企业管治下内部审计的价值外文翻译.docx

企业管治下内部审计的价值外文翻译.docx

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企业管治下内部审计的价值外文翻译

外文文献翻译译文

一、外文原文

原文：

TheValueOfInternalAuditInCorporateGovernance

bySharonAllen

Today,corporateboardsmustprovidecloseoversightofsuchvitalissuesasfinance,accounting,riskmanagement,andcomplianceinoften-complexorganizations.Yetthereisanorganizationwithinthecompanythathasbeenshapingjustthecontrolsneededtoeffectivelymonitorthesegovernancematters—internalaudit.Bymakinginternalauditastrongerplayerinthegovernanceteam,smartboardscantapintoahighlyvaluablesourceofexpertise.

Internalauditorsarelikealighthouse.Theirworkprovidesapointofreferencethatenablescompaniestoknowwheretheyare—andtheirguidancecanhelpprovidetheinsightstheyneedtonavigatewithconfidenceintothefuture.

Thatiswhyexpectationsarehighthatinternalauditorswill“raisethebar”bycontinuingtoimproveoperatingefficiencyaswellaseffectiveness—notjustincontrols,riskmanagement,andgovernance,butcrosstheenterpriseasawhole.Therearethreemessageswouldliketoshareonhowinternalauditorsankeepthemomentumgoingbybuildingnewvaluefortoday,andbybecomingasourceofleadershiptalentforbusinessorganizationstomorrow.

First,internalauditorscanhelpenablethe“riskintelligententerprise.”

Whilemanagementandtheboardmay“own”risk,internalauditorscanplayakeyroleinenablingthe“riskintelligententerprise.”AtDeloitte,thisisanoutcomethatwestronglyadvocateforourclients,forourselves,andforanycorporationthatwantsto

growandprosper.

Thinkaboutit.Inallcompanies,riskabounds—ingovernance,instrategyandexecution,inoperations,andininfrastructure.Ifthemagnitudeofthischallengewerenotalreadyenough,otherfactorscanleveragetheimpactofrisk,fromthespeedatwhicheventscanunfoldtotheuncertaintythatoftenaccompaniesthem.Itwouldbegreatifthoseweretheonlychallengesbut,ofcourse,therearecountlessotherstoconsider.

Forexample,wecannotignorerisksthatmayhavelowprobabilitybuthighimpact,suchasacomputervirusoractsofnature.Separateriskscanalsoemergeandconnectwithdevastatingimpact,likedefaultsonsub-primemortgagesandtherapidriseofenergypricesthatacceleratedthissummer.

Furthermore,whenyouconsiderthatriskscanberandom,multiple,andsometimesconnected,itisawonderthatanybusinessleader,boardmember,orinternalauditorcansleepthroughthenight.However,onewaytoensureabetternight’ssleepisforInternalauditorstohelpmanagementandboardsbecome“riskintelligent.”ThatisatermweuseatDeloitteforcompaniesthatuseaprocessofthoroughriskassessmentasaprerequisiteforinformeddecision-making.

Internalauditorsoccupyastrategicpositionwheretheinterestsofmanagement,boardsandstakeholdersintersect.

Theapproachismultifaceted.Alongwithconsideringthespectrumofpossibilitiesacrossandbeyondthecompany,riskintelligententerprisestakeaction.Theybuildscenarios,theyweighprobabilities,theydevelopspecificresponses.Withariskassessmentprocessfirmlyinplace,organizationscancreatebetterstrategiesandmakebetterdecisions.

Internalauditorscanhelpinmanydifferentways.Occupyingastrategicposition,theyaresituatedatacrossroadswheretheinterestsofmanagement,boardsandstakeholdersintersect.Internalauditorscanseewhatneedstobedoneforcorporationstobecomemoreriskintelligent—and,thus,buildnewvalue.

Internalauditorsalsocanserveasaconduitofinformationforallpartiesinvolvedandplayakeyroleinbreakingdownorganizationalsilos.Theycandrivebothoperatingefficiencyandeffectivenessacrosstheorganizationbyhelpingthemconsiderriskinacommonlanguage.

Internalauditcanhelpboardsbypointingoutthedifferentkindsof“risk.”Riskislikecholesterol—itcanbegoodorbad.

Somanypeople,fromboardsandauditcommitteestoawiderangeofstakeholders,arecountingoninternalauditorstoprovidewhatweatDeloittecall“reassurance.”Thisistheinternalauditor’sstampofapprovalthatmanagement’sassuranceisreliable.Internalauditorshelpmakesuchreassurancepossiblebymaintainingtheirobjectivity,actingwiththehighestintegrity,andcommunicatingthehardmessagesaboutunmitigatedriskswhenevernecessary.

Internalauditorsalsocontributetobettergovernancebypointingoutmeaningfulconnectionsbetweenvariouspartsoftheorganizationanddifferentkindsofrisk.Riskislikecholesterol—itcanbegoodorbad.Fartoomanypeopletendtoforgetthatcompaniesgrowbytakingsmart,well-consideredrisks.Internalauditorscanprovidevaluableguidancebypointingoutwhenthereisanimbalance.Mostoften,suchimbalancesweighfartooheavilytowardriskavoidance.

