英文翻譯中文.doc

川大錦城學(xué)院本科論文（中英譯文） 會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德Accounting ethicsBarrons Kathleen ElliottAbstract Accounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting ethics were first introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and independent companies. Ethics are taught in accounting courses at higher education institutions as well as by companies training accountants and auditors.Key words：Accounting Ethics EducationContents1 Importance of ethics 2 History 3 Teaching ethics 4 Accounting scandals 1.Importance of ethicsThe nature of the work carried out by accountants and auditors requires a high level of ethics. Shareholders, potential shareholders, and other users of the financial statements rely heavily on the yearly financial statements of a company as they can use this information to make an informed decision about investment. They rely on the opinion of the accountants who prepared the statements, as well as the auditors that verified it, to present a true and fair view of the company. Knowledge of ethics can help accountants and auditors to overcome ethical dilemmas, allowing for the right choice that, although it may not benefit the company, will benefit the public who relies on the accountant/auditors reporting. Most countries have differing focuses on enforcing accounting laws. In Germany, accounting legislation is governed by tax law; in Sweden, by accounting law; and in the United Kingdom, by the company law. In addition, countries have their own organizations which regulate accounting. For example, Sweden has the Bokfringsnmden (BFN - Accounting Standards Board), Spain the Instituto de Comtabilidad y Auditoria de Cuentas (ICAC), and the United States the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). 2.HistoryLuca Pacioli, the Father of Accounting, wrote on accounting ethics in his first book Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni, et proportionalita, published in 1494. Ethical standards have since then been developed through government groups, professional organizations, and independent companies. These various groups have led accountants to follow several codes of ethics to perform their duties in a professional work environment. Accountants must follow the code of ethics set out by the professional body of which they are a member. United States accounting societies such as the Association of Government Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, and the National Association of Accountants all have codes of ethics, and many accountants are members of one or more of these societies. In 1887, the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA) was created; it was the first step in developing professionalism in the United States accounting industry. By 1905, the AAPAs first ethical codes were formulated to educate its members. During its twentieth anniversary meeting in October 1907, ethics was a major topic of the conference among its members. As a result of discussions, a list of professional ethics was incorporated into the organizations bylaws. However, because membership to the organization was voluntary, the association could not require individuals to conform to the suggested behaviors. Other accounting organizations, such as the Illinois Institute of Accountants, also pursued discussion on the importance of ethics for the field. The AAPA was renamed several times throughout its history, before becoming the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as its named today. The AICPA developed five divisions of ethical principles that its members should follow: independence, integrity, and objectivity; competence and technical standards; responsibilities to clients; responsibilities to colleagues; as well as other responsibilities and practices.Each of these divisions provided guidelines on how a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) should act as a professional. Failure to comply with the guidelines could have caused an accountant to be barred from practicing. When developing the ethical principles, the AICPA also considered how the profession would be viewed by those outside of the accounting industry. 3.Teaching ethicsUniversities began teaching business ethics in the 1980s. Courses on this subject have grown significantly in the last couple of decades. Teaching accountants about ethics can involve role playing, lectures, case studies, guest lectures, as well as other mediums. Recent studies indicate that nearly all accounting textbooks touch on ethics in some way. In 1993, the first United States center that focused on the study of ethics in the accounting profession opened at State University of New York at Binghamton. Starting in 1999, several U.S. states began requiring ethics classes prior to taking the CPA exam. In 1988, Stephen E. Loeb proposed that accounting ethics education should include seven goals (adapted from a list by Daniel Callahan). To implement