畢業(yè)論文外文翻譯--內部審計在沙特阿拉伯的發(fā)展：協(xié)會理論透視

1、中英文文獻翻譯經濟管理系2009級 會計學班 張莉內部審計在沙特阿拉伯的發(fā)展：協(xié)會理論透視內部審計職能的價值1早先的研究已經運用各種各樣的方法來制定適當?shù)臉藴室栽u估內部審計職能的 有效率。比如說，視遵照標準的程度為影響內部審計表現(xiàn)的其中因素z-o 一份1988 年國際會計師協(xié)會英國協(xié)會的研究報告就致力與研究內部審計作用價值屮高級管理 層和外部審計員的認知力。這項研究證明了衡量所提供服務的價值的艱難性就是做評 佔的主要障礙。收益性，費用標準以及資源利用率都被確認為服務價值的衡量標準。 在這項研究里，它強調了確保內部審計工作應遵從sppia的必要性。在美國，1988的albrechta研究過內部審

2、計的地位和作用，還為了能有效的評估內部 審計的效率特別制定出一套框架。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)有四個能讓內部審計部門發(fā)展從而提高內 部審計效率的耍件：一個合適的企業(yè)環(huán)境，高級管理層的支持，具備高素質的內部審 計人員以及高質量的內部審計工作。在這項研究里學者們強調管理層和審計人員都應 該承認內部審計職能對于企業(yè)來說是一種具有增值性的職能。在英國，1997年，ridley 和dilva證明遵循專業(yè)標準的重要性是促進內部審計職能增值功能的最重要的因 素。遵循sppia大量的研究都特別專注于內部審計部門對于spp1a遵從性的研究。1992年，powell et刃對11個國家的國際會計師協(xié)會的成員進行了一項全球性的調査

3、以證明是否有全球性的內部審計文化。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)對這11個國家的國際會計師協(xié)會成員的調查屮，有82%的是遵循spp1a的。這個蠻高的百分比率促使學者們建議spp1a提供內abdulrahman a. m al-twaijry, john a. brierley and david r. gwilliam*internal audit research部審計這個職業(yè)全球化的證據。許多的研究已經關注涉及到獨立性的sppia標準。 1981年，clark ct al發(fā)現(xiàn)內部審計部門的獨立性和內部審計人員所做報告的權威性 是影響他們工作客觀性的最至關重要的兩個因素。1985年，plumlce致力于研究影響

4、內部審計人員客觀性的潛在威脅，特別是參與內部控制制度的設計是否會影響到關于 該制度質量與有效率的決斷力。plumlee發(fā)現(xiàn)這樣參與設計會產生偏見最終會影響到 工作的客觀性。內部審計職能與公司管理層兩者之間的關系通常會成為決定內部審計 客觀性的一個重要因素。1989年，harrell et al表明管理層對一些觀點的認知能力 以及欲望都可能會影響到內部審計人員的工作和判斷力。同時，他們也發(fā)現(xiàn)作為國際 會計師協(xié)會成員的內部審計人員是不大可能屈服于這種壓迫下的。1991年，ponemon 調查研究了這樣一個問題，內部審計人員是否會在他們工作過程屮報告那些未被揭露 的敏感問題。他得出的結論是，影響內部

5、審計人員客觀性的三個因素分別是他們在企 業(yè)中所處的地位，他們跟管理層的關系以及舉報不道德行為的渠道的存在。在沙特阿拉伯的內部審計研究已經證明相對地很少有關于沙特阿拉們企業(yè)內部審計的研究，然而，例外的是 1993年的asairy和1996年的woodworth和said。asairy試著評估沙特阿拉伯合股 公司的內部審計部門的效率。他通過對38家公司的內部審計部門的負責人，高級管 理層和外部審計人員的問卷調查來研究。這項研究的結果顯示了內部審計成功的一個 重要因素就是它獨立于其他的企業(yè)的經濟活動。內部審計部門所提供的服務是會受到 管理層，其他雇員和外部審計人員的影響。內部審計人員的教育背景，訓練

6、，經驗和 專業(yè)素質都會影響到內部審計的效率。根據他的這項研究，asairy建議所有合股公 司都應該設置內部審計職能，而且應在沙特人學把內部審計作為一門獨立的課程來設 立。1996年，woodworth和sai d試著調查沙特阿拉們的內部審計人員關于根據被審 單位的國籍是否會對被審單位具體的內部審計情況有不同的反應的看法。基于34份 來自國際會計師協(xié)會達蘭協(xié)會成員的問卷調杳，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)不同國籍沒有很大的區(qū)別。 內部審計人員不會根據被審單位的國籍來改變他們的審計方式，文化程度對于審計的 結果是沒有很大的影響的。關于遵循spp1a的重要性，專家和學術界都強調了內部審計部門和企業(yè)其他部門 z間關系在決定

