The use of the postal questionnaire in accounting history research

This methodological article discusses the first project in accounting history to use the postal questionnaire as a research tool. The historical context was the changing nature of the company audit in Britain, and this article outlines the process by which the questionnaire was devised, the stages through which the project developed, the data that were collected, and how these were analysed and interpreted. A significant innovation was to sample, in equal proportions, accountants who qualified in each decade from the 1920s and 1930s down to the 1980s, and direct the questioning toward their early training and careers, thereby generating historical trends in the responses. Some of the results of the survey are given here by way of illustrating the weaknesses and strengths/costs and benefits of the technique in comparison with oral history and traditional documentary sources.     

Mechanisms for controlling expenditure in the Spanish Royal Household, c.1561-c.18081

The purpose of this article is to examine the accounting and auditing in the Spanish Royal Household between 1561 and 1808. The Royal Household was the third most important item of expenditure that the State Treasury financed, after the Army and Navy and the National Debt. On studying spending control in the Royal Household, we have rejected the idea, often advanced by historiography, that there was no spending control within this institution. On the contrary, treasurers and accountants were only able to release funds for expenditure purposes on the basis of prior authorization. However, the efficiency of spending control was very limited due to technical, administrative and, above all, social and political elements.     

CPA审计质量评价体系研究

随着以“安然”、“世通”为代表的国内外一系列的财务造假舞弊案的曝光,CPA的审计质量也成为社会各界关注的焦点,人们对CPA的审计质量、甚至CPA行业的信誉和存在的必要都提出了质疑。本文对社会关注的焦点——CPA审计质量进行研究,运用规范研究的方法,对影响我国CPA审计质量的诸因素进行分析,从被审计单位、事务所、CPA、审计收费、审计过程等方面展开分析,并构建了针对CPA审计质量进行评价和衡量的体系,以量化的方式来反映审计质量,并就这一提出了自己的观点和看法。     

无形资产审计的构想与评价

随着知识经济的发展,无形资产的比重呈现出越来越大的趋势。因此,审计部门应重视无形资产的审计。对企业来说,无形资产是可持续发展的重要基础,是企业潜在的巨大财富。面对无形资产管理不规范,国有企业无形资产流失的现状,需要重视无形资产审计。无形资产审计内容包括无形资产战略审计、无形资产重点审计、无形资产效益审计、无形资产管理审计。     

Non-commitment in performance evaluation and the problem of information distortions

Auditing is modeled in a sequential game without commitment. The manager must decide whether and where to audit a worker's output, taking into account all interim information he has obtained. The worker will work just hard enough (and show it) to divert the manager from making an audit or cover up, withholding information about his work to make an audit more difficult. This usually raises the costs of setting work incentives, so incentives are softened, sometimes drastically. Moreover, when a worker's on-the-job information is valuable for entrepreneurial decisions, work incentives must be softened to improve the internal flow of information.     

高校经济合同审计工作的探索

随着社会改革的不断深入和经济的高速发展，各高校对基础设施和教学科研等的资金投入也相应大幅度增加，需要签订的经济合同也越来越多。如何在复杂的环境中做好经济合同审计工作，成为高校审计人员在审计工作中遇到的新课题。     

注册会计师审计独立性的思考

独立性是审计的本质特征,是注册会计师行业的灵魂。一旦独立性受到影响,审计意见就不可能做到客观、公正。过度的竞争会损害注册会计师的独立性,进而影响到审计的质量。文章从影响注册会计师独立性的内部和外部因素入手,分析注册会计师行业审计独立性不高,违规操作頻頻出现的原因,并提出采取积极的应对措施进行控制。     

浅议混合所有制企业的内部审计

本文对多种经济成份构成的经济组织,混合所有制企业内部审计的重要性作了论述,提出了混合所有制企业内部审计组织机构的设置原则,独立性原则和权威性原则。介绍了目前常见的混合所有制企业内审组织机构的设置模式:总经理领导的组织模式、监事会领导的组织模式和董事会领导的组织模式及其利弊。提出了混合所有制企业内部审计的主要内容,对混合所有制企业内部审计的规范化和内审人员的素质也提出了要求。     

论中国审计资源配置方式的特殊性及其优化

审计资源配置的目标以社会需求为导向，以效益性为核心。审计资源配置的方式应是计划与市场相结合。并从宏观与微观两个层面，制定审计资源配置的具体优化措施。     

目标导向审计研究

本文认为,审计导向模式的发展演变是审计社会需求和审计目标发展的必然结果,审计目标体现了审计内在的逻辑性。审计的最终目标是评价受托经管责任的履行情况,在审计目标的指引下,可以解决现行审计的理论和实践问题。