1、中文 4390 字， 2267 单词 原文一： Environmental auditing: the audit theory gap The international accounting profession is actively seeking opportunities to position itself within the potentially lucrative environmental audit market. To date, accountants have utilized a number of strategies to advocate for a g
2、reater role in this field. These strategies have primarily focused on attempts to establish the ability of accountants to orchestrate environmental audits. As a short term alternative to a direct management role in environmental audits. However, accountants appear to have had limited success in achi
3、eving such outcomes. this paper proposes that the accounting profession utilize their expertise to facilitate training in audit theory and methodology to overcome the substantial gaps that currently exist in the knowledge base of the professional groups dominating the conduct of environmental audits
4、. Introduction to environmental auditing The term environmental audit is not yet a commonly interpreted term. At present it is used both in practice and in the literature to refer to a wide range of environmental assessments and reviews. For example, a recent publication jointly sponsored by IFAC an
5、d AARF referred to environmental audits as including: assessment of site contamination； environmental impact assessments of planned investments； environmental due diligence audits (pre-acquisition audits)； the audit of corporate environmental performance reports； the audit of the entitys compliance
6、with environmental laws and regulations. An environmental audit is a systematic, documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating audit evidence to determine whether specified environmental activities, events, conditions, management systems, or information about these matters
7、conform with audit criteria, and communicating the results of this process to the client. Essential knowledge for environmental auditors: an audit theory gap 1 The accounting literature to date has focused on seeking a direct role for accountants in the environmental audit process. In particular, it
8、 has focused on trying to advocate that accountants can and should undertake the principal role of coordinating environmental audits. However, the literature has not addressed in any depth alternative opportunities for the accounting profession to contribute their knowledge to the environmental audi
9、ting field. One such niche market that could be targeted by accountants is to contribute to the education of existing environmental auditors by using their audit expertise to fill gaps identified in the knowledge base of such practitioners. While the potential for the accounting profession to contri
10、bute to the training of environmental auditors has received an occasional passing reference in accounting publications (for example, references to the Limberg Institutes study in FEE and Power), this point has not been dealt with in any direct or detailed manner. This section thus seeks to determine
11、 the requirements for environmental auditors to have an understanding of audit theory and practice. Such requirements will be compared with a review of the audit component of the knowledge base of current environmental auditors in Australia. Surveys conducted by Tozer and Mathews (1994) in New Zeala
12、nd and Mathews, Tozer and Mathews (1995) in Australia indicated that most environmental audits are conducted by individuals with skills/knowledge predominantly in the areas of civil and industrial engineering and biological and chemical sciences. Other skills/knowledge utilized were ecology, conserv
13、ation, resource/waste management and legal skills (see table 1). No respondents employed accountants to conduct environmental audits. Table 1 - Skills and knowledge of internal staff members and external experts employed by organizations performing environmental audits in Australia and New Zealand.
14、2 Knowledge/skills Internal staff (no. of staff) External experts (no. of firms using) 1995 1994 1995 1994 Civil engineering 72 29 5 7 Biological science 105 27 23 7 Chemical science 32 Industrial engineering 47 16 Ecology 39 19 Conservation 22 14 3 1 Resource/waste 11 12 1 1 Management Legal skills
15、 6 3 11 4 Accounting 0 0 2 1 Other 9 6 Total no. of respondents 80 20 44 13 Note: The number of organizational respondents will not equal the total of the staff/expert disciplines utilized as some respondents utilize more than one discipline group. Establishing relevance Attempts to establish the re
16、levance of accountants knowledge to the practice of environmental auditing are widespread in the accounting literature. Publications by professional accounting bodies and accounting practitioners throughout the world commonly acknowledge the potential for internal and external accountants to contrib
17、ute to the conduct of environmental audits. Academics argue that accounting practitioners have the skills and knowledge to enable them to contribute as both members and leaders of environmental audit teams. For example, Wilmshurst and Frost recently claimed in an Australian professional journal that: While accountants may not have the range of skills necessary to conduct an