these goals, he pointed out that accounting ethics could be taught throughout accounting curriculum or in an individual class tailored to the subject. Requiring it be taught throughout the curriculum would necessitate all accounting teachers to have knowledge on the subject (which may require training). A single course has issues as to where to include the course in a students education (for example, before preliminary accounting classes or near the end of a students degree requirements), whether there is enough material to cover in a semester class, and whether most universities have room in a four-year curriculum for a single class on the subject. There has been debate on whether ethics should be taught in a university setting. Supporters point out that ethics are important to the profession, and should be taught to accountants entering the field. In addition, the education would help to reinforce students ethical values and inspire them to prevent others from making unethical decisions. Critics argue that an individual is ethical or not, and that teaching an ethics course would serve no purpose. Despite opposition, instruction on accounting ethics by universities and conferences, has been encouraged by professional organizations and accounting firms. The Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) has called for students to know and understand the ethics of the profession and be able to make value-based judgments. Phillip G. Cottel argued that in order to uphold strong ethics, an accountant must have a strong sense of values, the ability to reflect on a situation to determine the ethical implications, and a commitment to the well-being of others. Iris Stuart recommends an ethics model consisting of four steps: the accountant must recognize that an ethical dilemma is occurring; identify the parties that would be interested in the outcome of the dilemma; determine alternatives and evaluate its effect on each alternative on the interested parties; and then select the best alternative. 4.Accounting scandalsAccounting ethics has been deemed difficult to control as accountants and auditors must consider the interest of the public (which relies on the information gathered in audits) while ensuring that they remained employed by the company they are auditing. They must consider how to best apply accounting standards even when faced with issues that could cause a company to face a significant loss or even be discontinued. Due to several accounting scandals within the profession, critics of accountants have stated that when asked by a client what does two plus two equal? the accountant would be likely to respond what would you like it to be? This thought process along with other criticisms of the professions issues with conflict of interest, have led to various increased standards of professionalism while stressing ethics in the work environment.From the 1980s to the present there have been multiple accounting scandals that were widely reported on by the media and resulted in fraud charges, bankruptcy protection requests, and the closure of companies and accounting firms. The scandals were the result of creative accounting, misleading financial analysis, as well as bribery. Various companies had issues with fraudulent accounting practices, including Nugan Hand Bank, Phar-Mor, WorldCom, and AIG. One of the most widely-reported violation of accounting ethics involved Enron, a multinational company, that for several years had not shown a true or fair view of their financial statements. Their auditor Arthur Andersen, an accounting firm considered one of the Big Five, signed off on the validity of the accounts despite the inaccuracies in the financial statements. When the unethical activities were reported, not only did Enron dissolve but Arthur Andersen also went out of business. Enrons shareholders lost $25billion as a result of the companys bankruptcy. Although only a fraction of Arthur Andersons employees were involved with the scandal, the closure of the firm resulted in the loss of 85,000 jobs. CausesFraudulent accounting can arise from a variety of issues. These problems usually come to light eventually and could ruin not only the company but also the auditors for not discovering or revealing the misstatements. Several studies have proposed that a firms corporate culture as well as the values it stresses may negatively alter an accountants behavior. This environment could contribute to the degradation of ethical values that were learned from universities. Until 1977, ethics rules prevented accounting and auditing firms from advertising to clients. When the rules were lifted, spending by the largest CPA firms on advertisements rose from US$4 million in the 1980s to more than $100million in the 2000s. Critics claimed that, by allowing the firms to advertise, the business side overstepped the professional side of the profession, which led to a conflict of interest. This focus allowed for