内部审计在公司治理中的价值【外文翻译】

外文翻译原文：T h e V a l u e O f In t e r n a l A u d i t In C or p or a t e G ov e r n a n c e Today, corporate boards must provide close oversight of such vital issues as finance, accounting, risk management, and compliance in often-complex o r g anizati ons. Yet there i s an organization wi t hin the c ompa ny t hat ha s bee n shaping just the controls needed to effectively monitor these governance matters—internal audit. By making internal audit a stronger player in the governance team, smart boards can tap into a highly valuable source of expertise.Internal auditors are like a lighthouse. Their work provides a point of reference that enabl e s compani e s t o know w he re t hey are—and t heir gui dance c a n h elp provide the insights they need to navigate with confidence into the future.That is why expectations are high that internal auditors will “raise the bar”by continuing to improve operating efficiency as well as effectiveness—not just in controls, risk management, and governance, but across the enterprise as a whole. There a re th re e mess a ges I would like to shar e on how i nternal audi t ors ca n ke e p th e momentum going by building new value for today, and by becoming a source of leadership talent for business organizations tomorrow.First,internal auditors can help enable the“risk intelligent enterprise.”While management and the board may “o w n”risk, internal auditors can play a key role in ena b ling the “risk int e llige n t e nt erpri s e.”At D e loitt e, this is an outcome t hat we strongly advocate for our clients, for ourselves, and for any corporation that wants to grow and prosper.Think about it. In all companies, risk abounds—in governance, in strategy and execution, in operations, and in infrastructure. If the magnitude of this challenge were not already enough, other factors can leverage the impact of risk, from the speed at which events can unfold to the uncertainty that often accompanies them. It would be great if those were the only challenges but, of course, there are countless others to consider.F or example, we c a nnot i gnore ris ks that may h ave l ow probabi l ity but hi gh i mpa ct, such as a computer virus or acts of nature. Separate risks can also emerge and connect with devastating impact, like defaults on sub-prime mortgages and the rapid rise of energy prices that accelerated this summer.Furthermore, when you consider that risks can be random, multiple, and sometimes connected, it is a wonder that any business leader, board member, or internal auditor can sleep through the night. However, one way to ensure a better night’s sleep is for i nte rna l a uditors to he lp ma nagement a nd board s be come “r i s k intel l igen t.”Tha t i s a term we use at Deloitte for companies that use a process of thorough risk assessment as a prerequisite for informed decision-making.Internal auditors occupy a strategic position where the interests of management, boards and stakeholders intersect.T he approac h i s mult i face t ed. Along w i t h c onsid e ring th e spec t rum of poss i bilit i es across and beyond the company, risk intelligent enterprises take action. They build scenarios, they weigh probabilities, they develop specific responses. With a risk assessment process firmly in place, organizations can create better strategies and make better decisions.I nternal auditors can hel p in ma ny di ffe rent w a ys. O ccupying a s t rat e gic pos i ti on, they are situated at a crossroads where the interests of management, boards and stakeholders intersect. Internal auditors can see what needs to be done for corporations to become more risk intelligent—and, thus, build new value.Internal auditors also can serve as a conduit of information for all parties involved and play a key role in breaking down organizational silos. They can drive both operating efficiency and effectiveness across the organization by helping them consider risk in a common language.Internal audit can help boards by pointing out the different kinds of “risk.”Risk is like cholesterol—it can be good or bad.So many people, from boards and audit committees to a wide range of stakeholders, are counting on internal auditors to provide what we at Deloitte call “reassurance.” This is the internal auditor’s stamp of approval that management’s assurance isr eli a ble. Inte rna l aud i tors hel p ma ke such reassura nc e poss i ble by maintai ni ng the i r objectivity, acting with the highest integrity, and communicating the hard messages about unmitigated risks whenever necessary.Internal auditors also contribute to better governance by pointing out meaningful connections between various parts of the organization and different kinds of risk. Risk is like cholesterol—it can be good or bad. Far too many people tend to forget that companies grow by taking smart, well-considered