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在美国佐治亚州的亚特兰大市，人们会定期去做礼拜。威廉•麦克唐纳(William
McDonough)认为，遭受丑闻玷污的会计行业可以向这些虔诚的教堂朝拜者身上学到许多东西。 |
William McDonough believes the
scandal-tainted accounting profession can learn a lot from the regular
church-goers of Atlanta, Georgia. |
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麦克唐纳是美国上市公司会计监管委员会主席，该机构是全球最强大的会计监管机构。麦克唐纳表示，美国的一系列企业破产事件摧毁了公众对会计行业的信任，若要恢复公众信任，最迅捷的方法便是：会计从业人员确保自身行为符合道德准则。
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The chairman of the US Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board, the world's most powerful accounting
regulator, argues that the quickest way for the profession to restore public
trust shattered by US business failures would be for accountants to ensure their
actions are consistent with moral principles. |
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天主教徒麦克唐纳说，在最近于亚特兰大召开的会计师会议上，他这一立场受到会计师们的欢迎。他对会计师们说：“当你们周末选择去教堂或犹太教会堂时，应对上周的行为稍作自省，然后扪心自问：‘上周我的所作所为是否都符合道德准则？’虽然可能还有其它办法，但我相信，如果大家都那么做，公众对会计从业行业的信心将恢复得更快。”
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Mr McDonough, a Catholic, says his
stance went down well at a recent meeting with accountants in Atlanta,swhereshe
told them: "On the weekend, when you went to the church or synagogue of your
choice, you would have a bit of examination of your last week's performance, and
say: 'Has everything I have done in the last week been consistent with moral
principles?' I think if we all did that the confidence in the accounting
profession would come back sooner than anything else I think we could do."
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他承认有些人可能会嘲笑他的说法，因为这种做法的基础是，会计师们应自我约束，而不是由监管机构对他们提出强行规定。
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He admits some people may scoff at
his statement, given that it is rooted in accountants getting their act
together, rather than regulators bringing them to heel. |
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但麦克唐纳先生的道德立场与其保证是一致的。他保证说，上市公司会计监管委员会将是“严厉但富于同情心的监督机构”。
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But Mr McDonough's moral stance
chimes with his pledge that the PCAOB will be "stern but sympathetic
supervisors". |
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这也许是一项高风险的策略，因为这意味着，上市公司会计监管委员会并不准备真的向会计从业人员发难。自爆出安然(Enron)和世界通信(WorldCom)丑闻后，立法机构就创建了该委员会，以防止出现更多的会计违规事件，因此，人们本来可能预期麦克唐纳先生会立即对会计界进行彻底整顿。
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It is, perhaps, a high-risk
strategy, because it suggests that the PCAOB is not about to give the profession
a really hard time. Given the PCAOB was created by lawmakers following the Enron
and WorldCom scandals, with a mandate to guard against further accounting
abuses, Mr McDonough might have been expected to immediately turn the
profession's world upside down. |
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但麦克唐纳先生只是多次发出呼吁，要求会计师们改善行为，外加一些严厉警告，说他将对所有不当行为予以惩罚。
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Instead, he has issued a series of
appeals for better behaviour by accountants, coupled with some stern warnings
that he will punish any wrongdoing. |
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目前，麦克唐纳先生采取的是胡萝卜策略，而非大棒策略。他并不想取消目前的多领域业务模式，该模式是由四大会计师事务所和安达信(Andersen)共同开发的，其中安达信已因安然丑闻而解体。
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His approach currently involves far
more carrots than sticks. Mr McDonough shows no appetite for the dismantling of
the multidisciplinary business model developed by the big four accounting firms
and Andersen, which was destroyed by the Enron scandal. |
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上世纪80和90年代期间，这些会计师事务所通过开设管理咨询业务，并在复杂的税务计划和并购领域开发专长，从而获得了两位数的收入增长率。
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During the 1980s and 1990s, the
firms enjoyed double-digit income growth by building up management consulting
operations, developing expertise in sophisticated tax planning and mergers and
acquisitions. |
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多领域模式的反对者表示，这种模式严重分散了会计师们的注意力，使他们无法专注于核心的审计工作。他们声称，该模式将会计师改造为咄咄逼人的商人，而忽视了与审计相关的公共服务价值。
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Opponents of the multidisciplinary
model say it badly distracted accountants from auditing - their core work. They
claim accountants were transformedsintosaggressive business people who lost
sight of the public service values associated with audit. |
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多领域模式的批评者不只限于学者、记者和政治家。 |
Critics of the multidisciplinary
model are not confined to academics, journalists and politicians. |
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美国联邦储备银行前董事长保罗•沃尔克(Paul
Volcker)一度试图将安达信转变为一家只提供审计服务的事务所，希望藉此挽救它的命运。 |
Paul Volcker, former chairman of the
US Federal Reserve Bank, tried briefly to save Andersen by turning itsintosan
audit-only firm. |
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安永(Ernst &
Young)、毕马威(KPMG)和普华永道(PwC)出于对利益冲突的担心，已将其咨询业务部门全部出售，但包括德勤(Deloitte)在内的四大事务所都希望保留税务和企业融资业务。
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Concerns about conflicts of interest
prompted Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC to sell off their consulting operations
but all four big firms - the other is Deloitte - want to maintain their tax and
corporate finance practices. |
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麦克唐纳先生说，他可以接受这种做法，只要会计师们遵循道德准则。
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Mr McDonough says he is comfortable
with that, so long as the accountants are guided by moral principles.