occurrences of fraud, and caused the firms, according to Arthur Bowman, . to offer services that made them more consultants and business advisers than auditors.30 As accounting firms became less interested in the lower-paying audits due to more focus on higher earning services such as consulting, problems arose. This disregard for the lack of time spent on audits resulted in a lack of attention to catching creative and fraudulent accounting. A 2007 article in Managerial Auditing Journal determined the top nine factors that contributed to ethical failures for accountants based on a survey of 66 members of the International Federation of Accountants. The factors include (in order of most significant): self interest, failure to maintain objectivity and independence, inappropriate professional judgment, lack of ethical sensitivity, improper leadership and ill-culture, failure to withstand advocacy threats, lack of competence, lack of organizational and peer support, and lack of professional body support. The main factor, self interest, is the motivation by an accountant to act in his/her best interest or when facing a conflict of interest. For example, if an auditor has an issue with an account he/she is auditing, but is receiving financial incentives to ignore these issues, the auditor may act unethically.Principles- vs. rules-basedThe International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are standards and interpretations developed by the International Accounting Standards Board, which are principle-based. IFRS are used by over 115 countries including the European Union, Australia, and Hong Kong. The United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting, is largely rule-based. Critics have stated that the rules-based GAAP is partly responsible for the number of scandals that the United States has suffered. The principles-based approach to monitoring requires more professional judgment than the rules-based approach. IFRS is based on understandability, relevance, materiality, reliability, and comparability.Since IFRS has not been adopted by all countries, these practices do not make the international standards viable in the world domain. In particular, the United States has not yet conformed and still uses GAAP which makes comparing principles and rules difficult. In August 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed that the United States switch from GAAP to IFRS, starting in 2014. Responses to scandalsSince the major accounting scandals, new reforms, regulations, and calls for increased higher education have been introduced to combat the dangers of unethical behavior. By educating accountants on ethics before entering the workforce, such as through higher education or initial training at companies, it is believed it will help to improve the credibility of the accounting profession. Companies and accounting organizations have expanded their assistance with educators by providing education materials to assist professors in educating students. New regulations in response to the scandals include the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 2004 in Australia as well as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, developed by the United States. Sarbanes-Oxley limits the level of work which can be carried out by accounting firms. In addition, the Act put a limit on the fee which a firm can receive from one client as a percentage of their total fees. This ensures that companies are not wholly reliant on one firm for its income, in the hope that they do not need to act unethically to keep a steady income. The act also protects whistleblowers and requires senior management in public companies to sign off on the accuracy of its companys accounting records. In 2002, the five members of the Public Oversight Board (POB), which oversaw ethics within the accounting profession, resigned after critics deemed the board ineffective and the SEC proposed developing a new panel, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The PCAOB was developed through the Act, and replaced the POB. In 2003, the International Federation of Accountants released a report entitled Rebuilding Public Confidence in Financial Reporting: An International Perspective. By studying the international company collapses as a result of accounting issues, it determined areas for improvement within organizations as well as recommendations for companies to develop more effective ethics codes. The report also recommended that companies pursue options that would improve training and support so accountants could better handle ethical dilemmas. 會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德 巴倫周刊 凱瑟琳埃利奧特 摘要 會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德主要是一種應(yīng)用倫理學(xué)，道德價(jià)值觀和判斷，因?yàn)樗鼈冞m用于會(huì)計(jì)研究領(lǐng)域。這是一個(gè)職業(yè)道德的例子。會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德首先介紹了盧卡帕西奧利，后來由政府組織，專業(yè)組織和獨(dú)立的公司擴(kuò)大。道德是會(huì)計(jì)課程教授在高等教育機(jī)構(gòu)以及由公司的會(huì)計(jì)師和審計(jì)師的培訓(xùn)。