外文翻譯-關(guān)于環(huán)境負(fù)債的董事會(huì)視角

本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)）外文翻譯外文題目外文出處外文作者ABoard's-EyeViewofEnvironmentalLiabilitiesDirectorshipFeb/Mar2010,Vol.36Issue1,p66-68.C.GregoryRogers原文：ABoard's-EyeViewofEnvironmentalLiabilitiesNewfinancialtechniqueswillincreasemarketefficiencyandempowerbetteroversightofenvironmentalmanagementanddisclosure.Itisawell-known"dirtysecret"thatenvironmentalliabilityestimatesdevelopedinconformancewithU.S.accountingstandardsareunreliableandalltoooftenmateriallyunderstated.Thevagariesofcontingencyaccountingandenvironmentallawandscience,however,havemadeitpracticallyimpossibletoempiricallydemonstratethisconclusion.Asaresult,theinherentincentivesformanipulationhavebeenunconstrained.Thosedaysareover.FinancialanalyticaltechniquesarenowbeingusedtogaugethereliabilityandrelevanceofcorporatedisclosuresofliabilitiesarisingundertheComprehensiveEnvironmentalResponse,Compensation,andLiabilityAct(CKRCLAorSuperfund),theResourceConservationandRecoveryAct(RCRA),andsimilarstatelaws.Thesetechniquespromisetoimprovemarketefficiencybyintroducingmoretimelyandaccurateinformation.Theyalsoholdthepotentialtoempowerboardstoexercisestrongeroversightandmakemoreinformeddecisionsonimportantenvironmental,social,andgovernance(ESG)issues.AccountingEstimatesAccountingestimatescansignificantlyunderstatetheamountthatwillultimatelybeexpendedtoresolveenvironmentalliabilities.Generallyacceptedaccounting1principles(GAAP)seektomatchexpensewithincurrenceofliability.Estimatesofcontingentliabilities,includingcontingentenvironmentalliabilities,areintendedtoreflectthe"bestestimate"ofeventualexpendituresthatareconsideredprobableandreasonablyestimable.Inpractice,accountingestimatesoftenreflectonlythosecoststhatarenearlycertain—inotherwords,expendituresthathavebeenbudgeted.Wheninitialestimatesprovetobeinadequate,additionalaccrualsareneededtoreplenishthereserve.InefFect,thisisanimplicitaccountingpolicytomatchexpensewithexpendituresratherthantomatchexpensewithincurrenceofliability.Accountingestimatesoftenareunreliable.Basedontheauthor'sresearch,auditedfinancialdataoftenshowsthefollowingpatternoveramulti-yearperiod:(I)consistentorincreasingexpenditures;(2)accrualsthatcloselycorrelatewithexpenditures;and(3)steadyorrisinglossreserves.Whenthispatternexists,itisintuitivelyobvious—eventononexperts—thataccountingestimatesdonotrepresentareliableestimateoffuturecashflowConformancewithGAAPcanbemisleading.Asageneralrule,regulatorsconsiderfinancialinformationthatfailstoconformwithGAAPtobepersemisleading.Butcriticscomplainthatloopholesallowcompaniestomanipulatethenumberswithoutrunningafoulofaccountingstandards.Onehighlyvisiblecritic,EdTrott,aformermemberoftheFinancialAccountingStandardsBoard,considersGAAP,asItappliestoenvironmentalliabilities,tobean"embarrassment."Theauthor'sstudyof24petroleumandchemicalcompaniesshowsthatestimatedoff-balancesheetenvironmentalliabilitieswererelevanttofinancialdecision-making—inthattheyexceeded5percentofstockholders'equity—for16(two-thirds)ofthecompanies.Theresearchalsoshowsthat9ofthe24companieshadafinancialincentivetoimprovethereliabilityoftheiraccountingestimatesbyincreasingreservesanddecreasingongoingchargestonetincome.FairValueEstimatesFairvalueestimatesaremarket-basedandfarmoreencompassingthan2

