独立审计责任研究

【作者】 龚民；

【导师】 蔡春；

【作者基本信息】 西南财经大学 ， 会计学， 2002， 硕士

【摘要】 一、研究背景及研究动机1980年，中国为适应改革开放的需要，恢复了注册会计师制度。20多年来，中国独立审计师为中国的改革开放和经济建设发挥了重要作用。在我国独立审计制度恢复后的最初十年，中国独立审计师和他们所从事的独立审计一直不为公众所知，独立审计责任也就无从谈起。20世纪90年代初的“北京长城”、“深圳原野”和“海南中水”三大案件终于打破了中国独立审计师的“平静乐园”。2001年对中国审计界来说无疑是一个多事之秋，“湖北立华”、“深圳华鹏”、 “中天勤”、“补充审计”一个个先后走入公众视野，使中国审计师遭遇了前所未有的信任危机。对于这种危机的根源，审计界往往更多地将其归结于外部社会，而社会公众却认为审计责任制度才是危机的根源所在。银广夏案发后，一开始政府管理者积极鼓励中小投资者向企业管理当局和涉案审计师提起民事赔偿诉讼，各地媒体和社会公众也群情激愤，各地受损股民也相继在上海、北京和成都等地提起民事赔偿请求。正当各方翘首期盼中国第一例证券民事赔偿诉讼的处理结果时，最高人民法院的一纸“三类证券案暂不受理”通知将所有激情和期待化为乌有，理由是"受理的时机还不成熟"。另外，对于审计师目前承担的责任是否偏轻，加大审计责任是否能根治“会计造假”等焦点问题审计师与社会公众之间的却有着很大的分歧。因此笔者在本文中拟对审计责任问题进行较为系统的理论考察，对“审计报告的真实与合法” 、“审计准则的权威性”等几个目前争议较大的问题进行分析，以期对建立一个合理有效的审计责任制度有所裨益。二、研究思路本文的研究思路为：首先回顾中国独立审计的历史并分析现存审计信任危机及各方对此信任危机的不同看法；其次，建立以环境为逻辑起点的审计理论结构，并将审计责任作为一个理论要素纳入该结构中做理论考察，以厘清审计责任与其它审计理论要素之间的关系；然<WP=3>后分析几种典型的审计本质观，并在审计合约论的基础上对审计责任、职业责任和法律责任的内涵作出界定；最后对目前争议较大的有关审计责任的几个问题进行分析后提出自己对这些问题的看法。三、主要内容及观点：在前言中，笔者首先回顾了独立审计在国内外的发展历史和现状，提到了中国审计师正面临的前所未有的信任危机及各方对此危机的不同反应；然后，概述本文的研究思路并提出后文将要讨论和解决的几个问题。 第一章首先将审计理论结构定义为审计理论的框架体系，包括各个主干审计理论要素和它们之间的逻辑联系。各个理论要素之间应有严密的逻辑联系并可按渐次递进的层次进行有效的组合，从而形成浑然一体的理论架构。这个理论体系以其逻辑起点为最上位的理论概念（此理论概念也被称为理论结构的建基点），从该建基点出发可以逻辑地演绎出其它更下位的概念，这种渐次递进的演绎过程最终将导出审计实践，以对其形成强有力的理论支撑和指导；其次笔者以审计环境为逻辑起点，构建了一个包含审计环境、审计目标、审计假设、审计本质、审计程序、审计准则和审计责任在内的审计理论结构；最后讨论了审计责任与审计环境、审计目标、审计假设、审计本质、审计程序、审计准则之间的关系。并认为：审计环境是审计理论结构的逻辑起点，只有社会环境具备了一定的条件，社会（即环境）才会产生对"审计"的渴求，并进而激发社会成员审计供给的冲动，所以审计环境是审计责任制度安排的基础；审计目标实际上是购买方对审计供给者的产品（审计）提出的功能要求，履行审计责任的终极目的是实现审计目标；审计假设是审计供给者在既定目标框架下对审计环境的逻辑分析和高度概括，是对审计环境的主观认识，审计假设是设计审计责任制度的前提条件；审计本质（定义）是对供给者在既定环境及其假设条件下为了完成社会提出的任务（目标）而提供的产品的描述，审计责任可以描述为：为使审计产品达到审计定义所规定的质量标准而应尽的努力和义务；在既定的合约条件下，要提供有效的审计服务，审计职业界必须发展和运用恰当的审计程序和方法，审计程序是履行<WP=4>审计责任的手段；审计规范（主要是审计准则）是审计理论结构中的最后一个理论要素，它是对各理论要素的系统总结，也是审计职业界与外部利害集团（Stakeholder）之间的一份书面合同，它是审计责任的成文形式，它对审计实践提供具体和直接的指导，是理论结构和实践的界面，是界定审计责任的直接依据。第二章首先讨论了信息论、代理论和保险论下审计责任的应有之意，然后从便于理解审计责任的角度将独立审计定义为审计市场中审计师向社会公众提供的一项产品或服务，审计规范是审计市场中审计师和社会公众之间关于审计产品交易的合约，并将审计责任定义为审计师与社会公众所签审计合约中有关审计师义务的所有规定的总称；其次，在审计合约论的基础上将审计职业责任定义为：审计师及其所在执业组织（会计师事务所）在执行审计业务的过程中，为了合理确信已审会计报表和财务信息的合法性、公允性和一贯性，应按照职业规范履行的职责和义务。并将审计法律责任定义为：审计师及其所在执业机构（如会计?更多还原