risks. Internal auditors can provide v alua bl e guida nc e by p ointi ng out when the re i s an i mba lance. Most oft en, such imbalances weigh far too heavily toward risk avoidance.Companies that focus solely on avoiding risk may survive but will rarely thrive. They are like a beekeeper who keeps no bees for fear of being stung. However, with their intimate knowledge of the enterprise, internal auditors can help determine which r is ks a re int e lligent and can create excit i ng new value. Their gui dance as a t rus t e d advisor can help executives make decisions that benefit the whole company. Second, internal auditors can serve as advocates for using non-financial metrics to help manage risk holistically.As silos flatten and business structures become more integrated and holistic, i nte rna l audi t ors can us e non-fi nanc i al metrics to hel p unc ove r n ew value and de ve lop competitive advantage.That is because virtually every aspect of a business can affect revenue and profit.Many so-called “non-financial”factors of performance carry hidden but not so subtle price tags. Eventually, those price tags can add up and eat away at the top and bottom lines. Yet many organizations persist in focusing only on traditional financial measurements to assess their condition. Research that Deloitte conducted last year found that 87 percent of the CEOs and senior executives we polled described their ability to track financial performance as excellent or good.However, almost eight out of every 10 CEOs said that financial indicators alone do not adequately capture their companies’strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, just 29 percent considered their ability to track non-financial performance as excellent orgood.Internal auditors can play a vital role by consulting with management on which nonfinancial metrics may be most useful.Enterprise risk can and most likely will grow if those who lead the enterprise cannot see the bigger picture. Relying solely upon financial metrics can cloud the bigger picture by masking situations that may need immediate action. The reality is that financial metrics such as cash flow, sales, or earnings are essentially historical in nature and, a s s uc h, represent laggin g i ndic a tors of pe rforma nc e.Non-financial factors, however, can signal trends as leading indicators of performance. Our survey respondents identified customer satisfaction, operational quality, innovation, and employee commitment as the non-financial drivers most crucial to the success of their companies.Interna l aud i to rs can play a vi t al role by cons ul ti ng wit h ma na gement on w hi c h non-financial metrics may be most useful. Once those metrics are implemented, internal auditors can determine if management is using those metrics effectively to achieve business objectives.What a company produces or provides has always been an important management conce rn. Yet the curre nt bus i ness environment i s one o f i nt ense scrut i n y t hat m akes how corporations conduct their operations and how leaders conduct themselves critical business priorities.Are executives accountable and performing ethically? Are a company ’s actions harming or sustaining the environment? Are governance processes strong and independent from management? These are just some of the questions raised by today ’s stakeholders.Perhaps most importantly, internal auditors feed an organization’s ethical conscience. This is a role very much in need. Last December, Gallup announced the results of its U.S. poll on the honesty and ethical standards of different professions. Nurses, grade school teachers, and pharmacists ranked the highest. Business executives, however, ranked 17th out of the 22 professions included. Clearly, there is either much work to be done, or many perceptions to be changed, or both.A compa ny’s e t h i cal cl i mat e provi des a g re at exampl e of how int e rn a l auditors can use non-financial metrics to track when changes begin to occur in an organization’s ethical climate. Subtle changes in the ethical climate do add up. Over time, they can drive outcomes that may lead to inevitable decline—or, sustained success.Still, how can a board or management know when such ethical changes are beginning to happen, or when they accumulate and harden into a dangerous trend? Such observations usually are not readily discernable from traditional financial m e asurements—ofte n, not before it is too la t e.Non-financial measurements, such as a sudden increase in the number of anonymous calls to a whistleblower hotline or feedback from ethics or workplace culture surveys, can provide valuable cues to indicate when management and boards need to take action. Such measurements can help lead to a better “ROE.”No, this is no t “Re t urn on Equi t y,”but a new me a s ure I li