内部审计辅助性参与管理外文翻译.docx

内部审计辅助性参与管理外文翻译.docx

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内部审计辅助性参与管理外文翻译

外文文献翻译

InternalAuditingasanAidtoManagement

Atraininggroundforpromisingjuniorexecutives,aliaisonbetweentopmanagementandsupervisors,andabalance-wheelfordecentralizedoperations.

ByWilliamT.Jerome,III

Auditingisafunctionwhichmostmanagementsregardmoreasanecessaryevil,usefulinminimizingdishonesty,thanasaconstructivegood,helpfulinfacilitatingeffectiveadministrativecontrol.Muchofthisfeelingcanbereadilyexplained:

notsomanyyearsagotheonlyconceptofauditingwasanarrowone.Duringthelast10years,however,abroaderandmoreimaginativeconcepthasdeveloped.Asaresult,theinternalauditingdepartmenttodayshouldbeabletohelpinavarietyofwaystomakeadministrationmoreeffectiveinlarge-scaleindustrialenterprises.

Inordertoappreciatetheadvantagesofmoderninternalauditing,itisimportanttounderstandthefollowingpoints:

（1）Theinvestigativetechniquesoftheinternalauditorarebasicallysimple,whichmakesittoapplythemoutsidethetraditionalaccountingandfinancialareas.

（2）Internalauditingisexcellenttrainingexperienceforpromisingcandidateswhoarebeing　groomedforsuchexecutivepositionsasthetreasuryorcontrollershipfunction.

（3）Itisoftenpossibletoexpandtheareaofdecisionmakingatmiddle-managementlevelsthroughauditsurveillanceofsuchcentralofficeproceduresashavebeenestablishedtosafeguardtheexerciseofdelegatedauthority.

（4）Thereisacomplementaryrelationshipbetweentheactivitiesofthatinternalauditdepartmentandthoseofthecompany'sindependentpublicaccountants.

InthefollowingpagesIwouldliketoexaminetheseaspectsofthemoderninternalauditingconceptindetail.Basingmyobservationsonfieldworkinawiderangeofmanufacturingcompanies,Ihopetoshowthatastheresultofaneffectiveauditprogrammanyofthedifficultproblemsofmodernlarge-scalemanagementcanbemadelessformidableandmoreworkable.

ModernApproach

Someofthestatementsandclaimsadvancedinbehalfofmoderninternalauditingmakeitsoundasthoughthechangesinauditingproceduresandphilosophythathaveoccurredoverthepastdecadeorsoamountedtosomethingbasicallydifferentfromitsoldcounterpart.Forexample,onewritersays:

"Sosweepinghasbeenthischangethatcurrentdefinitionsofinternalauditingbearlittleresemblancetothoseinvoguetenorfifteenyearsago."

Theopeningchapterofarecentbookoninternalauditingiswritteninasimilarvein:

"Thewords'internalauditing'arenotnewinbusinesscircles,butthepresentconceptoftheinternalauditor'sscopeandobjectivesisverynew.Fewcollegesandbusinessschoolshaverecognizedthefactthatanewanddifferentbranchofaccountingisfirmlyentrenchingitself,throughitsdeeds,intheaccountingdivisionsofourforward-lookingbusinessorganizations,manyofwhich,evenyet,donotfullyunderstandorappreciatethepresentconceptandeitherdonothavetheinternalauditfunctionorconfuseitwithroutinechecking."

Again,currentwritingsonthesubjectofinternalauditingarerepletewithexpressionssuchas"functionalaudit,""businessaudit,""managementaudit,"and"auditofoperations,"ascontrastedwitha"complianceaudit,""financialaudit,"and"balancesheetaudit."

Althoughthereislittledoubtthatthechangeintheactivitiesoftheinternalauditdepartmentsofmanycompanieshasbeensignificant,itnonethelessmustbekeptinmindthatinternalauditingstillusesmanyofthesameoldstartingpointsandstillhastocoversuchtraditionalfunctionsasthecountingofcashandthetakingofinventories.Rather,thechangehasbeenoneofdegreeandscope;auditingnolongerstopswhereitusedto.

BroadenedScope

Theeffecthasbeencumulative.Asthescopeofauditingbroadens,topmanagementincreasinglyrecognizestheuniquetrainingpossibilitiesinherentintheauditingactivity.Inturn,higherandhighercaliberpersonnelareassignedtoit.Henceitsusefulnessbecomesmoreandmoreapparenttoalllevelsofcompanymanagement,moreandmoreisexpectedofit,andasaresultofthewholeprocessitsscopebroadensstillfurther.

Morespecifically,internalauditorsarenolongersatisfiedtostopwithamereconfirmationofthemathematicalaccuracyoftheamountsreportedinacompany'sfinancialstatements.Instead,theyaremoreconcernedwithadetailedappraisalofthevariouscompanyoperationsthatareresponsibleforthefiguresintheaccounts.Essentially,theprimarypurposeofaninternalauditinvestigationtodayistodeterminewhetherpropersafeguardshavebeenestablishedbymanagementatalloperatinglevelssothatthecompanywillreceivefullvalueforeachdollarofexpenseincurred.