【Abstract】 1.Motives and Background of ResearchTo meet the demand of reform and open of Chinese economic system, Chinese CPA system was restored in 1980. Chinese CPAs have played a very important role in Chinese market-oriented economic construction for more than twenty years since then. During the first ten years after the restoration, the public had little knowledge about CPAs and their independent auditing, so there was no litigation case related to CPAs and independent auditing responsibility.For Chinese independent auditing field, there is no doubt that 2001 is an important year, in which "HuBeiLiHua", "Shenzhenyuanye", "zhongtianqing" and "supplementary audit" came into view of the public. These events brought out unprecedented trust crisis facing Chinese Certificated Public Accountants. For the trust crisis, CPAs are liable to attribute it to outer environment, while the public tends to attribute it to the current inappropriate auditing responsibility system. Between CPAs and the public does there exist big gap concerning whether current auditing responsibility is too heavy or not. So the paper attempts to thoroughly make a theoretical review to independent auditing responsibility and analyzes several controversial topics such as truth and legality of audit reports and authority of independent auditing standards so as to contribute to establishing a reasonable and effective independent auditing responsibility system.2.Framework and Main PointsThe paper consists of a preface and four chapters. In the paper, the author firstly recollects history of Chinese independent auditing and analyzes the current trust crisis facing CPAs; then establishes an auditing theoretical structure which is based on auditing environment, makes a<WP=7>theoretical review for auditing responsibility in the auditing theoretical structure and defines relationships between auditing responsibility and other auditing theoretical elements; next discusses several typical standpoints about auditing nature and defines auditing responsibility, auditing professional obligation and auditing legal liability under auditing contract theory; at last analyzes several controversial questions related to auditing responsibility and put forward my own idea about them.3.Main ContentThe preface recollects the history and status quo of independent auditing in China and other countries, mentions the unprecedented trust crisis facing CPAs and different responses to the crisis from in and out of the profession. Then the author lists a few questions that will be discussed and solved in the following parts of the paper.The first chapter deals with auditing responsibility in the auditing theoretical structure that is based on auditing environment. Firstly an auditing theoretical structure is defines as a framework of auditing theory, which includes main theory elements and their logical connections among the theory elements. Then the author creates an auditing theoretical structure that is based on auditing environment and consists of auditing environment, auditing objective, auditing assumption, auditing nature, auditing procedure, auditing standard and auditing responsibility. In the end the chapter probes the inner connections between auditing responsibility and auditing environment, auditing objective, auditing assumption, auditing nature, auditing procedure and auditing standard.The second chapter focuses on several concepts related to auditing responsibility, including independent auditing, auditing responsibility, auditing professional obligation and auditing legal liability. First the chapter discusses meanings of auditing responsibility under information theory, trustee theory and insurance theory and defines independent auditing as a series of contracts between CPAs and the public with a view<WP=8>to getting a good understanding of auditing responsibility; Then defines auditing responsibility, auditing professional obligation and auditing legal liability under auditing contract theory; at last discusses relationships between auditin更多还原