關(guān)鍵詞：會(huì)計(jì) 道德倫理 教育目錄1會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德重要性2會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德的歷史3會(huì)計(jì)道德教育4會(huì)計(jì)丑聞1. 會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德重要性所開展的會(huì)計(jì)師和審計(jì)師的工作性質(zhì)需要有很高的會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德。股東，潛在的股東，以及財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的其他使用者在很大程度上依賴于一個(gè)公司的年度財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表，他們可以利用這些信息作出有關(guān)投資決定。他們依靠會(huì)計(jì)師擬備的報(bào)表，以及核數(shù)師認(rèn)為證實(shí)此事，意見提出該公司的真實(shí)和公平的意見。道德知識(shí)可以幫助克服會(huì)計(jì)師和審計(jì)師的道德困境，為正確的選擇，盡管它可能不利于本公司利好，但是將有利于公眾對(duì)核數(shù)師和會(huì)計(jì)師的報(bào)表依賴。大多數(shù)國(guó)家有不同的側(cè)重于執(zhí)行會(huì)計(jì)法規(guī)。在德國(guó)，會(huì)計(jì)立法是側(cè)重于“稅法“，在瑞典是“會(huì)計(jì)法“，以及在英國(guó)，是“公司法“。此外，各國(guó)有自己的組織，規(guī)范會(huì)計(jì)。例如，瑞典有Bokfringsnmden（BFN- 會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則委員會(huì)），西班牙的研究所得Comtabilidad（廉政公署）和美國(guó)財(cái)務(wù)會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則委員會(huì)（FASB）。2. 會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德的歷史 盧卡帕西奧利的“會(huì)計(jì)之父”，會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德上寫道，他的第一本書總結(jié)，Geometria，Proportioni，Proportionalita在1494年出版。自那時(shí)以來道德標(biāo)準(zhǔn)已經(jīng)制定，通過政府組織，專業(yè)組織和獨(dú)立的公司。這些不同的群體，導(dǎo)致會(huì)計(jì)師遵循的道德守則，以執(zhí)行一些專業(yè)的工作環(huán)境中履行職責(zé)。會(huì)計(jì)人員必須遵循一套由專業(yè)團(tuán)體的成員，他們制定出的道德守則。美國(guó)政府如會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)，內(nèi)部審計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)，以及香港會(huì)計(jì)師公會(huì)，會(huì)計(jì)社會(huì)的所有國(guó)家都有道德守則，許多會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)是一個(gè)或更多的成員，或者社團(tuán)。1887年，美國(guó)公共會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)（專利管理機(jī)關(guān)）創(chuàng)建，它是發(fā)展中國(guó)家在美國(guó)會(huì)計(jì)業(yè)的專業(yè)第一步。到1905年，專利管理機(jī)關(guān)的第一個(gè)道德準(zhǔn)則的制訂，教育其成員。在1907年10月在其20周年會(huì)議，道德是一個(gè)其成員之間的會(huì)議的主要議題。作為討論的結(jié)果，是職業(yè)道德的名單納入該組織的章程。但是，由于該組織的成員資格是自愿的，該協(xié)會(huì)不能要求個(gè)人以符合建議的行為。其他會(huì)計(jì)組織，如會(huì)計(jì)師伊利諾，也追求在為外地道德的重要性的討論。專利管理機(jī)關(guān)在其整個(gè)歷史上更名幾次，才成為其命名為今天的會(huì)計(jì)師（美國(guó)注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)）美國(guó)研究所。美國(guó)注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)制定五年的倫理原則，其成員應(yīng)遵循部門：“獨(dú)立，完整，客觀”，“能力和技術(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)”，“客戶責(zé)任”，“給同事的責(zé)任”，以及“其他方面的職責(zé)和做法“。這些部門均提供了關(guān)于如何注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師（CPA）的應(yīng)作為一個(gè)專業(yè)的指引。不遵守的準(zhǔn)則可能造成一個(gè)要禁止從執(zhí)業(yè)會(huì)計(jì)師。在開發(fā)的倫理原則，美國(guó)注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師協(xié)會(huì)也考慮如何將這些行業(yè)的會(huì)計(jì)行業(yè)外觀看。3會(huì)計(jì)道德教育高校在20世紀(jì)80年代開始教授商業(yè)道德。關(guān)于這個(gè)問題的課程也大幅增長(zhǎng)，在過去的幾十年。有關(guān)職業(yè)道德教學(xué)會(huì)計(jì)師可能涉及角色扮演，演講，案例分析，專題講座，以及其他媒介。最近的研究表明，幾乎所有的會(huì)計(jì)教科書在某種程度上倫理聯(lián)系。 1993年，第一個(gè)中心，美國(guó)對(duì)會(huì)計(jì)專業(yè)倫理研究的重點(diǎn)開幕紐約州立大學(xué)賓厄姆頓。從1999年開始，美國(guó)的幾個(gè)州開始要求道德課前到注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師考試。1988年，勒布提出的Stephen E.會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德教育應(yīng)該包括七個(gè)目標(biāo)（從一個(gè)由丹尼爾卡拉漢名單改編）。為了實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)，他指出，會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德可以在整個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)課程或個(gè)人類量身定做的主題授課。要求它是整個(gè)課程將教所有必要的會(huì)計(jì)，教師必須對(duì)這個(gè)問題（這可能需要培訓(xùn)）的知識(shí)。單門課程具有的事項(xiàng)，包括在學(xué)生的教育（例如，在初步核算類或附近的一個(gè)學(xué)生的學(xué)位要求結(jié)束）的過程中，是否有足夠的材料覆蓋在一學(xué)期課，是否大多數(shù)高等院校在為期四年的課程空間關(guān)于這一主題的單個(gè)類。很少有關(guān)于倫理是否應(yīng)設(shè)置在一所大學(xué)任教的辯論。支持者指出，道德是重要的行業(yè)，并應(yīng)教導(dǎo)會(huì)計(jì)師進(jìn)入該領(lǐng)域。此外，教育將有助于加強(qiáng)學(xué)生的道德價(jià)值觀，激勵(lì)他們，以防止他人作出不道德的決定。批評(píng)者認(rèn)為，個(gè)人是道德與否，和倫理課的教學(xué)將成為一個(gè)沒有意義的。盡管反對(duì)，會(huì)議由大學(xué)和會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德的指示，一直鼓勵(lì)專業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)和會(huì)計(jì)事務(wù)所。會(huì)計(jì)教育變革委員會(huì)（AECC）要求學(xué)生“了解和理解的職業(yè)道德，能夠使基于價(jià)值的判斷?！狈评諡持鲝?，為了維護(hù)強(qiáng)大的職業(yè)道德，會(huì)計(jì)“必須具有強(qiáng)烈的價(jià)值，能夠反映一個(gè)情況，以確定的倫理問題，和對(duì)幸福的人是承諾。”虹膜斯圖爾特建議倫理模型四個(gè)步驟組成：會(huì)計(jì)人員必須認(rèn)識(shí)到，一個(gè)道德的困境是發(fā)生;確定將要在困境成果有關(guān)方面;確定選擇和評(píng)估上的每個(gè)有關(guān)方面替代的作用;然后選擇最佳的選擇。4會(huì)計(jì)丑聞會(huì)計(jì)職業(yè)道德已被認(rèn)為是難以控制的會(huì)計(jì)師和審計(jì)師必須考慮公眾的利益（這在審計(jì)所收集的信息依賴），同時(shí)確保它們?nèi)允撬麄儗徲?jì)的公司就業(yè)。他們必須考慮如何最好地運(yùn)用會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則等問題時(shí)，甚至可能導(dǎo)致公司面臨重大損失，甚至面臨停產(chǎn)。由于行業(yè)內(nèi)的幾個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)丑聞，會(huì)計(jì)師批評(píng)者指出，當(dāng)問及客戶端“是什么二加二等于幾？”會(huì)計(jì)師很可能會(huì)回答“你會(huì)喜歡它呢？”本文以及與行業(yè)利益沖突的問題，其他的批評(píng)思維過程，導(dǎo)致了不同的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，同時(shí)增加了專業(yè)強(qiáng)調(diào)在工作環(huán)境道德。從到目前已有多個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)被廣泛報(bào)道的媒體和欺詐