7、內部審計部門成功或其他方面是具有一定的匣要性的。（ 1972年的 mints, 1996 年的 flesher, 1998 年的 ridley & chambers,和 1999 年的 moel 1 er & witt）o學術界致力于研究如果內部審計要有效率，事前的準備工作以及審計人員和 被審單位z間的團隊合作精神的必耍性。1992年的bethea認為好的人際關系處理技 巧是很重要的因為內部審計會產生消極看法和消極的態(tài)度。這些問題尤其對于多文化 的商業(yè)環(huán)境是卄 常重耍的例如像沙特阿拉伯這樣審計人員和被審單位在文化和教育 背景上有很大差異的地方(1996年woodworth &a

8、mp; said) o結論缺少內部審計部門的原因通過對92家公司的采訪調查公司沒有設置內部審計職能的原因，來自于52家公 司的最多的冋答就是信賴外部審計人員能夠使公司獲得可能會從內部審計中得到的 贏利。典型地，被采訪者認為外部審計者更好，要比內部審計更有效率，更省錢。在 對外部審計人員的采訪屮透露岀他們的客戶公司不會特別的區(qū)分清楚內部審計和外 部審計的工作性質和角色的不同z處。比如，一個外部審計人員說到，對于外部審計 人員是做什么的通常都有個誤區(qū)，他們認為外部審計人員會為公司做所有的事情，而 且一定會找出所有的問題。說到這里，一個外部審計人員質疑內部審計是否在任何一 個企業(yè)環(huán)境中都具有增值的功

9、能。當提到內部控制制度時他說到，只要他們滿意這最 終的報告結果，我認為內部審計職能也可以不需要設置。外部審計最終會顯示出所有 內部審計的大缺點。第二個采訪者(23家企業(yè)，25%)提到最多的不設置內部審計部門的原因是對成 本和利潤的一種權衡和i辦調。特別地是，17家公司認為公司規(guī)模小以及其活躍性有 限的本質意味著設置內部審計部門對他們來說反而是沒有效率的。受采訪的外部審計 人員都支持這個觀點，測量成本是毫不費事很容易的，相比較而言衡量利潤則是比較 困難這一事實就是促成這個決定的一個因素。還有一些采訪者給出的不設置內部審計部門的原因。由于執(zhí)行內部審計職能需要高成 本的事實，14家企業(yè)聘請了不處于獨

10、立的內部審計部門的雇員來執(zhí)行內部審計的職 責。有8家公司認為沒有設置內部審計部門的必要，這是因為他們相信他們有內部控 制制度已經足夠了而沒必要再去設置內部審計。5家公司認為內部審計不是什么重要 的工作，還有三家公司覺得他們的企業(yè)類型是不需要內部審計的。有三個受訪者提到 他們不設置內部審計部門是因為找不到專業(yè)人員來管理運行這個部門，還有6家公司 沒有提供不設置內部審計部門的原因。有10家公司曾經設立過內部審計部門但由于 在招聘合格的高素質的人員和改變企業(yè)的組織結構方面具有一定難度就不再運行這 個部門。說到這里，有8家沒有內部審計部門的公司計劃在不久的耒來成立一個內部 審計部門。內部審計部門的獨立

11、性評論員和權威人士認為獨立性是內部審計部門最主要最關鍵的一個特性。在對內 部審計部門的問卷調查回復屮有60份說有一份書面文件闡明了內部審計部門的tl 的，權威性和責任。在所進行的所有問卷調查中，有93%的人說一份在內部審計部門 的職權范圍內的文件被高級管理層所認可，有97%的人說這份文件闡明了內部審計部 門在企業(yè)中的地位，有接近個人，紀錄，資產的權利，還有90%的認為這份文件闡明 了內部審計的范圍。受訪者被要求估計相關文件與sppta特定要求想一致的程度。在 這些有這種文件的內部審計部門中有27家聲稱是完全遵循sppia,有23家認為他們 的公文部分遵循sppiao有超過三分之一被調查的部門要

12、么就沒有這樣的公文要么就 不清楚文件是否遵循sppiao sppia建議當企業(yè)的董事會同意任命或撤除內部審計部 門負責人的時候要提高其獨立性，述有內部審計部門的負責人要對企業(yè)里資格老的個 人負責。令人關注的是，有47家公司他們對于任命，撤除以及收入報告的責任是由 非高級的管理者負責，通常就是一般的經理。sppia建議內部審計部門的負責人應該 直接坦率的跟董事會溝通以保證審計部門的獨立，同時為內部審計的負責人和董事會 提供了一種方法以能使彼此告知對方的利益。在跟內部審計部門負責人的交談屮顯示 出內部審計部門通常是對一般經理報告負責而不是董事會。由問卷冋復者提供的缺乏 跟董事會交流的進一步證據顯示