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他表示，鉴于四大事务所的反对，很难让会计师事务所只提供审计服务。他还说，应允许会计师经商。
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He suggests it would be difficult to
achieve audit-only firms, given the big four firms are opposed to them, and says
that accountants should be allowed to run businesses. |
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他还向四大事务所发出信号，暗示自己不打算过早压制它们，让他们继续有能力为审计客户提供赢利丰厚的税务服务，这会进一步赢得四大事务所的好感。
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He will further please the big four
by signalling that he plans no early crackdown on their ability to do lucrative
tax work for audit clients. |
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麦克唐纳先生先向四大事务所提出建议，劝告它们不要进一步向企业推销激进的避税产品，然后再淡化一种可能性，即上市公司会计监管委员会将很快制订规则，禁止事务所为审计客户提供税务服务。
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After advising them against further
marketing of aggressive tax shelter products to companies, Mr McDonough plays
down the prospect of the PCAOB quickly drawing up rules to prohibit tax work for
audit clients. |
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“我认为，这不是委员会的优先考虑事项，”他说。 |
"I do not believe it is a high
priority for the board," he says. |
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麦克唐纳先生曾任纽约联邦储备银行行长，他自称是个现实主义者。
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Mr McDonough, a former president of
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is a self-confessed realist.
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对他来说，实用主义意味着关注可实现的目标。而且，尽管他支持美国会计准则与国际会计准则统一这个长期目标，但他不相信两者能完全统一。
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His pragmatism means he is focused
on attainable goals and he doubts the likelihood of full convergence between US
and international accounting rules, even though he supports the long-standing
goal. |
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他表示，两者统一“也许会造成一种‘求全则毁’的局面”，同时指出，一些欧盟成员国强烈反对制定有关衍生工具的国际规则。
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Noting strong opposition in some
European Union member states to international rules on derivatives, he says
convergence "may be one of those casesswheresthe perfect is the enemy of the
good". |
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然而，他批评美国会计制度以规则为本的风格，并表示，一些心术不正的人因此得以违反会计法精神（如果不是会计法条文的话）。他希望美国会计制度更多地以原则为本，并且暗示说，他支持美国财务会计准则委员会提出的一些有争议的计划。该委员会计划拟订规则，将股票期权作为费用处理。
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Nevertheless, he criticises the
rules-based style of US accounting and says it enabled devious minds to breach
the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. He hopes US accounting will become
more principles-based and hints that he supports controversial plans by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board, which writes the rules, for stock options
to be treated as expenses. |
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麦克唐纳先生将大部分精力用来监督上市公司的审计师，这是美国上市公司会计监管委员会的核心职责。该委员会将动用1.03亿美元的预算来完成这项任务。
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Most of Mr McDonough's energies are
directed at the PCAOB's core responsibility to oversee auditors of public
companies, which it goes about doing with a m budget. |
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这项任务已导致该委员会与欧盟发生激烈争执，因为无论是美国国外还是国内的审计师，只要他们审计的公司有股票在美国上市，那他们就要接受该委员会的监督。
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The task has provoked a bitter
dispute with the EU because the PCAOB is charged with monitoring foreign as well
as domestic auditors if they work on companies with US share listings.