ke to t hi nk of as “Return on Ethics.”Organizations with a superior ethical track record can attract customers and capital far more easily than those whose ethics are in question. Furthermore, if the market’s belief in a company ’s integrity is confirmed time and time again, people can become customers and clients for life. Rather than being a drag on the top and bottom lines, inta n gible s such as c o nfidenc e and trust often c ommand a pr e mium t ha t c us t ome rs and clients are willing to pay. Eventually, the non-financial factors of confidence and trust can boost a company ’s financial performance.For example, at Deloitte, our business case for ethics is all about giving clients the confidence to invest their trust in us. However, unlike other programs and initiatives that measure costs to help determine return on investment, we appraise ethics differently. We assess the value of our ethics programs not by what they cost, but by what they are worth as revenues protected, what I call the “price of right.”By my calculation, our ethics programs are worth somewhere in the vicinity of $11 billion, which just happens to be the annual revenues of the Deloitte U.S. firms.Non-financial metrics address a broad range of issues, from the environmental to corporate reputation. By helping identify, measure, and monitor these drivers, internal auditors can build value.I s the“price of right”a financi a l or non-fina nc ial me asurem e nt?It i s non-traditional, certainly, and it seeks to appraise a future outcome rather than past performance. The important aspect is that it represents the kinds of tools and concepts that internal auditors can use to keep an organization on the right path. Non-financial metrics can address a broad range of issues that a company may face, from environmental impacts to corporate reputation. By helping management identify, measure, and monitor these drivers, internal auditors can build value.T hird, i nt erna l audi t is a pl a ce w he re top t a lent can bui ld and e nhanc e the i r ca re ers as trusted advisors today, and emerge as candidates to become the executives and directors of tomorrow.With their finger on the pulse of the enterprise every day, internal auditors can shape data into valuable knowledge. People like that should always be in demand, esp e ci a ll y t oday when t he re a re s i mply not e nough ta l ent e d peopl e to go a round. Research conducted by Deloitte indicates that there will be fewer young people to replace retiring workers every year for the next 30 years. We are starting to see these trends play out globally. In mature markets such as Europe and Japan, for example, the impact of an aging workforce is converging with the impact of declining birth rate s.In a time when top talent is becoming increasingly scarce, more talent needs to be developed from within. I cannot think of talented people who are more “w ithin”an organization than internal auditors.The talent challenge for internal auditing involves far more than the numbers, however. It is also about developing beyond the skills and certifications that internal auditing requires today. If we want internal auditing to “raise the bar”and expand its role beyond compliance-focused activities to those that are consulting- focused, internal auditors need to develop a new set of skills. Those new skills can include the ability to lead, communicate, discern opportunities, and derive value from them.With those talents firmly established in their portfolio, internal auditors can be a great match for the needs of C-suites and board rooms. As the chairman of the board at Deloitte, I look for certain things in a room full of directors. I have a specialre sp ons i bi li t y to ensure t ha t t he m ost cruc i al i ngredi e nt t o he a lt h y boa rdr oom dynamics is alive and well—diversity of thought. I have found that this is most easily found when several different voices are included in the boardroom.Why not broaden board membership to include directors with a background in internal auditing? These days, the discussion of board diversity often focuses on gender and ethnicity. Increasingly, though, the discussion about achieving greater boardroom diversity will focus on diversity of experience, or expertise traditionally no t found on a boa rd. It could be an e xpert on corporate re s ponsibilit y or informat i on technology, for example. Or, someone who has both the depth of knowledge and enterprise-wide perspectives that are ideal for the boardroom.Internal auditing can be a terrific stepping stone to greater responsibilities. That makes internal auditing not only a place to be smart, but also a smart place to be.Source: Allen, Sharon, 2008,”The Value of Internal Audit in Corporate Governance”Corporate Board, no.173: 1-4译文：内部审计在公司治理中的价值如今，公司董事会必须对财务会计、风险管理，并在重大错报漏报问题上进行监督。