13、出在將近一半的公司中，內部審計部門的成員從來都 沒參加過董事會會議而只有兩家公司的內部審計人員是定期出席董事會會議的。獲取 證據不受限制和不受朿縛的詢問權力是內部審計獨立性和有效性的最重要的方而。問 卷的冋復顯示有34個內部審計主管認為他們不能完全獲取所有有用的信息。而且， 在所有調查中，少數(shù)一些人不相信他們可以不受限制的報告缺陷，隱瞞，不道德的行 為或者錯誤。還有相當一部分人認為做內部審計不能總是從高級管理層那里獲得支 持。sppta證明參與制度的設計，設置，運行很有可能會削弱內部審計人員的客觀性。 受訪者被問到在非審計職責的范圍內管理層多久一次會要求內部審計部門的協(xié)助。有 37個被調查的內

14、部審計部門說管理層有時，經常有這樣的需求，還有27個部門從來 沒參與過這些非審計的工作。這些調查證明了一些金業(yè)的內部審計人員經常會為其他 部門的人彌補不足z處。the development of internal audit in saudi arabia: aninstitutional theory perspectivethe value of the internal audit functionprevious studies have utilized a variety of approaches to determine appropriate criteria to eva

15、luate the effectiveness of the internal audit function. for example, considered the degree of compliance with standards as one of the factors which affects internal audit performance. a 1988 research report from the iia-united kingdom (iia-uk，1988) focused on the perceptions of both senior managemen

16、t and external aud讓ors of the value of the internal audit function. the study identified the difficulty of measuring the value of services provided as a major obstacle to such an evaluation. profitability, cost standards and the effectiveness of resource utilization were identified as measures of th

17、e value of services. in its recommendations it highlighted the need to ensure that internal audit work complies with sppia.in the us, albrecht et al.(1988)studied the roles and benefits of the internal audit function and developed a framework for the purpose of evaluating internal audit effectivenes

18、s. they found that there were four areas that the directors of internal audit departments could develop to enhance effectiveness: an appropriate corporate environment, top management support, high quality internal audit staff and high quality internal audit work. the authors stressed that management

19、 and auditors should recognize the internal audit function as a value-adding function to the organization. in the uk, ridley and dasilva (1997) identified the importance of complying with professional standards as the most important contributor to the internal audit function adding value.compliance

20、with sppiaa number of studies have focused specifically on the compliance of internal audit departments with sppia. powell et al.(1992) carried out a global survey of iia members in 11 countries to investigate whether there was evidence of a world-wide internal audit culture. they found an overall c

21、ompliance rate of 82% with sppia. this high percentage prompted the authors to suggest that sppia provided evidence of the internationalization of the internal audit profession.a number of studies have focused on the sppia standard concerned with independence.clark et al(1981) found that the indepen

22、dence of the internal audit department and the level of authority to which internal audit staff report were the two most important criteria influencing the objectivity of their work. plumlee (1985) focused on potential threats to internal aud讓or objectivity, particularly whether participation in the

23、 design of an internal control system influenced judgements as to the quality and effectiveness of that system. plumlee found that such design involvement produced bias that could ultimately threaten objectivitythe relationship between the internal audit function and company management more generall

24、y is clearly an important factor in determining internal auditor objectivity. harrell et al. (1989) suggested that perceptions of the views and desires of management could influence the activities and judgement of internal auditors. also, they found that internal auditors who were members of the iia

25、 were less likely to succumb to such pressure.ponemon (1991) examined the question of whether or not internal auditors will report sensitive issues uncovered during the course of their work. he concluded that the three factors affecting internal auditor objectivity were their social position in the

26、organization, their relationship with management and the existence of a communication channel to report wrongdoing.internal audit research in saudi arabiato date there has been relatively little research about internal audit in the saudi arabian corporate sector, exceptions, however, are asairy (199

27、3)and wood worth and said (1996). asairy (1993)sought to evaluate the effectiveness of internal audit departments in saudi joint-stock companies. he studied departments in 38 companies using questionnaire responses from the directors of internal audit departments, senior company management, and exte

28、rnal auditors. the result of this study revealed that one significant factor in the perceived success of internal audit was its independence from other corporate activities. the service provided by the internal audit department was affected by the support it received from the management, other emplo