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欧洲审计师反对该监管委员会对其事务的跨境干预。他们还担心，一旦他们的工作被认为不能接受，他们会有被告上美国法庭的危险。
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European auditors object to the
PCAOB's cross-border intrusionsintostheir affairs and fear they risk getting
dragged before the US courts if their work is deemed unacceptable.
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上世纪60年代，麦克唐纳先生曾任过外交官。在与欧盟委员会的谈判中，他运用了自己的全部魅力安抚对方。作为欧盟国家审计师的代表，欧盟委员会主持了与美国上市公司会计监管委员会的谈判。
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Mr McDonough, who was a diplomat
during the 1960s, has used all his charm to placate the European Commission,
which led negotiations on behalf of EU auditors. |
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10月份，美国上市公司会计监管委员会与欧盟委员会通过研究，达成一项可能的折衷方案。看起来该谈判的成功主要归功于麦克唐纳先生。例如，美国要求欧洲审计师在上市公司会计监管委员会注册，而欧洲审计师未能获得这项规定的豁免。
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A possible compromise between the
PCAOB and the commission, which was thrashed out in October, appears to hand
most of the success to Mr McDonough. For example, European auditors have failed
to obtain an exemption from the requirement to register with the PCAOB.
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欧洲审计师对有股票在美国上市的公司进行的审计工作，可以由欧洲本地监管机构来审查，而不是由美国上市公司会计监管委员会审查，前提是欧洲监管机构的审查足够有力。美国上市公司会计监管委员会在谈判中做出了以上让步，但这也部分反映出它资源有限，因而无法在全球实施审查。
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The work of European auditors on
companies with US share listings could be scrutinised by their home regulators,
rather than the PCAOB, so long as the monitoring is deemed robust enough. But
the concession is partly a reflection of the PCAOB's inability to do inspections
across the world because of finite resources. |
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同时，麦克唐纳先生将获取美国上市公司会计监管委员会对国内审计师的初审结果。四大会计师事务所均已主动要求，它们在美国的业务今年先接受该委员会的有限审查，然后从明年5月起接受全面审查。
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Meanwhile, Mr McDonough is getting
the results of the first inspections of domestic auditors. The big four firms
volunteered to have their US businesses subjected to limited inspections by
PCAOB staff this year, ahead of full inspections that start next May.
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麦克唐纳先生表示，审查的初步反馈表明，那些事务所最高层的有关高质量审计的重要性的言论，正逐级下达到事务所中下层人员那里。
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Mr McDonough says initial feedback
from the inspections suggests the tone at the top of the firms, about the
importance of quality audit, is filtering down to middle and junior ranks.
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他支持立法机构的安排，即只要会计师事务所在接受审查后一年内采取补救行动，那它们就可以不公开披露被查出的缺陷。他表示，这种安排提供了强大的动力，能确保会计师事务所行为端正。
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He defends arrangements, established
by the law- makers, that enable accounting firms to escape public exposure of
their shortcomings so long as remedial action is taken within one year of
inspections, and says it provides a powerful incentive to ensure good behaviour.
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如今，美国上市公司会计监管委员会的工作已赢得赞许，但麦克唐纳先生知道，倘若再发生一连串丑闻，该委员会可能不得不抛弃对会计从业人员的同情，转而对违规行为进行全面打击。
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Today, the PCAOB gets plaudits for
its work but Mr McDonough knows that another set of scandals could force it to
ditch its sympathetic stance with the profession and embark on a full crackdown.
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届时，所有公众，包括亚特兰大的礼拜者，也许会责怪美国上市公司会计监管委员会行动太迟。“会不会有人说，如果你们当时手段强硬一些，那么这一切根本就不会发生？”他说，“这样说的人或许对，或许不对，但无论如何，他们都会毫不留情。”
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The public, including the
church-goers of Atlanta, might then accuse the PCAOB of acting too late. "Would
there be people who will say if you were a lot tougher than you were these would
not have happened?" he says. "They may or may not be right by the way but people
will be unkind." |
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译者/曹湘颖 |
