關(guān)于網(wǎng)絡(luò)會計(jì)的研究外文文獻(xiàn)及翻譯

1、華 北 科 技 學(xué) 院 2014 屆本科畢業(yè)外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯及原文 文獻(xiàn)題目: economic consequences of internet financial reporting 文獻(xiàn)作者：alfred wagenhofer 文獻(xiàn)翻譯：第 1 頁至第 4 頁 外文文獻(xiàn):第 5 頁至第 10 頁 學(xué)生姓名： 付琳 學(xué) 號： 201004044104 院（部） ： 管理學(xué)院 專 業(yè)： 會計(jì)學(xué) 班 級： b10-1 指導(dǎo)教師： 周江生 2014年6月8日文獻(xiàn)翻譯網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的經(jīng)濟(jì)后果阿爾費(fèi)雷德過去的15年里，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)有了巨大的發(fā)展，越來越多的人接受了它?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)的主要特征是可以隨時(shí)隨地訪問想要的信息

2、，而且通常可以以較低的成本獲得最新的信息，并且用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)搜索信息很少會限制數(shù)據(jù)的有效性?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上的信息包括動態(tài)演示和多媒體，這有利于互動信息的需求和供給的全面提高。這些事態(tài)的發(fā)展對信息的傳播和對貨物貿(mào)易，包括對股票以及一些經(jīng)濟(jì)活動的組織結(jié)構(gòu)都有一定的影響。他們還制造新的震驚的機(jī)會影響財(cái)務(wù)信息的披露狀況和所有有關(guān)各方，特別是企業(yè)、投資者、審計(jì)師和信息中介。多項(xiàng)研究顯示，大多數(shù)上市公司在他們的網(wǎng)站上進(jìn)行財(cái)務(wù)信息的披露，并且披露水平相較于幾年前有所提高?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)可能成為為用戶搜索企業(yè)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的主要來源。公司投入大量資源來發(fā)展其公司的網(wǎng)站，從而以創(chuàng)新的方式來呈現(xiàn)其財(cái)務(wù)信息。雖然人們對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)披露的信息的接受

3、程度增加了，但其實(shí)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的大部分信息的來源與從其他來源獲得的信息大致是相同的，其實(shí)我們有很多機(jī)會來改變這種做法。實(shí)證研究表明，傳統(tǒng)的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的價(jià)值在下降。（列夫，塞若文，1999年）通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)提供的機(jī)會來減少產(chǎn)生和傳播技術(shù)的信息，從而改變傳統(tǒng)的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告模式的界限。例如，艾略特認(rèn)為，“信息技術(shù)（it）正在改變一切。艾略特（1999）和特里茨（2004）看到帕喬利范式到谷歌范式的轉(zhuǎn)變。隨著可擴(kuò)展商業(yè)報(bào)告（xbrl）作為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化的數(shù)據(jù)描述格式財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的出現(xiàn)，有許多研究表明xbrl是有利于所有財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告編制者和使用者的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告。新信息技術(shù)對財(cái)務(wù)信息披露的影響已成為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)制定者和財(cái)務(wù)人員關(guān)注的問題。（財(cái)務(wù)會

4、計(jì)準(zhǔn)則委員會2000年，萊蒙，1999年；特里茨，1999年；英格蘭及威爾士特許會計(jì)師協(xié)會1998年）這些研究不僅是對未來信息披露發(fā)展?jié)摿Φ奶接?，而且對目前的?cái)務(wù)報(bào)告模式的變化有著巨大的影響。例如，他們的預(yù)測包括：“21世紀(jì)的年度報(bào)告不是一年一次，也不單單是一份報(bào)告，它將是一個最新的，內(nèi)容豐富的，長期的對話?！比欢m然對這種新技術(shù)進(jìn)行了大肆宣傳，但它的未來發(fā)展方向仍然是模糊的。雖然對新的發(fā)展機(jī)遇有遠(yuǎn)見的思想，但沒有人想對財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的發(fā)展提供一個重要的推動力。同樣清楚的是，技術(shù)本身并不會驅(qū)動財(cái)務(wù)信息的需求和供給。它是財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告編制者和使用者提供信息、使用信息定義類型和財(cái)務(wù)信息數(shù)量的生產(chǎn)和消化過程。互

