策，而且Busenitz和Barney(1997) 認為組織規(guī)模影響決策，大的公司有更多的資源和信息，并以此為基礎(chǔ)做出決策。反過來，財務(wù)報表是了解收入水平如何影響小企業(yè)的關(guān)鍵，因為他們必須為相關(guān)的資源需求作出規(guī)劃。</p><p>　　最后，財務(wù)報表的編制頻率可能是企業(yè)所有者

54、依據(jù)財務(wù)報表使用時獲得的舒適感來做出決策的一個指標。由于對決策的重要性認識不足，不經(jīng)常編制財務(wù)報表的企業(yè)相對不那么成熟(Cassar 2009;Cassar 2008)。減少不確定性，尤其是在競爭激烈的環(huán)境中，直接與財務(wù)報表編制的頻率相關(guān)。財務(wù)報表較少，其花費的編制成本也就越少，因此較少編制財務(wù)報表的小企業(yè)可能從中發(fā)現(xiàn)到好處。這些企業(yè)可能無法認識到更及時的財務(wù)信息的好處，不愿意承擔更高的成本，并且在使用財務(wù)報表信息時難以獲得舒適感。結(jié)合

55、這些影響，將產(chǎn)生以下假設(shè)：</p><p>　　H1：企業(yè)所有者依據(jù)財務(wù)報表使用時獲得的舒適感來做出決策與以下因素有關(guān)：（a)與財務(wù)報表在內(nèi)部編制正相關(guān)，（b）與企業(yè)過去一年的總收入正相關(guān)，（c）與企業(yè)財務(wù)報表編制的頻率負相關(guān)，（d）與企業(yè)所有者的教育水平負相關(guān)。</p><p>　　企業(yè)所有者實際使用財務(wù)報表做出決策</p><p>　　發(fā)表過的關(guān)于探討小企業(yè)財務(wù)

56、報表使用的研究寥寥無幾。Bruns和McKinnon (1993) 報道稱，管理者想要更好的信息，并且他們獲得的信息質(zhì)量決定了其決策的有效性 (Berger和Udell 1998;Gibson 1992)。傳統(tǒng)金融理論假設(shè)理性決策，但行為金融學也承認在決策中過度自信和樂觀的潛在影響(Barberis和Thaler 2002; Ritter 2003)。Sian和Roberts (2009)宣稱，企業(yè)所有者對財務(wù)報表的理解千差萬別，使得很

57、多企業(yè)所有者都被信息所迷惑。財務(wù)報表的復(fù)雜性使得它們對中小企業(yè)所有者的用處不大，中小企業(yè)所有者反而會依賴其會計師來向他們解釋信息。不能從財務(wù)報表的解讀中獲得舒適感的企業(yè)所有者在做決策時，不太可能使用這些財務(wù)報表。而財務(wù)技能的缺乏，則意味需要對企業(yè)所有者就如何使用財務(wù)表進行培訓(xùn)(Cassar和Ittner 2008;Berger和Udell 1998)，具有較強的財務(wù)和會計背景的企業(yè)所有者更可能使用外部報表的意見，因為他們明白準確的財務(wù)報

58、表的重要性 (Cassar 2009;Sian和Roberts 2009)。</p><p>　　Holmes和Nichols (1988)也注意到，每年財務(wù)報表的使用與公司的特點和人口統(tǒng)計有關(guān)。例如，財務(wù)報表編制的頻率隨著外部資金的使用和風險的大小而變化(Cassar 2009)。小企業(yè)也可能財務(wù)不那么成熟(McMahon 2001; McMahon和Stanger 1995)，所以他們在做決策時很少使用財務(wù)報

59、表 (Halabi, Barrett和Dyt 2010)。此外，編制的財務(wù)報表的類型隨著企業(yè)的特征會有所不同</p><p>　　銷售量，通常用于衡量公司規(guī)模(Carter和Van Auken 2005)，有助于預(yù)示公司經(jīng)營可能面對的復(fù)雜性和財務(wù)報告的需求。Berger和Udell (1998) 表明，小企業(yè)在財務(wù)上是不透明的，但隨著他們的成長，財務(wù)會越來越透明，因此企業(yè)所有者對財務(wù)報表的使用應(yīng)該隨著銷售量而變化

60、。更高的銷售量意味著更高的資源需求，更大的財務(wù)風險，以及需要更多的財務(wù)信息。較低的銷售量反而可能刺激企業(yè)所有者將更多的注意力放在相關(guān)財務(wù)對其公司的影響上。</p><p>　　不僅受到更好教育的企業(yè)所有者更有可能使用財務(wù)報表，而且擁有更高收入水平的企業(yè)所有者也更有可能使用財務(wù)報表，因為隨著企業(yè)的成長他們需要理解財務(wù)報表。也就是說，他們應(yīng)該更容易使用和更舒適地解讀財務(wù)報表。在內(nèi)部編制自己的財務(wù)報表的企業(yè)，正如我們前