29、yees and external auditors. the education, training, experience and professional qualifications of the internal auditors influenced the effectiveness of internal audit. on the basis of his study, asairy (1993) recommended that all joint-stock companies, should have an internal audit function, and th

30、at internal auditing should be taught as a separate course in saudi universities.woodworth and said (1996)sought to ascertain the views of internal auditors in saudi arabia as to whether there were differences in the reaction of auditees to specific internal audit situations according to the nationa

31、lity of the auditee. based on 34 questionnaire responses from members of the iia dhahran chapter, they found there were no significant differences between the different nationalities. the internal auditors did not modify their audit conduct according to the nationality of the auditee and cultural di

32、mensions did not have a significant impact on the results of the audit.given the importance of complying with sppia, the professional and academic literature emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the internal audit department and the rest of the organization in determining the succes

33、s or otherwise of internal audit departments (mints, 1972;flesher, 1996;ridley & chambers j 998 and moeller & witt, 1999). this literature focuses on the need for co-operation and teamwork between the auditor and auditee if internal auditing is to be effective.bethea (1992) suggests that the

34、 need for good human relations9 skills is important because internal auditing creates negative perceptions and negative attitudes. these issues are particularly important in a multicultural business environment such as saudi arabia where there are significant differences in the cultural and educatio

35、nal background of the auditors and auditees wood worth and said (1996).resultsreasons for not having an internal audit departmentof the 92 company interviews examining the reasons why companies do not have an internal audit function, the most frequent response from 52 companies (57%) was that relian

36、ce on the external auditor enabled the company to obtain the benefits that might be obtained from internal audit. typically, interviewees argued that the external auditor is better, more efficient and saves money. inferviews with the external auditors revealed that client companies could not disting

37、uish clearly between the work and roles of internal and external audit. for example, one external auditor said,there is a misperception of what the external auditor does, they think the external auditor does everything for the company and must discover any problem.having said this, one external audi

38、tor doubted that an internal audit function would add value in all circumstances. when referring to the internal control system he stated,as long as they are happy with the final output, i think the internal audit function will not add value. external auditing eventually will highlight any significa

39、nt internal control weakness.the second most frequent reason mentioned by interviewees (23 firms, 25%) for not operating an internal audit department was the cost/benefit trade-off. specifically, 17 firms considered that the small size of the company and the limited nature of its activities meant th

40、at it would not be efficient for them to have an internal audit department the external auditors interviewed were of the opinion that the readily identifiable costs as compared with the more difficult to measure benefits was a factor contributing to this decision.a number of other reasons were given

41、 by interviewees for not having an internal audit department. as a consequence of the high costs of conducting internal audit activities, 14 firms used employees who were not within a separate internal audit department to carry out internal audit duties. eight companies did not think there was a nee

42、d for internal audit because they believed their internal control systems were sufficient to obviate the need for internal audit five companies did not think that internal audit was an important activity and three felt that their type of the business did not require internal audit. three respondents

43、 mentioned that they did not operate an internal audit department because professional people could not be found to run the department, and six companies did not provide a reason for not having an internal audit department. in 10 companies an internal audit department had been established but was no

44、 longer operating because of difficulties in recruiting qualified personnel and changes in the organization structure. having said this, eight companies without an internal audit department were planning to establish one in the future.the independence of internal audit departmentscommentators and st

45、andard setters identify independence as being a key attribute of the internal audit department. from the questionnaire responses 60 (77%) of the internal audit departments stated that there was a written document defining the purpose, authority and responsibility of the department. in nearly all ins

46、tances where there was such a document the terms of reference of the internal audit department had been agreed by senior management (93%), the document identified the role of the internal audit department in the organization, and its rights of access to individuals, records and assets (97%), and the

47、 document set out the scope of internal auditing (90%). respondents were asked to assess the extent to which the relevant document was consistent with the specific requirements of sppia in those departments where such a document existed 27 (45%) claimed full compliance with sppia, 23 (38%) considere

48、d their document to be partially consistent with sppia. in more than one-third of the departments surveyed either no such document existed (/?=18, 23%) or the respondent was not aware whether or not the document complied with sppia (77= 10, 13%).sppia suggests that independence is enhanced when the

49、organization's board of directors concurs with the appointment or removal of the director of the internal audit department, and that the director of the internal audit department is responsible to an individual of suitable seniority within the organization it is noticeable that in 47 companies (

50、60%) their responsibilities with regard to appointment, removal and the receipt of reports lay with non-senior management, normally a general manager. sppia recommends that the director of the internal audit department should have direct communication with the board of directors to ensure that the department is independent, and provides a means for the director of internal auditing and the board of directors to keep each other i