accountingestimates.Thefairvalueofacontingentenvironmentalliabilityisthemarketexchangepricethatwouldbepaidtotransfertheliabilitytoanindependentpartyinanorderlytransaction.Thisissometimescalledthe"exitprice."Therearethreeimportantpointstoknowabontenvironmentalliabilityestimates.First,thereisanegotiatedmarketforthetransferofenvironmentalliabilities.Althoughobservablemarketdataislimited,thenotionofamarketexchangepriceforenvironmentalliabilitiesisrealandnotmerelyanacademicconstruct.Second,becausethe(realorhypothetical)partyassumingtheliabilitymustaccountforallreasonablecontingencies,notjustthoseconsideredhighlylikely,fairvalueestimatesofenvironmentalliabilitiesoftenwillbemuchhigherthanaccountingestimates.Third,accountingestimatesareirrelevantindeterminingsolvencyunderbankruptcyandcorporatelaw.Whenlegalsolvencyisatissue,fairvalueiswhatcounts.Informationaboutthefairvalueofenvironmentalliabilitiesmayberelevanttovariousboardleveljudgmentsaboutbusinessperformanceandlegalcompliance,includingthosediscussedbelow.Unwarydirectorsmaybesurprisedtorealizethatenvironmentalliability'estimatescanberelevanttojudgmentsaboutnon-environmentalmatters.Dothecompany'saccountingestimatesconformwithGAAP?Ifthedifferencebetweenaccountingestimatesandfairvalueestimatesofenvironmentalliabilitiesislarge,thismaycallintoquestionwhetherthecompanyhasreportedits"bestestimate"oftheliability.Dothecompany'sSECfilingscontainanyuntruestatementofamaterialfactoromittostateamaterialfact?Ifthedifferencebetweenaccountingestimatesandfairvalueestimatesislarge,thismaybeconsideredamaterialmisleadingfactunderSECRulel0b-5.Dothecompany'sSECfilings"fairlypresentinallmaterialrespects"thefinancialconditionandresultsofoperations?IfthedifferencebetweenaccountingestimatesandfairvalueestimatesismaterialtotheoverallfinancialconditionofthecompanythisfactwillbearonthecertificationrequiredunderSection302ofSarbanes-Oxley.3

Isthecompanysolvent?lfthefairvalueofacompany'sliabilities—includingcontingentandoff-balancesheetliabilities—isatriskofexceedingthefairvalueofitsassets,thisconditionwilltriggerachangeinthefiduciarydutiesoftheboard.Alaterjudicialfindingofinsolvencycanserveasthebasisforlegalandcontractualclaims,includingfraudulentandpreferentialtransfers(intentionalorconstructive)undertheBankruptcyCodeandstatelaws,thecommencementofaninvoluntarybankruptcy,pursuitofillegaldividendsorwrongfuldistributions,andenforcementofloancovenantviolations.Isthecompanymanagingitsbusinessinaprudentandeffectivemanner?Ifthebusinesshassignificantenvironmentalliabilities,theboardmustassureitselfthatinformationandreportingsystemsaresufficienttosupportinformedjudgmentsconcerningthecompany'senvironmentaloperationsandcompliancewithlaw.Knowingthefairvalueofenvironmentalliabilitiesisessentialingaugingtheeffectivenessofcorporateresourcesexpendedtoaddresssuchliabilities."Whatgetsmeasuredgetsdone,"saidthelatemanagementguruPeterF.Drucker.Thecorollaryisthatyoucannotmanagewhatyoucannot(orwillnot)measure.EstimatingLiabilitiesTheultimatecosttoresolveanenvironmentalliabilityiscontingentontheoutcomeoffutureevents.Somefutureoutcomesaresubjecttomanagement'scontrol.Othersarenot.Uncertaintyaboutfutureoutcomesmakesreasonableestimationoftheultimatelossdifficult,butnotimpossible.Thefairvalueofenvironmentalliabilitiesistypicallyestimatedusingexpectedpresentvaluetechniques.Inlaymanterms,expectedvalueistheprobabilityweightedaverageofallpossibleoutcomes.Ifthereisa50percentchancethattheultimatelosswillbe$2millionanda50percentchancethattheultimatelosswillbe$20million,theexpectedvalueis$11million.Expectedpresentvalueadjuststhisprobability-weightedaveragetoreflectthetimevalueofmoney.Obtaininginformationneededforfairvalueestimatesinvolvesinvestigationofexistivestigationisoftennecessarytoidentifyandassesspre-existingpollution4