5、聯(lián)網(wǎng)是獨(dú)立于硬件的，不過，利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)處理數(shù)據(jù)類型是需要一個通用的格式，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化信息是需要充分利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的。最簡單的觸手可及的信息能誘導(dǎo)客戶去要求得到更多的信息，包括假設(shè)、替代會計(jì)方法的影響、信息的多維屬性和各種非財(cái)務(wù)信息。關(guān)于無形資產(chǎn)和價(jià)值驅(qū)動的信息很自然的成為了客戶選擇的候選者，這給信息提出了一個問題：有多少附加信息公司正在準(zhǔn)備披露。除了審計(jì)或?qū)徍诉@些資料的直接費(fèi)用，企業(yè)還可能受到競爭對手和其他使用該資料當(dāng)事人的傷害。此外，額外的信息披露也會引起法律方面的問題。在訴訟環(huán)境下的法律費(fèi)用可能是很大的。如果公司想要利用新技術(shù)和創(chuàng)新信息披露行為，一種方法是延長互聯(lián)網(wǎng)信息披露的安全港規(guī)則，許多公司不愿透

6、露太多事都是基于這些負(fù)面影響。把公司的財(cái)務(wù)信息放在網(wǎng)站上，用戶可以搜索、篩選、檢索、下載，甚至可以及時(shí)的用較低的成本來重新配置這些信息。網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告不局限于靜態(tài)的文字和圖形，它允許超鏈接、搜索引擎、多媒體和交互性。例如，用戶可能被允許自定義財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的內(nèi)容或定義用戶特定的事件，從而滿足他們的要求。網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告將是一個互動型的對話報(bào)告，它使用戶可以以他們之前收到的信息為基礎(chǔ)明確提出報(bào)告的信息需求。用戶也可以自己進(jìn)行靈敏性分析，并插入自己的假設(shè)來衡量資產(chǎn)和負(fù)責(zé)。企業(yè)可以跟蹤了解用戶的需求來提供資料或者了解特定用戶的需求，用戶也可以用匿名的方式或者在某些存取識別中填寫自己的資料。訪問統(tǒng)計(jì)是衡量信息重要

7、性的市場驅(qū)動的直接措施，具體的來說可以解釋為：可以通過用戶顯示的行為來引導(dǎo)企業(yè)和標(biāo)準(zhǔn)制定者對信息需求作出反應(yīng)，企業(yè)在分析財(cái)務(wù)數(shù)據(jù)時(shí)可以使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上應(yīng)用程序編制者提供的軟件，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)也可以提高企業(yè)內(nèi)部財(cái)務(wù)資料的可用性。互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是一個適用于高頻率報(bào)告的平臺，企業(yè)的信息在得到通知后應(yīng)立即發(fā)布，如果交付給用戶的時(shí)間太晚，則該信息也就失去了它的價(jià)值。一個高頻率報(bào)告的結(jié)果可能是：用戶對季度盈利的關(guān)注度可能會消失，并且需要用公司的激勵機(jī)制來管理他們。不過，這就如新的市場價(jià)格估計(jì)和判斷需要一個實(shí)時(shí)的基礎(chǔ)才能進(jìn)入一樣它需要在大多數(shù)會計(jì)制度發(fā)生重大改變的時(shí)候才會發(fā)生?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)為訪問企業(yè)財(cái)務(wù)信息提供了便利，公司利用這種技

8、術(shù)可以比通過其他通訊手段接觸更多的潛在用戶?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上財(cái)務(wù)信息的披露為所有用戶和那些降低信息質(zhì)量的機(jī)構(gòu)投資者和其他人員提供了平等的機(jī)會，這也相應(yīng)減少了企業(yè)的資金成本。提高互聯(lián)網(wǎng)信息披露的速度，披露和歸檔的最后期限會變得更緊，在公司的全權(quán)控制下信息可以在某一時(shí)間公布。速度對于在會計(jì)年度股票價(jià)格信息的連續(xù)報(bào)告要求是相當(dāng)重要的，財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的管理功能是欲速則不達(dá)，因?yàn)樨?cái)務(wù)報(bào)表通常是由其他盈利預(yù)測等披露領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的，同時(shí)用戶也要警惕放在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的新的信息，如給用戶發(fā)送的電子郵件等。盡管許多人認(rèn)為使用電算化給各個業(yè)務(wù)流程提供了更多的彈性，但是帶來好處的同時(shí)也往往出現(xiàn)了它的對立面。軟件是用來捕捉軟件開發(fā)者的預(yù)期標(biāo)準(zhǔn)流

