外文翻译--对财务报表舞弊的思考

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1、1970 单词， 2910 汉字 出处： 出处 : American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Consideration Of Fraud in a Financial Statement AuditJ. Accounting Research Manager, 2002,5:24-30. 外文文献翻译 原文 : Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit Description and Characteristics of Fraud Fraud is a broad

2、legal concept and auditors do not make legal determinations of whether fraud has occurred. Rather, the auditors interest specifically relates to acts that result in a material misstatement of the financial statements. The primary factor that distinguishes fraud from error is whether the underlying a

3、ction that results in the misstatement of the financial statements is intentional or unintentional. For purposes of the Statement, fraud is an intentional act that results in a material misstatement in financial statements that are the subject of an audit. Intent is often difficult to determine, par

4、ticularly in matters involving accounting estimates and the application of accounting principles. For example, unreasonable accounting estimates may be unintentional or may be the result of an intentional attempt to misstate the financial statements. Although an audit is not designed to determine in

5、tent, the auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether the misstatement is intentional or not. Two types of misstatements are relevant to the auditors consideration of fraud

6、 - misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting and misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets. 1、 Misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting are intentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures in financial statements designed to deceive financ

7、ial statement users where the effect causes the financial statements not to be presented, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Fraudulent financial reporting may be accomplished by the following: (1)Manipulation, falsification, or alteration o

8、f accounting records or supporting documents from which financial statements are prepared (2) Misrepresentation in or intentional omission from the financial statements of events, transactions, or other significant information (3) Intentional misapplication of accounting principles relating to amoun

9、ts, classification, manner of presentation, or disclosure Fraudulent financial reporting need not be the result of a grand plan or conspiracy. It may be that management representatives rationalize the appropriateness of a material misstatement, for example, as an aggressive rather than indefensible

10、interpretation of complex accounting rules, or as a temporary misstatement of financial statements, including interim statements, expected to be corrected later when operational results improve. 2、 Misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets (sometimes referred to as theft or defalcation)

11、involve the theft of an entitys assets where the effect of the theft causes the financial statements not to be presented, in all material respects, in conformity with GAAP. Misappropriation of assets can be accomplished in various ways, including embezzling receipts, stealing assets, or causing an e

12、ntity to pay for goods or services that have not been received. Misappropriation of assets may be accompanied by false or misleading records or documents, possibly created by circumventing controls. The scope of this Statement includes only those misappropriations of assets for which the effect of t

13、he misappropriation causes the financial statements not to be fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with GAAP. Three conditions generally are present when fraud occurs. First, management or other employees have an incentive or are under pressure, which provides a reason to commit

14、 fraud. Second, circumstances exist - for example, the absence of controls, ineffective controls, or the ability of management to override controls - that provide an opportunity for a fraud to be perpetrated. Third, those involved are able to rationalize committing a fraudulent act. Some individuals

15、 possess an attitude, character, or set of ethical values that allow them to knowingly and intentionally commit a dishonest act. However, even otherwise honest individuals can commit fraud in an environment that imposes sufficient pressure on them. The greater the incentive or pressure, the more lik

16、ely an individual will be able to rationalize the acceptability of committing fraud. Management has a unique ability to perpetrate fraud because it frequently is in a position to directly or indirectly manipulate accounting records and present fraudulent financial information. Fraudulent financial r

17、eporting often involves management override of controls that otherwise may appear to be operating effectively.6 Management can either direct employees to perpetrate fraud or solicit their help in carrying it out. In addition, management personnel at a component of the entity may be in a position to

18、manipulate the accounting records of the component in a manner that causes a material misstatement in the consolidated financial statements of the entity. Management override of controls can occur in unpredictable ways. Frauds have been committed by management override of existing controls using suc

19、h techniques as (a) recording fictitious journal entries, particularly those recorded close to the end of an accounting period to manipulate operating results, (b) intentionally biasing assumptions and judgments used to estimate account balances, and (c) altering records and terms related to signifi

20、cant and unusual transactions. Typically, management and employees engaged in fraud will take steps to conceal the fraud from the auditors and others within and outside the organization. Fraud may be concealed by withholding evidence or misrepresenting information in response to inquiries or by fals

21、ifying documentation. For example, management that engages in fraudulent financial reporting might alter shipping documents. Employees or members of management who misappropriate cash might try to conceal their thefts by forging signatures or falsifying electronic approvals on disbursement authoriza

22、tions. An audit conducted in accordance with GAAS rarely involves the authentication of such documentation, nor are auditors trained as or expected to be experts in such authentication. In addition, an auditor may not discover the existence of a modification of documentation through a side agreement

23、 that management or a third party has not disclosed. Fraud also may be concealed through collusion among management, employees, or third parties. Collusion may cause the auditor who has properly performed the audit to conclude that evidence provided is persuasive when it is, in fact, false. For exam

24、ple, through collusion, false evidence that controls have been operating effectively may be presented to the auditor, or consistent misleading explanations may be given to the auditor by more than one individual within the entity to explain an unexpected result of an analytical procedure. As another

25、 example, the auditor may receive a false confirmation from a third party that is in collusion with management. Although fraud usually is concealed and managements intent is difficult to determine, the presence of certain conditions may suggest to the auditor the possibility that fraud may exist. Fo

26、r example, an important contract may be missing, a subsidiary ledger may not be satisfactorily reconciled to its control account, or the results of an analytical procedure performed during the audit may not be consistent with expectations. However, these conditions may be the result of circumstances

27、 other than fraud. Documents may legitimately have been lost or misfiled； the subsidiary ledger may be out of balance with its control account because of an unintentional accounting error； and unexpected analytical relationships may be the result of unanticipated changes in underlying economic facto

28、rs. Even reports of alleged fraud may not always be reliable because an employee or outsider may be mistaken or may be motivated for unknown reasons to make a false allegation. As indicated in paragraph 1, the auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance

29、about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. However, absolute assurance is not attainable and thus even a properly planned and performed audit may not detect a material misstatement resulting from fraud. A material misstatement may not

30、be detected because of the nature of audit evidence or because the characteristics of fraud as discussed above may cause the auditor to rely unknowingly on audit evidence that appears to be valid, but is, in fact, false and fraudulent. Furthermore, audit procedures that are effective for detecting a

31、n error may be ineffective for detecting fraud. The Importance of Exercising Professional Skepticism Due professional care requires the auditor to exercise professional skepticism. See SAS No. 1, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 230.07

32、.09, “Due Professional Care in the Performance of Work”). Because of the characteristics of fraud, the auditors exercise of professional skepticism is important when considering the risk of material misstatement due to fraud. Professional skepticism is an attitude that includes a questioning mind and a critical assessment of audit evidence. The auditor should conduct the engagement with a mindset that recognizes the possibility that a material