Notewhatadifferencethiscanmake.Itisonethingfortheauditortobesatisfiedafterverifyingthedollaraccuracyofthereportedinventory;itisquiteanotherforhimtodeterminewhetherestablishedproceduresarebeingfollowedbycompetentoperatingpersonnelinordertominimizetheamountofslow-movingstock,scrapanyobsoleteitems,orseeifthepurchasingproceduresthemselvesarebeingcarriedouteffectively.Again,itisonethingtovouchreportedfixedassetsofaplantunderconstructionattheendofthefiscalyearandanothertomakeanon-the-jobauditofchargestoplantaccountastheyareincurredinordertoascertainthenandtherewhetherthecompanyisreceivingfullvalueinaccordancewiththecontractedpurchaseandengineeringspecifications.

Buthoweverdifferenttheselevelsofinvestigationmaybe,anddespitethemoreexhaustiveinquiryusuallyrequiredbythemodern"functional"or"businesstype"audit,thefactremainsthatthesameunderlyingdocumentsareused.Boththedifferencesandthesimilaritiesofthenewandoldconceptsofauditingmaybeseenfromanexample:

Theauditortodaymightstartonephaseofhisauditbythumbingthroughseparatepilesofpurchaserequisitions,invoices,purchaseorders,billsoflading,andreceivingreports.Hemightalsolookoverthepurchasedepartmentcorrespondencefile.Inthecourseofthisexaminationhemightwonderwhycertainitemscostsomuch,orWereorderedinsuchlargequantitiesorsofrequently,orwereshippedviaexpressinsteadofbyfreight,orwereobtainedfromonlyonesupplierinsteadofseveral,orwerecontinuallybeingorderedonarushbasis.

Accordingly,thosedocumentswhichtheauditorquestionsforbusinessreasonsmightbesortedoutinonepileonhisdesk;thosewhichhequestionsformathematicalaccuracy,inanotherpile;andthosedocumentswhichseemtohimincompleteorimproperlyprocessed,andwhichthereforesuggestproceduralweaknesses,inathirdpile.

Tofindanswerstohisquestions,theauditormayhavetointerviewindividualoperatingpersonnelinallthefourcornersoftheplant.Hemayvisitthestoreroomtoseetheconditionandqualityofsomemerchandiseinquestion.Hemaygooutontheplantfloortolearnhowsomeotheritemisused.Hemayconceivablyquerytheplantorhome-officeengineersonthenecessityofusingthisscarcematerialorontheseeminglycostlyspecificationforthatparticularproduct.Andsoon.

ManagementNeeds

Itisinresponsetocertainmanagementneedsthatinternalauditdepartmentshavegrownoutoftheirolderfunctionofmerelyverifyinginvoicesforarithmeticalaccuracy,vouchingassets,checkingdocumentsforproperauthorizations,andthelike.

Ofparticularimportancearethoseneedswhichstemdirectlyfromthetrendtowarddecentralizationthatischaracteristicoftheoperationsofanincreasingnumberoflargecompanies.Decentralizationofcourseputsanaddedresponsibilityonthemiddle-managementexecutivesinbranchplants,subsidiaries,andmarketingdivisionstomaketheirowndecisionsandtosolvetheirownoperatingproblemswithinthebroaderframeworkofgeneralcompanypoliciesandprocedures.Continuedexpansionoffacilitieshasthusmadeitincreasinglydifficultformanyhome-officemanagementstotraincompetentpersonnelandtoappraisetheirperformanceinthefield.

ExecutiveTraining

SuchcompaniesasCeneralElectric,ShellOil,andUnitedStatesSteelhaveconsequentlybeencapitalizingontheopportunitywhichtheinternalauditdepartmentpresentstogiveamutuallyprofitabletrainingtothosemeninterestedinqualifyingforthetreasuryorcontroller-shipfunction.（Itisinterestingtocomparethetrainingopportunitiesprovidedbytheinternalauditdepartmentwiththeskillsandabilitieswhicharerecognizedasrequirementsofsuccessfulcontrollers）.

Actually,thereisgoodtraininghereformanyothermanagementfunctionstoo.Inthecourseoftheirexaminations,internalauditorshaveanunparalleledopportunityforgettingtoknowtheproblemsandthepeopleinthecompany'smanyplantsandoffices.Also,sinceaccounting,statistical,andfinancialdatamirrorallthevariedproblemsfacedbymodernbusiness,whatotherexperienceholdsbetterpossibilitiesforcompanyandcandidatealikethananintelligentappraisalofsuchdata?

HerearesomeexamplesofthekindofpossibilitiesIhaveinmind:

Aninquiringpersoncanappraisecertainaspectsoftheentirepurchasingfunctionbycomparingpricelistswiththebidsobtainedandthepricesactuallypaid.

Usingthepayrollfigures,hecantestincentiveplanstodeterminewhetherbothcompanyandemployeeinterestsarebeingproperlysafeguarded.

Accountsreceivablepresenthimwithanopportunitytoreviewcompanypricingpoliciestofindoutwhetherallcustomersarebeingtreatedfairly,whethershipmentsaremadeaspromised,andwhetherbothcustomerandcompanyproductandshippingspecifications