9、程的，通常，從這些流程中離開是困難的，甚至是不可能的。計(jì)算機(jī)的信息過程需要機(jī)器可讀的數(shù)據(jù)格式，這些格式難以插入新的項(xiàng)目或者離開給開發(fā)商承擔(dān)所需信息的公開項(xiàng)目。而對于在公司內(nèi)部的使用，數(shù)據(jù)庫系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)被引入了結(jié)構(gòu)不同的格式，這使得公司能夠使用共同的數(shù)據(jù)庫。但是由于財(cái)務(wù)信息披露時(shí)由許多不同的用戶使用，而且財(cái)務(wù)信息的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化具有很高的外部效益，所以要創(chuàng)造一種具有共識的流程以及公司的數(shù)據(jù)傳輸方式是更加困難的。事實(shí)上，從1999年開始，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化的財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告在世界范圍內(nèi)開始推廣?？蓴U(kuò)展商業(yè)報(bào)告語言（xbrl）是一種基于xml的標(biāo)記語言，用于商業(yè)和財(cái)務(wù)信息的定義和交換，超文本標(biāo)記語言（html）是其中的一個子集。x

10、brl是一個以市場為導(dǎo)向，會計(jì)機(jī)構(gòu)、私營個體企業(yè)和其他有關(guān)各方提供企業(yè)決策者經(jīng)營管理信息的商業(yè)語言報(bào)告（徳布雷塞尼，格雷，2001）。網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告披露的信息質(zhì)量是一個重要的問題，在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上不理性的用戶提供的相關(guān)或無關(guān)的財(cái)務(wù)信息對其他用戶會帶來不利的影響。財(cái)務(wù)信息與其他信息相比具有更高的可信度，因?yàn)樗乔对诠镜闹卫頇C(jī)制中，并需要審計(jì)和法律的監(jiān)督。互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的一個主要優(yōu)勢就是它的靈活性，但是它同時(shí)也存在信息的可信度和真實(shí)性的劣勢。因?yàn)榛ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上的數(shù)據(jù)可以很容易被改變，并且往往不留下一點(diǎn)痕跡，尤其是如果該網(wǎng)站與動態(tài)的基礎(chǔ)數(shù)據(jù)庫相連接，那么這種數(shù)據(jù)被改變的可能性就越大。新的信息不僅可以添加信息，而且同時(shí)還

11、可以取代原始信息。利用xbrl，公司才有可能成為創(chuàng)造性的激勵標(biāo)簽：例如，由于投資者會嘗試提取用軟件提供的數(shù)據(jù)，但是并沒有對所有的信息進(jìn)行雙重檢查，公司可能不會去標(biāo)記它希望隱藏的一些信息，而是用特定的標(biāo)簽或者定義個人標(biāo)簽。為了保證信息披露的質(zhì)量，審計(jì)人員必須認(rèn)真檢查標(biāo)簽任務(wù)的執(zhí)行情況。另一個影響信息質(zhì)量的因素是網(wǎng)站的安全性。因?yàn)楹茈y控制進(jìn)入網(wǎng)站或基本數(shù)據(jù)庫的人員，惡意入侵者和黑客會找出公司的安全漏洞，改變數(shù)據(jù)資料。這些問題表明財(cái)務(wù)信息的披露通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)獲得的信息來源相對于通過其他公司獲取的信息可信度要差一些。誠信不僅僅是公司和用戶所關(guān)心的問題，同時(shí)也是審計(jì)員和監(jiān)管機(jī)關(guān)所關(guān)心的問題。解決上述問題的一

12、個方法就是限制那些通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)提供影響因素的機(jī)會。例如，審計(jì)人員可以不允許鏈接到審計(jì)報(bào)告，或者在審計(jì)過程中要進(jìn)行自我審查或到官方認(rèn)證的網(wǎng)站進(jìn)行信息的審計(jì)。其實(shí)最普遍的做法就是提供一個只讀傳真版本（例如adobe公司的pdf格式）的年度財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告。這種格式被認(rèn)為保證了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶的界線和信息的質(zhì)量。日益廣泛的使用網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告增加了標(biāo)注化信息的需求，xbrl是最顯著的產(chǎn)品。雖然xbrl的開發(fā)商認(rèn)為，對于現(xiàn)有的披露標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和做法這些模型只有一個源語言，事實(shí)上，xbrl很可能在財(cái)務(wù)信息的披露中被廣泛的應(yīng)用。因此，信息披露的內(nèi)容和形式是不能分開的。網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上建立信息質(zhì)量的關(guān)注點(diǎn),對于那些應(yīng)用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)技術(shù)