Companiesthatfocussolelyonavoidingriskmaysurvivebutwillrarelythrive.Theyarelikeabeekeeperwhokeepsnobeesforfearofbeingstung.However,withtheirintimateknowledgeoftheenterprise,internalauditorscanhelpdeterminewhichrisksareintelligentandcancreateexcitingnewvalue.Theirguidanceasatrustedadvisorcanhelpexecutivesmakedecisionsthatbenefitthewholecompany.

Second,internalauditorscanserveasadvocatesforusingnon-financialmetricstohelpmanageriskholistically.

Assilosflattenandbusinessstructuresbecomemoreintegratedandholistic,internalauditorscanusenon-financialmetricstohelpuncovernewvalueanddevelopcompetitiveadvantage.

Thatisbecausevirtuallyeveryaspectofabusinesscanaffectrevenueandprofit.Manyso-called“non-financial”factorsofperformancecarryhiddenbutnotsosubtlepricetags.Eventually,thosepricetagscanaddupandeatawayatthetopandbottomlines.

Yetmanyorganizationspersistinfocusingonlyontraditionalfinancialmeasurementstoassesstheircondition.ResearchthatDeloitteconductedlastyearfoundthat87percentoftheCEOsandseniorexecutiveswepolleddescribedtheirabilitytotrackfinancialperformanceasexcellentorgood.

However,almosteightoutofevery10CEOssaidthatfinancialindicatorsalonedonotadequatelycapturetheircompanies’strengthsandweaknesses.Furthermore,just29percentconsideredtheirabilitytotracknon-financialperformanceasexcellentorgood.

Internalauditorscanplayavitalrolebyconsultingwithmanagementonwhichnonfinancialmetricsmaybemostuseful.

Enterpriseriskcanandmostlikelywillgrowifthosewholeadtheenterprisecannotseethebiggerpicture.Relyingsolelyuponfinancialmetricscancloudthebiggerpicturebymaskingsituationsthatmayneedimmediateaction.Therealityisthatfinancialmetricssuchascashflow,sales,orearningsareessentiallyhistoricalinnatureand,assuch,representlaggingindicatorsofperformance.

Non-financialfactors,however,cansignaltrendsasleadingindicatorsofperformance.Oursurveyrespondentsidentifiedcustomersatisfaction,operationalquality,innovation,andemployeecommitmentasthenon-financialdriversmostcrucialtothesuccessoftheircompanies.

Internalauditorscanplayavitalrolebyconsultingwithmanagementonwhichnon-financialmetricsmaybemostuseful.Oncethosemetricsareimplemented,internalauditorscandetermineifmanagementisusingthosemetricseffectivelytoachievebusinessobjectives.

Whatacompanyproducesorprovideshasalwaysbeenanimportantmanagementconcern.Yetthecurrentbusinessenvironmentisoneofintensescrutinythatmakeshowcorporationsconducttheiroperationsandhowleadersconductthemselvescriticalbusinesspriorities.

Areexecutivesaccountableandperformingethically?

Areacompany’sactionsharmingorsustainingtheenvironment?

Aregovernanceprocessesstrongandindependentfrommanagement?

Thesearejustsomeofthequestionsraisedbytoday’sstakeholders.

Perhapsmostimportantly,internalauditorsfeedanorganization’sethicalconscience.Thisisaroleverymuchinneed.LastDecember,GallupannouncedtheresultsofitsU.S.pollonthehonestyandethicalstandardsofdifferentprofessions.Nurses,gradeschoolteachers,andpharmacistsrankedthehighest.Businessexecutives,however,ranked17thoutofthe22professionsincluded.Clearly,thereiseithermuchworktobedone,ormanyperceptionstobechanged,orboth.

Acompany’sethicalclimateprovidesagreatexampleofhowinternalauditorscanusenon-financialmetricstotrackwhenchangesbegintooccurinanorganization’sethicalclimate.Subtlechangesintheethicalclimatedoaddup.Overtime,theycandriveoutcomesthatmayleadtoinevitabledecline—or,sustainedsuccess.

Still,howcanaboardormanagementknowwhensuchethicalchangesarebeginningtohappen,orwhentheyaccumulateandhardenintoadangeroustrend?

Suchobservationsusuallyarenotreadilydiscernablefromtraditionalfinancialmeasurements—often,notbeforeitistoolate.

Non-financialmeasurements,suchasasuddenincreaseinthenumberofanonymouscallstoawhistleblowerhotlineorfeedbackfromethicsorworkplaceculturesurveys,canprovidevaluablecuestoindicatewhenmanagementandboardsneedtotakeaction.Suchmeasurementscanhelpleadtoabetter“ROE.”No,thisisnot“ReturnonEquity,”butanewmeasureIliketothinkofas“ReturnonEthics.”

Organizationswithasuperiorethicaltrackrecordcanattractcustomersandcapitalfarmoreeasilythanthosewhoseethicsareinquestion.Furthermore,ifthemarket’sbeliefinacompany’sintegrityisconfirmedtimeandtimeagain,peoplecanbecomecustomersandclientsforlife.Ratherthanbeingadragonthetopandbottomlines,intangiblessuchasconfidenceandtrustoftencommandapremiumthatcustomersandclientsarewillingtopay.