内部审计在公司治理中的价值.doc

外文翻译原文：The Value Of Internal Audit In Corporate GovernanceToday, corporate boards must provide close oversight of such vital issues as finance, accounting, risk management, and compliance in often-complex organizations. Yet there is an organization within the company that has been 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 enables companies to know where they areand their guidance can help 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 effectivenessnot just in controls, risk management, and governance, but across the enterprise as a whole. There are three messages I would like to share on how internal auditors can keep the 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 “own” risk, internal auditors can play a key role in enabling the “risk intelligent enterprise.” At Deloitte, this is an outcome that 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 aboundsin 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.For example, we cannot ignore risks that may have low probability but high impact, 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 nights sleep is for internal auditors to help management and boards become “risk intelligent.” That is 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.The approach is multifaceted. Along with considering the spectrum of possibilities 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.Internal auditors can help in many different ways. Occupying a strategic position, 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 intelligentand, 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 cholesterolit 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 auditors stamp of approval that managements assurance is reliable. Internal auditors help make such reassurance possible by maintaining their 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 cholesterolit 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 valuable guidance by pointing out when there is an imbalance. Most often, 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 risks are intelligent and can create exciting new value. Their guidance as a trusted 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, internal auditors can use non-financial metrics to help uncover new value and develop 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 or good.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, as such, represent lagging indicators of performance.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.Internal auditors can play a vital role by consulting with management on which 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 concern. Yet the current business environment is one of intense scrutiny that makes how corporations conduct their operations and how leaders conduct themselves critical business priorities.Are executives accountable and performing ethically? Are a companys actions harming or sustaining the environment? Are governance processes strong and independent from management? These are just some of the questions raised by todays stakeholders.Perhaps most importantly, internal auditors feed an organizations 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 companys ethical climate provides a great example of how internal auditors can use non-financial metrics to track when changes begin to occur in an organizations ethical climate. Subtle changes in the ethical climate do add up. Over time, they can drive outcomes that may lead to inevitable declineor, 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 measurementsoften, not before it is too late.