13、具有很高靈活性的企業(yè)產(chǎn)生的信息披露很容易被濫用，并且很可能因此制造出更多不同的審計(jì)服務(wù)和監(jiān)管要求，從而我們不得不考慮其另一個成本因素。因此，對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和xbrl的壓倒性優(yōu)勢簡單的概括為：它不是建立深刻的經(jīng)濟(jì)理論上，而是需要更充分的考慮成本和財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的好處。網(wǎng)絡(luò)對每一種信息流都有影響，這種影響是雙重的：首先，網(wǎng)絡(luò)改變了信息收集的方式，信息的處理成本和信息的傳播方式。其次，它增加了對標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化信息的需求。信息成本的變化影響各種生產(chǎn)工藝和工具的交易成本和效益，現(xiàn)有的工藝會變得更加便宜，新的工藝成本可能低于他們的預(yù)期效益?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)獨(dú)立于計(jì)算機(jī)硬件，但盡管如此，需要計(jì)算機(jī)硬件處理的數(shù)據(jù)類型還是一種通用格式。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

14、化的信息需要充分利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)為訪問企業(yè)的財(cái)務(wù)信息提供了便利，與利用其他通訊手段相比，企業(yè)利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)技術(shù)可以接觸更多的潛在用戶。：阿爾費(fèi)雷德，網(wǎng)絡(luò)財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告的經(jīng)濟(jì)后果，舒馬蘭巴赫商業(yè)評論，第55卷（4），2003（10）：262-279.外文文獻(xiàn)economic consequences of internet financial reportingalfred wagenhoferthe last fifteen years or so have seen enormous development of the internet and an increasing acceptance b

15、y its users. major characteristics of the internet are that information can be accessed（almost）anytime and everywhere, and generally at a low cost, the information is up-to-date; there are few limits on data availability; information can include dynamic presentations and multimedia; and there is the

16、 possibility of interactive information demand and supply. these developments have a possibility of interactive information demand and supply. these developments have a significant effect on the dissemination of information and on the trading of goods, including shares, and thus on the organizationa

17、l structures of how these activities are performed. they also open up new and astounding opportunities for financial disclosure that affect all interested parties, notably corporations, investors, auditors, and information intermediaries.various studies show that most listed corporations now disclos

18、e financial information on their websites, and that the level of disclosure has increased over the last years. the internet has probably become the primary source for users searching for corporate financial reports. companies invest substantial resources in the development of their websites, and com

19、e up with innovative ways to present financial information. while the acceptance of internet disclosure has increased, most of the information provided is still substantially the same that is available from other sources, too. there are many opportunities for this practice to change. empirical studi

20、es suggest a decline in the value of traditional financial reports. (lev, zarowin 1999) reducing boundaries for generating and disseminating information by internet technologies may provide theopportunity to change the traditional financial reporting model. for instance, elliott concludes that “info

21、rmation technology (it) is changing everything,” (e.g. elliot 1999) and trites sees a shift from the pacioli paradigm to the google paradigm (trites 2004).with the advent of extensible business reporting language (xbrl) as a standardized data description format for financial reporting, there are man

22、y studies that describe this technology and promote the benefits to all preparers and users of financial reports.the effects of new information technologies on financial disclosure have been an issue for standard setters and accountants. (fasb 2000; lymer et al. 1999; trites 1999; icaew 1998) these

23、studies explore potential future developments not only for disclosure, but also for radical changes of the current financial reporting model. for example, they include forecasts like this:” the annual report of the 21st century will not be annual and it will not be a report: it will be an up to date

24、, informative, permanent dialogue.” however, the ballyhooed future directions remain vague. although visionary thoughts on new opportunities no one has dreamed of before provide an important impetus for financial reporting developments, it is also clear that technology alone does not drive the deman

25、d and supply of financial information. it is the preparers and users whose supply and use of the information defines the type and amount of financial information that is being produced and digested. standard setters and regulators follow up to see if there is a demand for standardization based on ch

26、anging demand and supply. the internet is independent of hardware but, nevertheless, requires a common format of the type of data they process. standardized information is needed to fully exploit the opportunities of the internet.the easy availability of information may induce users to request more

27、and more information, including assumptions, effects of alternative accounting methods, multidimensional properties of information and all sorts of non-financial information. information about intangibles and value drivers are natural candidates. this increased appetite for information raises the qu

28、estion of how much additional information firms are prepared to disclose. besides the direct costs of auditing or reviewing such information, firms may be harmed by adverse actions of competitors and other parties that use this information. moreover, additional disclosure raises legal concerns. in a

29、 litigious environment the legal costs can be substantial. if firms are to be motivated to experiment with new technologies and innovative disclosure practices, one way would be to extend safe-harbor rules for contents to internet disclosures. the reluctance of many firms to disclose too much is bas

30、ed on these negative effects.by placing financial information on the firms website, users can search, filter, retrieve, download, and even reconfigure such information at low cost in a timely fashion. but internet financial reporting is not restricted to static texts and graphs. it allows for hyperl

