安然事件周年日，美国内部审计师协会举行公司治理高级会议
NEW YORK — The
Institute of Internal Auditors and a blue-ribbon team of trade associations
sponsored a highly successful corporate governance summit conference in New
York City earlier this week. The conference took place on October 16, exactly
one year to the day since the problems at Enron were first made public.
10月16日，正值安然事件公开披露一周年之际，内部审计师协会与商业联合会的高级荣誉团队在纽约成功举办了一次公司治理高级会议。
Speakers from both the
public and private sectors told a standing-room-only audience how the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act and implementing activities at the SEC and stock exchanges are changing
corporate roles and responsibilities.
来自公共部门和私营机构的会议发言人向听众介绍了萨本茵斯－奥克斯莱法案（Sarbanes－Oxley Act）及其在证券与交易委员会和证券交易所的实施，正改变着公司的角色和责任。
Henry A. McKinnell
Jr., Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Pfizer Inc., noted that it is incumbent upon
management, directors, auditors, and their professional associations to pull
together to "restore America's faith in its business institutions."
McKinnell went on to say that regaining public confidence in its corporations
requires a focus on "three old-fashioned values: honesty, transparency,
and fairness." He noted that new laws and regulations are no substitute
for voluntary adherence to such fundamental values.
菲泽公司（Pfizer Inc.）的主席兼首席执行官亨利·A·麦基内尔博士（Henry
A. McKinnell Jr., Ph.D.）强调，公司管理层、董事会、审计师及其专业团队均应协同一致地致力于恢复美国商业制度的信誉。他继续指出，要重新获得公众对美国公司的信任，必须特别关注三个传统的价值观：诚信、透明与公平。他强调，新的法律与规则并不能替代对这些基本价值观的自觉追随。
Earlier in the day,
representatives from the Senate and House, the Securities and Exchange
Commission, and the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges discussed how the new
corporate governance law — the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 — is being
implemented by the regulatory bodies.
会议开始时，来自参众两院、证券与交易委员会、纽约证券交易所和纳斯达克的代表讨论了2002年萨本茵斯－奥克斯莱法案在监管机构的实施情况。
In introducing this
panel, former Congressman Larry LaRocco noted that: "while some here today
and across the country can and do disagree with certain provisions in the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, no one can fault Congress for putting aside partisan
differences in an honest attempt to deal with the eroding public trust in
private enterprise."
前众议员拉里·拉卢科（Larry
LaRocco）在介绍与会者时指出，在座的某位，或在国内其他地方，可能有人不同意萨本茵斯－奥克斯莱法案中的某些条款，但没有人能忽略国会两党搁置党派之争，以诚挚的精神挽回公众对私营企业正在衰败的信心这一事实。
"It was the
legislative equivalent of a perfect storm," LaRocco said, "and we
should thank those at the helm for their calm heads and steady hands."
“这相当于司法领域的一场风暴。”拉卢科说，“我们应当感谢那些处于舵手位置上的人们所表现出来的冷静的思维和稳健的处理手法。”
The assembled group of
corporate leaders also heard from directors, internal and external auditors,
and a panel of New York Life officials on how they are coping with the changed
environment.
一些被邀请的公司领导人听取了董事们、内部审计师、外部审计师和纽约人寿保险公司官员介绍关于他们适应环境变化的情况。
In the day's final
session, Itzhak Sharav of the Columbia Business School said that proper
implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could mark a watershed in corporate
governance.
当天会议结束前，哥伦比亚商学院的伊扎克·谢拉夫谈到，如果萨本茵斯－奥克斯莱法案得以充分的执行，它将成为公司治理的一个分水岭。
The number and magnitude
of corporate failures over the past year provided the impetus for the act's
enactment, Sharav said. The failures occurred for a number of reasons, but a
common element was "ineffective corporate governance."
谢拉夫说，在过去几年里，公司治理失效情况发生的数量及其严重程度都是法案得以问世的直接推动因素。治理失效的原因很多，但其中最基本的因素是“无效治理”。
"Sarbanes-Oxley has
the potential to put an end to the sordid chapter that we have just been
through," he said. "There is reason to believe that [external] audit
failures will diminish in the future. Assuming ... that the new law is
faithfully implemented, chances are that the crass pressure on [external]
auditors to compromise their standards will lessen, since, unlike in the past,
the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of each public
company must certify their company's periodic filings with the SEC ... under
the threat of both civil and criminal sanctions," he said.
谢拉夫表示：“萨本茵斯－奥克斯莱法案具有终止不洁信息的潜在效力。我们有理由相信，在今后，外部审计的失误将会减少。……如果新的法案得以有效实施，外部审计师被迫进行标准妥协的机率就会大为减少。这是因为，与过去不同的是，每一个公众公司的首席执行官和首席财务官必须定期向证券与交易委员会确认财务报告的真实性。……否则，他们可能会面对民事的和刑事的惩罚。”
Public accounting firms
will be overseen for the first time by an oversight board that has real teeth,
and is independently financed and will be authorized to impose penalties
ranging up to $15 million, he noted. "An intentional violation of auditing
standards in this new and as yet untested environment, may be tantamount to
committing professional suicide," Sharav said.
公众会计机构将首次被一个真正拥有权利并且经费独立的监察委员会进行监督，该委员会可以对违规者处以最高1500万美元的处罚。谢拉夫说，在当前这个我们未曾经历过的新环境中，如果有人故意违反审计标准，那将无异于职业自杀。