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 not “Return on Equity,” but a new measure I like to think 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 markets belief in a companys 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, intangibles such as confidence and trust often command a premium that customers and clients are willing to pay. Eventually, the non-financial factors of confidence and trust can boost a companys 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.Is the “price of right” a financial or non-financial measurement? It is 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.Third, internal audit is a place where top talent can build and enhance their careers 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, especially today when there are simply not enough talented people to go around.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 rates.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 “within” 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 special responsibility to ensure that the most crucial ingredient to healthy boardroom dynamics is alive and welldiversity 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 not found on a board. It could be an expert on corporate responsibility or information 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。一个在公司内部已形成的有效监督这些管理问题的组织，即内部审计控制。通过使内部审计在治理团队中扮演更强的角色，智能板可以打入一个非常宝贵的专业知识来源。内部审计人员就像一座灯塔。他们的工作提供了一个参考点，使公司能够知道需要在哪儿得到见解并且可以帮助公司提高对未来的信心。这就是为什么期望很高，内部审计人员将“提高标准”，继续提高经营效率和成效，不只是在控制、风险管理和治理方面，而是在整个企业。存在三个信息：我想就如何保持内部审计人员这种势头，今后如何建立新的价值，如何成为带领组织走向明天的领导人才。首先，内部审计人员可以帮助实现“风险智能企业”。虽然管理层和董事会可以自己解决一定的风险，但内部审计人员可以在一个“风险智能企业”中发挥关键作用，。在德勤，这是一个结果，我们强烈要求我们的客户为我们自己公司的要发展和繁荣成为这种方式的倡导者。想想吧。在所有的公司，风险盛产在治理、在战略和执行的操作和基础设施中。如果这一挑战的严重性并没有足够，其他因素可以非常迅速的充分利用风险从而产生影响，在此事件可以展现的不确定性，往往伴随着他们。这将是巨大的，如果这些是唯一的挑战，当然还有无数其他方面考虑。例如，我们不能忽视的风险概率低，但可能有高的影响，如电脑病毒或性质的行为。独立的风险也出现，就可以造成毁灭性的影响像次级抵押贷款和能源价格的迅速崛起加速了这一个夏天的违约事件发生。此外，当你考虑到风险可以是随机的，多方面且具有连续性的。这些突发事件，足以使任何企业的领导者和董事会成员或内部审计人员可以失眠一整夜。然而，只有一个方法，可以确保内部审计人员有一个更好的睡眠。 这是一个术语，我们在德勤使用公司作为一个明智的决定的先决条件是彻底的风险评估过程决策。内部审计人员占据战略位置的管理，董事会和股东的利益相交。该方法是多方面的。除了考虑到整个公司的可能性及以后的发展，风险智能企业需要采取行动。对他们的实际情况，量体裁衣，制定具体的计划。针对过程中发生的风险评估，组织可以创造更好的战略，做出更好的决策。内部审计人员可以提供许多不同方式的帮助，占据着绝对的战略地位。它们坐落在一个十字路口管理，即董事会和股东的利益相交。内部审计人员可以看到哪些事情是必须做的，哪些是存在更多风险的企业。内部审计人员可以建立新的价值。内部审计人员也可以作为一个信息渠道和打破所有有关各方组织障碍，并在其中发挥了关键作用的孤岛。他们可以驱动整个组织，帮助他们在一个共同的语言考虑风险两个作业效率和效益。内部审计可以帮助指出了不同类型的风险。风险就像胆固醇它可以是好也可以是坏。因此，许多人，从董事会和审计委员会，以广泛的利益相关者，都是依靠内部核算师。德勤的服务我们称之为“放心”。内部审计人员的审批盖章，管理的保证是可靠的。内部审计人员帮助维持其客观性，保持最高诚信行事，作十足的风险交流，如必要时会保存有关在硬盘消息。内部审计人员也有利于更好的治理，指出各部分之间的组织和不同种类的危险有意义的联系。风险就像胆固醇它可以是好还是坏。太多的人往往忘记了公司采取聪明的，深思熟虑的风险增加。内部审计人员可以提供，指出当有不平衡宝贵的指导。大多数情况下，这种不平衡的重量过于沉重对待风险规避。公司侧重于规避风险完全可以生存，而且很少会茁壮成长。他们就像一个养蜂人谁保证对被蜜蜂蛰了还不害怕。然而，随着他们对企业的深入了解，内部审计人员可以帮助确定哪些风险是良性的，可以创造令人兴奋的新的价值的。他们作为一个值得信赖的顾问指导，可以帮助管理人员做出有利于整个公司的决定。其次，内部审计人员可以作为提倡使用非财务指标，以帮助管理风险全盘。由于筒仓扁平化和业务结构趋于完整和全面的，内部审计人员可以使用非财务指标，以帮助发现新的价值和发展的竞争优势。这是因为几乎每一个方面都可以影响企业的收入和利润。许多所谓的“非金融”业绩的因素进行隐藏。最终，这些价格标签可以添加到顶部和底部行了。然而，许多组织坚持专注于传统的财务测量，以评估他们的唯一条件。对德勤87年的CEO和高级管理人员进行研究发现，我们跟踪调查的百分之二十九的人员能够评为优秀或良好。然而，几乎每10个老总有八个人认为，金融指标本身并不能充分反映他们公司的强项和弱点。此外，百分之二十九的人认为他们只是拥有更为优秀的跟踪能力或更良好的非财务业绩。内部审计人员可以发挥与非财务指标的管理上可能是最有用的咨询了至关重要的作用。企业风险是最有可能会增加，如果这些谁导致企业无法看到更大的图片。仅仅依靠财务指标时可通过云遮蔽的情况下，可能需要立即采取行动的大局观。现实情况是，如现金流量、销售、财务指标或收入基本上是历史和性质，因此代表落后的性能指标。非经济因素有可以作为表现领先信号的指标的趋势。我们的调查受访者认定为非金融机构成功的关键是对他们的公司客户的满意度、业务素质、创新和员工的承诺。内部审计人员与管理部门可以发挥哪些非财务指标可能是最有用的咨询了至关重要的作用。一旦这些指标的实施，内部审计人员可以决定是否使用这些指标管理，有效地实现业务目标。什么是公司生产或提供一直是重要的管理问题。然而，目前的商业环境是严格审查，使他们的企业如何进行业务和领导者如何进行自