conditionsarisingfrompastreleasesofhazardoussubstancesintotheenvironment.Investigationisparticularlyrelevanttoestimatinglossesforenvironmentalliabilitiesbecausetheunderlyingphysicalconditionsoftenarelatentandbecauseitofteniswithinmanagementscontroltoconductorallowinvestigation,especiallywithregardtopropertiesownedorcontrolledbythecompany.ManagementoftenhasdiscretiontoIdentifyandfullyassessallpre-existingpollutionconditionsoronlythosematterssubjecttopendingenforcementorlitigation.Followinganevaluationofexistingcircumstances,educatedassumptionsaboutfutureoutcomesarenecessarytodeterminethepotentialmethodsofresolvingtheliability,thetimingofexpectedcashflows,andtheassociatedprobabilitiesInvestigationofexistingcircumstancesandassumptionsaboutfutureoutcomes,althoughnecessaryfordeterminingfairvalue,havethreereadilyapparentdrawbacks.First,theseactivitiescanentailsignificantcostandeffort.Second,theseactivitiescangenerateprejudicialinformation—informationwhosecollectionordisseminationcouldadverselyaffecttheoutcomeofthecontingencyitself.Third,bygeneratingfairvalueestimatesthatdifferfromaccountingestimates—inessencecreatingasecondsetofbooksthatisnotdisclosedinthefinancialstatements—theentityincreasesitsexposuretoaccusationsofaccountingandsecuritiesfraud.FacedwiththisCatch-22,willfulblindnesshasoftenseemedtheprudentchoice.Butthischoiceinvariablyleadstounreliabledisclosures.UnreliableDisclosuresIntheabsenceofreliable"bottomup"financialdata,themarketmustturnto"topdown'analyticaltechniquestotestthereliabilityandrelevanceofaccountingestimatesandtodevelopalternativeestimatesthatmorecloselyreflectobservedhistoricaldata.Wherecashflowsbeliereportedestimates—forexample,whereacompany'sexpendituresoverfiveyearsequal250percentofitsaveragereserveduringthesamefive-yearperiod—onecandevelopanalternativeestimatebyprojectingthelossdevelopmenthistoryintothefuture."DevelopmentEstimates"—estimatesoffuturecashflowsbasedon5

projectionsofhistoricalcashflows—areinherentlyimprecise.Becausepastperformancemaynotbeindicativeoffutureresults,suchestimatesmaysignificantlyoverstateorunderstateeventualcosts.Butfromthemarket'sperspective,itisbettertobevaguelyrightthanpreciselywrong.Themarketwillcreateitsownassumptionstocompensateforunreliableenvironmentaldisclosures."Unlikenearlyeveryotherincome-statementlineitem,thereisverylittle,ifany,visibilityintotheannualchargefor'probableandreasonablyestimableenvironmentalliabilities,'"complainedJPMorgananalystStephenTusa,whodowngradedHoneywellforthisreasonin2006.Whenthemarket'sassumptionsarewrong,companiesmayneedtocorrectthem.Theinformationneededtoidentifyunreliableaccountingestimatesisreadilyavailable.TheSecuritiesandExchangeCommissioninstructspubliccompaniestoseparatelydiscloseannualexpendituresforenvironmcntalclean-up.Thisdatacanbeusedtogaugethereliability'andrelevanceofaccountingestimatesandtoproduceDevelopmentEstimatesthatareoftensignificantlyhigher.Sincethesetechniquesusepubliclyavailableauditedfinancialdata,theycanbeperformedwithoutunduecostandeffortbyfinancialanalysts,auditors,governmentregulators,NGOs,insurers,prospectivepurchasers,lenders,partiestolitigation,andevencorporateboards.Willfulblindnessmaynowseemlessprudent.InformedESGOversightTheabilitytogaugethereliabilityandrelevanceofaccountingestimatesempowersboardstoexercisestrongerESGoversightandmakemoreinformeddecisions.Boardsnowhavealow-costtooltoassessthereliability'andrelevanceofaccountingestimateswithoutriskingprejudicialeffectandwithoutinundatingthemselveswithburdensomeinformation.Ifanalysisshowsthatcurrentestimatesareeitherreliableorirrelevanttothecompany'sfinancialcondition,theexerciseiscomplete.Conversely,ifanalysisshowsthatcurrentestimatesarebothrelevantandunreliable,theboardwillhaveaninformedbasisfortakingaction.6

ExecutiveSummary：Threeimportantpointsthatboardmembersneedtoknowaboutenvironmentalliabilityestimates:(1)EstimatesofenvironmentalliabilitiesreportedtotheSECoftenmateriallyunderstatetheactualclaimsonacompany'sassets,insomecasesevenmaskinginsolvency。(2)NGOs,insurers,prospectivepurchasers,lenders,partiestolitigation,andboardscannowobjectivelygaugethereliabilityofaccountingestimatesusingpubliclyavailableinformation.(3)Newfinancialtechniquesforassessingthereliabilityofenvironmentalliabilityestimateswillincreasemarketefficiencyandempowerbetterboard-leveloversightofenvironmentalmanagementanddisclosure.Source:Directorship.”ABoard's-EyeViewofLiabilities”.Feb/Mar2010,Vol.36Issue1,p66-68.Environmental7

譯文：關(guān)于環(huán)境負(fù)債的董事會(huì)視角新的金融技術(shù)將增加市場(chǎng)效率和更好的授權(quán)董事會(huì)對(duì)環(huán)境管理實(shí)施監(jiān)督和進(jìn)行企業(yè)環(huán)境負(fù)債披露。這是一個(gè)著名的“惡劣的小秘密”,逐漸發(fā)展起來(lái)的與美國(guó)會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則相符的環(huán)境負(fù)債估計(jì)是不可靠的，而且時(shí)常被重大低估了。應(yīng)急會(huì)計(jì)和環(huán)境法律和科學(xué)變幻莫測(cè)，然而，它們實(shí)際上是不可能以實(shí)證研究來(lái)證明這個(gè)結(jié)論。因此，用于操縱的內(nèi)在激勵(lì)機(jī)制已不能起到約束的作用了，日子已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返技術(shù)正被用于提下，產(chǎn)生的負(fù)債的綜合環(huán)境反應(yīng)、獲得的補(bǔ)償、責(zé)任法案(CKRCLA或超級(jí)基金)、資源保護(hù)與恢復(fù)法案(RCRA)和類似的國(guó)家的法律。這些技術(shù)將進(jìn)一步引入更加時(shí)、準(zhǔn)確的信息來(lái)確保提高環(huán)境效率。他們也有可能授權(quán)董事會(huì)行使職權(quán)加強(qiáng)監(jiān)督，并就重要的環(huán)境、社會(huì)和治理（ESG）問(wèn)題作出更加明智的決策。會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)會(huì)低估那些最終被花費(fèi)在企業(yè)計(jì)原則（GAAP）試圖將企業(yè)的費(fèi)用支出與企業(yè)經(jīng)營(yíng)活動(dòng)所帶來(lái)的環(huán)境了。財(cái)務(wù)分析衡量上市公司在自愿性信息披露可靠性和相關(guān)性前及履行環(huán)境義務(wù)上的金額。一般公認(rèn)會(huì)義務(wù)相匹配?；蛴胸?fù)債的估計(jì),包括或有環(huán)境負(fù)債,旨在體現(xiàn)認(rèn)為是可能和合理的最終支出的“最佳評(píng)估”。然而在實(shí)踐中,會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)通常只能反映幾乎確定的支出，換句話說(shuō)，是反映經(jīng)經(jīng)過(guò)預(yù)算評(píng)估的開(kāi)支。在初步預(yù)算估計(jì)被認(rèn)為是不充分的情況下，預(yù)提費(fèi)用就需要額外補(bǔ)充儲(chǔ)備。實(shí)際上，這是一個(gè)隱含的會(huì)計(jì)政策，用以將支出和開(kāi)支相匹配，而不是將支出和企業(yè)所承擔(dān)的負(fù)債相匹配。會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)通常是不可靠的。根據(jù)作者的研究、審計(jì)過(guò)的財(cái)務(wù)數(shù)據(jù)往往展示的是多年期內(nèi)模式如下：（1)一穩(wěn)步的或者持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)儲(chǔ)備。當(dāng)這種模式存在，它在直覺(jué)上是甚至還讓非專業(yè)人士認(rèn)為，會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)并不代表未來(lái)現(xiàn)金流量的可靠估計(jì)。美國(guó)通用會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則的一致性，會(huì)產(chǎn)生誤導(dǎo)。作為一般規(guī)則,監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)認(rèn)為財(cái)務(wù)資料不符合美國(guó)通用會(huì)計(jì)原則是因?yàn)槠浔旧碓斐烧`導(dǎo)，但是批評(píng)家指出是準(zhǔn)則的漏洞使得公司得以操縱數(shù)據(jù)而不與會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則相抵觸。一個(gè)著名的的評(píng)論家,愛(ài)致性或增加支出;(2)預(yù)提費(fèi)用和支出密切相關(guān)(3)顯而易見(jiàn)的，8

