如何看待金融危機及其暴露出來的醜聞

There has been plenty of blame to go around for the financial crisis and the scandals it exposed.

人們對金融危機及其暴露出來的醜聞多有指責。

Most of this has bespattered the bankers, but some have also adhered to their perceived accomplices, including the auditors who signed off on accounts that were quickly exposed as fraudulent.

其中大部分是針對銀行家的指責，但也有一些指向了人們眼中銀行家的同夥，包括在那些後來很快被曝存在欺詐的賬目上簽字的審計師。

Last week, a Florida jury started hearing evidence in the latest of these cases: a lawsuit brought by the trustee of a failed US mortgage lender, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, against PwC.

最近，美國佛羅里達州的一個陪審團開始聽取一個最新案件的證據：倒閉的抵押貸款機構Taylor, Bean & Whitaker(TBW)的託管人起訴普華永道(PwC)。

The plaintiff is seeking $5.5bn in damages from the global accounting firm for failing to detect a massive fraud perpetrated by TBW’s own executives in cahoots with another lender, Colonial Bank, which collapsed in 2009.

原告以這家全球會計師事務所未能發現TBW的高管與另一家貸款機構、2009年倒閉的Colonial Bank合謀犯下一起大規模欺詐爲由，要求被告賠償損失55億美元。

While the case is complex, it raises familiar questions for the accounting profession — ones that stretch back at least as far as the Enron fraud 15 years ago.

儘管案情很複雜，但此案對會計師職業提出了熟悉的問題——這些問題至少可以追溯到15年前的安然(Enron，見上圖)欺詐案。

What duties should auditors have placed on them for rooting out bad behaviour? And how can this oligopolistic industry be overhauled to prevent firms slipping into cozy complicity with their clients — the very condition in which blind eyes are most likely to be turned to malpractice and fraud.

審計師應該承擔起什麼樣的職責來剷除不當行爲？應該如何對這個寡頭壟斷行業進行整改，以防止這些會計師事務所滑入與客戶串通一氣的境地——一旦二者串通一氣，審計師就很有可能對不當行爲和欺詐視而不見。

Auditing is not just a business; it is an important public service.

審計不僅是一個行業，也是一種重要的公共服務。

Without confidence in the veracity of companies’ reported numbers, the machinery of capitalism can become gummed up, with serious consequences for society.

如果人們無法相信企業報表數字的真實性，資本主義的運作機制可能陷入危機，這將給社會帶來嚴重後果。

Granted, auditors see their role as akin to watchdogs rather than forensic bloodhounds.

誠然，審計師認爲他們的角色更接近監督者，而非尋找證據的偵探。

But even so, the so-called Big Four have a poor record when it comes to sniffing out bad conduct.

但即使如此，所謂的四大會計師事務所在發現不當行爲方面的記錄也欠佳。

Their misses include the collapse of MF Global and Lehman Brothers, as well as Xerox’s accounting shenanigans, and Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

它們漏掉的包括MF Global和雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)倒閉、施樂(Xerox)的會計欺詐，以及伯納德•馬多夫(Bernard Madoff)的龐氏騙局。

One can question whether the profession has done enough to address these shortcomings.

人們可能會質疑審計師這個職業爲解決這些缺陷做得夠不夠。

True, the rules require auditors to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud.

的確，準則要求審計師對財務報表是否不存在由於錯誤或舞弊導致的重大錯報獲取合理保證。

But attempts to move audit judgments beyond the traditional pass/fail review towards a more nuanced assessment of risk have been halting, both in the US and Europe.

但在美國和歐洲，把審計判斷從傳統的通過/不通過擴展成更細緻的風險評估的嘗試陷入停滯。

In any case, for such reforms to work, auditors must first remember that investors are their true constituency.

在任何情況下，這些改革要起到效果，審計師必須首先記住，投資者纔是他們真正的主顧。

That means they should not get too cosy with bosses who sign contracts.

這意味着他們不應該和與他們籤合同的企業老闆關係過於密切。

Attempts to inculcate more independence among auditors have so far been too timid.

到目前爲止，給審計師灌輸更多獨立思想的嘗試還過於小心翼翼。

While Europe has cautiously embraced mandatory rotation, the US profession has successfully pushed back attempts to force big companies to rotate between auditors over time.

儘管歐洲已經謹慎採取強制輪換制，但美國的審計行業成功阻止了強制大公司輪換審計師的嘗試。

The authorities need to be bolder.

這些當局需要更加大膽。

Auditors and bosses are most likely to become too chummy if incumbents feel they can retain mandates without any realistic likelihood of replacement.

如果現任審計師認爲他們還能繼續留任，不存在任何輪換的實際可能，他們和企業老闆就很有可能變得過於親密。

In any case, reform should go beyond rotation.

在任何情況下，改革都不應止步於輪換。

The Big Four make more money from non-audit businesses like consulting.

四大會計師事務所從諮詢等非審計業務中賺的錢更多。

They have a stake therefore in not upsetting companies to whom they want to sell other services.

因此，它們有商業利益不去惹惱它們還想推銷其他服務的企業。

There are some limits on cross-selling but these too should be tightened.

現在對於交叉銷售有一些限制，但這些限制也應該收緊。

More broadly, the auditing business needs more competition.

更廣泛地說，審計業需要更多的競爭。

Four big firms are too few, not least because their very scarcity makes the application of strict regulation more difficult.

只有四大所還是太少，尤其是這種情況還使推行嚴格的監管變得更困難。

Encouraging new entrants should be a priority.

應優先鼓勵新事務所進入這個行業。

Yet market rules requiring qualified auditors to control audit firms makes it very hard to find third-party funding for new ventures.

然而市場規則要求符合資格的審計師控制會計師事務所，因此很難爲新所找到第三方資金。

Opening up the ownership of auditing firms, or even breaking up the Big Four, may yet be the only way to shake up the industry and create the competition that it still clearly requires.

開放會計師事務所的所有權，甚至拆分四大，或許是動搖這個行業，產生其顯然亟需的競爭的唯一方式。