31、inks, search engines, multimedia, and interactivity. for example, users may be allowed to customize the contents of financial reports to match their demands or to define user-specific trigger events for reports. even more use of interactivity would be a dialogue reporting by which users could specif

32、y information demands based on information they received previously. users might be able to do their own sensitivity analyses and insert their own assumptions to measure assets and liabilities. firms can learn from tracking users information requests or specific user demands, which users can pose ei

33、ther anonymously or by filling in some kind of access identification. access statistics are market-driven direct measures of the importance of information, and if interpreted carefully, can guide firms and also standard-setters to react to the demand revealed by the users behavior. software applicat

34、ions offered by a preparer on the internet could allow firms to learn assumptions investors use in analyzing financial data. the internet may also improve the availability of financial information within firms themselves. the internet is a perquisite for high-frequency reporting, as the information

35、should be provided immediately after the announcement release and will lose value fast if delivered to users too late relative to the length of the period it covers. a consequence of more frequent reporting could be that the users focus on quarterly earnings may vanish, and with it the incentives of

36、 firms to manage them. however, it would require a major change in most accounting systems because events, such as updates of market prices, estimates, and judgments, would need to be entered on a realtime basis as well.the internet offers easy access to firms financial information. firms can use th

37、is technology to reach more potential users than they can by other communication means. placing financial disclosures on the internet offers equal access to all users and reduces the information asymmetry between some institutional investors and others this should also decrease the firms cost of cap

38、ital. speed of disclosure is enhanced by internet disclosure. disclosure and filing deadlines can become tighter. information can be published at a time that is under full control by the firm. to alert users that new information has been put on the internet, there are several push techniques, such a

39、s an email notice distributed to identified users. speed is particularly important for continuous reporting requirements of stock price-relevant information during the financial year. the stewardship function of financial statements is less speed-sensitive, because financial statements are usually l

40、ed by other disclosures, such as earnings forecasts.although many people think that increased computerization offers more flexibility in various processes, generally the opposite apparently happens. software is designed to capture standard processes that are anticipated by the software developer. us

41、ually, a departure from such processes is difficult, if not impossble. computerization of information processes also requires machine-readable data formats. these formats make it difficult to insert new items or leave open items that developers assume are required information. for use within firms,

42、data warehouse systems have been introduced to combine different databases with differing formats, which enables the firm to use the databases jointly. it is more difficult to create some kind of common understanding of processes, and particularly data across firms. since financial disclosures are u

43、sed by many different users, standardization of financial information may have high external benefits.in fact, beginning in 1999, a standardization of financial reporting began on a worldwide scale. extensible business reporting language (xbrl) is based on extensible markup language (xml), an intern

44、et document description language of which html is another subset. xbrl is a market-driven approach undertaken by the private efforts of accounting organizations, individual firms, and other interested parties (debreceny,gray 2001). the quality of financial disclosures on the internet is an important

45、 issue. unreliable financial information on the internet is less relevant or irrelevant for rational users, and can have a detrimental impact on other users. financial information generally has a higher degree of trustworthiness than other information because it is embedded in corporate governance m

46、echanisms, and it is subject to auditing and enforcement. a major advantage of the internet is its flexibility, which, however, creates a disadvantage for credibility and authenticity. data can be easily changed, often without leaving a trace, particularly if the website is dynamically linked with a

47、n underlying database. new information can be communicated not only by adding that information, but also by replacing the original information. with xbrl, firms may have incentives to become creative in their tagging: for example, because investors will be tempted to work with the data provided by t

48、he extraction software, and without double-checking all details, a company that wishes to hide a certain piece of information may well attempt to not tag it, to place it in a certain tag, or to define an individual tag. to assure the quality of disclosures, the auditor would have to check whether th

49、e assignment of tags was meticulously performed. another issue affecting information quality is the security of the website. it may be difficult to control who has access to the website or its underlying database. needless to say, fraud, hostile intruders, and hackers can and do find holes in the se

50、curity net and alter data without knowledge of the company. issues like these suggest that financial disclosure provided via the internet is less credible than is information from other company sources. the credibility is not only of concern to companies and users, but also to auditors and regulator

51、s.one way to cope with these concerns is to restrict the opportunities the internet offers to those that are less affected by such possibilities. for example, auditors may decide not to allow links to and from the auditors report, or to require that it be stored on the auditors own or on an official

52、 registrars website. actually, the most common practice is to provide the annual report in a read-only facsimile version (e.g., in adobes pdf format). such formats can be interpreted as assuring the internet user of the boundaries and quality of the information. the increasing use of internet financial reporting increases the demand for standardization, of which the xbrl is the most notable product.although the