德特羅特，他是美國(guó)財(cái)務(wù)會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則委員會(huì)前委員,認(rèn)為美國(guó)通用會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則，因?yàn)樗m用于環(huán)境負(fù)債，是一個(gè)“令人尷尬的事”。筆者對(duì)24家石油和化學(xué)公司的研究顯示，公司環(huán)境負(fù)債的表外估計(jì)都和財(cái)務(wù)決策的制定有關(guān)，對(duì)于24家公司中的16家公司（三分之二）而言用這種方法他們能夠增加5%的股東權(quán)益。這項(xiàng)研究還顯示，這24家公司9家有經(jīng)濟(jì)誘因，以改善日益增加的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)儲(chǔ)備，減少費(fèi)用以增加凈收入，從而提高他們正在實(shí)施的會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)的可靠性。公允價(jià)值估計(jì)公允價(jià)值估計(jì)是基于市場(chǎng)價(jià)值的且比會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)包含內(nèi)容更多。債權(quán)的公允價(jià)值是市場(chǎng)交易價(jià)格，這種市場(chǎng)交易價(jià)格是用來(lái)將負(fù)債以一種有效地方式轉(zhuǎn)移給獨(dú)立的第三方，這有時(shí)被稱為“轉(zhuǎn)移價(jià)格”。關(guān)于環(huán)境負(fù)債的估計(jì)有三個(gè)重要的點(diǎn)：首先,有一個(gè)環(huán)境負(fù)債轉(zhuǎn)讓談判的市場(chǎng)。雖然可觀察市場(chǎng)數(shù)據(jù)是有限的,但是對(duì)環(huán)境負(fù)債的市場(chǎng)交易價(jià)格的概念是真實(shí)的,而不僅僅是學(xué)術(shù)建構(gòu)出來(lái)的產(chǎn)物。第二,因?yàn)椋ㄕ鎸?shí)的或假想的）違約責(zé)任承擔(dān)必須考慮所有合理的或有事項(xiàng)，而不僅僅是那些被認(rèn)為極有可能出現(xiàn)的環(huán)境負(fù)債，公允價(jià)值估計(jì)往往會(huì)比會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)的要高得多。第三,會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)不能反映公司法和破產(chǎn)法下企業(yè)的償還能力，當(dāng)面臨法定償付能力成問(wèn)題時(shí),公允價(jià)值計(jì)量是要考慮的。有關(guān)環(huán)境負(fù)債的公允價(jià)值信息的披露和董事會(huì)判斷企業(yè)的經(jīng)營(yíng)業(yè)績(jī)和法令的遵守情況的水平有關(guān)，包括一下討論。粗心的董事可能會(huì)驚訝地意識(shí)到，環(huán)境負(fù)債的估計(jì)與非相關(guān)的環(huán)境問(wèn)題進(jìn)行判斷有關(guān)。公司的會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)符合美國(guó)通用會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則嗎？如果會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)和環(huán)境負(fù)債的公允價(jià)值估計(jì)之間的差異很大，這可能會(huì)引起對(duì)該公司是否已報(bào)告了其“最佳估計(jì)”的負(fù)債產(chǎn)生質(zhì)疑。公司的證券交易委員會(huì)報(bào)告中是否包含任何對(duì)重大事實(shí)的不真實(shí)陳述或?qū)χ卮笫聦?shí)的遺漏？如果會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)和公允價(jià)值估計(jì)差異很大，這可能被認(rèn)為是在SEC規(guī)則（l0b–5）下材料誤導(dǎo)事實(shí)。公司的證券交易委員會(huì)報(bào)告中是否在所有重大方面公允地反映企業(yè)的財(cái)務(wù)狀況和經(jīng)營(yíng)成果呢？如果從材料到整個(gè)公司財(cái)務(wù)狀況，會(huì)計(jì)估計(jì)和公允價(jià)值估計(jì)9都不相同，那么根據(jù)<薩班斯法案302規(guī)定應(yīng)當(dāng)核證公司的財(cái)務(wù)狀況，公司將承擔(dān)這一事實(shí)的責(zé)任。公司是否有償付能力呢？如果公司負(fù)債的公允價(jià)值，包括或有債權(quán)及失衡的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表中資產(chǎn)的公允價(jià)值都處于高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的狀況，這種情況將引發(fā)董事會(huì)的受托責(zé)任的變化。企業(yè)破產(chǎn)后的司法調(diào)查可以作為法律和合同索賠的依據(jù)，包括欺詐和優(yōu)惠轉(zhuǎn)讓（故意或推定），根據(jù)破產(chǎn)法和國(guó)家法律規(guī)定，從非自愿破產(chǎn)開(kāi)始，進(jìn)行非法或不當(dāng)分派股息和對(duì)貸款違法行為的執(zhí)行。公司管理層是否以審慎有效的方式開(kāi)展業(yè)務(wù)？如果企業(yè)具有明顯的的環(huán)境負(fù)債，董事會(huì)必須確保本身的信息和報(bào)告制度足以支持有關(guān)該公司的環(huán)保行動(dòng)和遵守法律明智的判斷。了解環(huán)境負(fù)債的公允價(jià)值對(duì)合理衡量企業(yè)支出，以解決環(huán)境負(fù)債問(wèn)題，提高企業(yè)資源的效益至關(guān)重要