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1、本科毕业论文（设计）外 文 翻 译外文题目 Internal Control in Swedish Small and Medium Size Enterprises 外文出处 France：Ume School of Business，2009.23-29 外文作者 Tsegahiwot Teketel Zelalem Berhanu 原文：Internal Control in Swedish Small and Medium Size Enterprises3.4 Roles and Responsibilities in Internal controlUnder this secti
2、on, we will discuss the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in SMEs involved in the system of internal control. This aspect of internal control is dealt separately here since the theory on internal control underlines the importance of having a very clear distinction of roles and r
3、esponsibilities in such enterprises. This section will be used to back up the selection of sample interviewees in the data collection process from various positions including managers, auditors, accountants, and the like. This part of the theoretical framework is expected to provide a basis to ident
4、ify the major challenges of SMEs in implementing a proper system of internal control; and in so doing to target the research question.No one in the organization is exempted from a responsibility for internal control. All employees, with varying degrees, are involved in it - whether they are particip
5、ating in the control system per se, or produce information to be used in the control system. The role of the corporate governance participants including the Management, the Board of Directors, and Auditors is discussed briefly in what follows.Management:The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) plays a fore
6、front role in designing and implementing effective internal control. In the case of small enterprises, the leadership of the chief executive often an owner-manager is usually more direct. However, in large and medium companies, the CEO gives direction to senior managers and reviews how they control
7、the business, thereby leading more indirectly.The Management holds the responsibility to decide on how much risk is acceptable to the company. In so doing, it spells out the level of effectiveness and efficiency of internal control system. (Cheney, 2008, p.1)Board of Directors:Board of Directors pla
8、ys an important role in internal control system by providing governance and corporate strategic leadership. They are involved in resource allocation, business plan decisions, enhancement of capability in various departments, and the like. They also appoint management which provides direction to effe
9、ctive internal control.Auditors:By auditor, we refer to both internal and external auditors. They are highly involved in ensuring effectiveness of the internal control system. The design and implementation of control mechanisms are assessed by such auditors. Their assessment is eventually to be tran
10、slated into recommendations on how to improve the system of internal control (Cheney, 2008, p.2)Therefore, the Management, the Board of Directors, and Auditors are the main participants in designing and implementing effective internal control in most organizations including SMEs.3.5 Internal Control
11、 in the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance One of the arguments to include such section in the research paper is the belief that a proper understanding of the legal framework under which SMEs operate enhances understanding of their business environment and operations. The principles that this rese
12、arch intends to draw for SMEs needs to be in line with the general legal framework of relevance to SMEs. Therefore, this section enables researchers to delimit the theoretical framework on which the analysis will be based so that the conclusions to draw fit into the Swedish legal framework.The Swedi
13、sh corporate governance code was published in December 2004. It contains a number of rules and regulations regarding corporate governance, including internal control. Since the focus of this thesis is on internal control, we will not give a detailed description of the entire code. The two paragraphs
14、 in the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance that deal with internal control are paragraph 3.7 Internal control and Internal Auditing and paragraph 5.2 Report on Internal Controls.The article clearly states that the Board is responsible for the companys internal control. The Board is to ensure that
15、the company has a sound system of internal controls and keeps itself informed of and assesses how well it functions. (The Code Group, 2005, p.31)The Swedish Code of Corporate Governance, in paragraph 3.7, requires that the board submits an annual report. The report is expected to include the organiz
16、ation of the internal control system on specifically financial reporting and its efficiency during the most recent financial year.The Swedish Code also requires the evaluation of the need for a separate internal audit function in companies that do not have any. We found that this is indicative of ho
17、w important it is to have a special internal audit function as the companys businesses evolve overtime.The paragraph 5.2 entitled Report on Internal Controls requires that companies annual report must include a report on internal control and auditors review of it. The fact that internal control repo
18、rts are made part of the annual report of companies, including SMEs reveals the importance the Swedish legal framework attaches to a sound internal control system.3.6 Studies on SMEs 3.6.1 Studies on internal control in SMEs Relevant characteristics for internal controlNotwithstanding the definition
19、 discussed under 3.2.2, we single out here the main characteristics of SMEs that are relevant to their internal control.The issue of internal control is most relevant to small and medium size enterprises for a number of reasons. One such reason is related to their size. Indeed, SMEs in general and s
20、mall enterprises in particular hire a limited number of employees. Hence, a clear division of labor that segregates duties and responsibilities are mostly absent. Such a lack of clear segregation of duties opens a room for fraudulent action by employees. As noted by Higson (2002, p. 9), because of t
21、he higher level of trust, the control environment in an SME is often less defined therefore there may be more scope for fraudulent activity.Therefore, SMEs benefit a lot from implementing internal control activities because of their vulnerable condition arising from their size of operation.In additi
22、on, SMEs are not required by law to undergo external auditing. This implies that a clean record and smooth operation of the SMEs activity depends largely on what control can be done internally. Therefore, a strong internal control has a significant value for the clean operation of the SMEs. Focus on
23、 internal controlThe review of literature reveals that small and medium sized enterprises have been subject of interest to various stakeholders in Sweden such as policy makers, legislative bodies, business entities, academicians of various fields, and so on. As noted above, one can conclude that res
24、earch outputs on SMEs in Sweden focus on a limited range of topics the topic of internal control being the least referred theme. When the issue of internal control comes into picture, it is viewed from the standpoint of larger firms.The study that is the closest to the topic covered in this research
25、 is most probably that of Chauvin and Lamba. Note that still their studies are not focused on Swedish SME. Their research output is entitled An International Perspective on Internal Controls in Small and Medium Enterprises. The paper, published in the journal Business Review, 2007 reports the result
26、s of an empirical examination of cultural influences on judgments of Anglo mechanism. Australia serves as a proxy for the cluster of countries comprising the U.S., UK and Canada, while India and Malaysia represent the Asian cluster (Chavan & Lamba, 2007).The study draws on cultural characteristics a
27、nd differences among these countries to formulate hypotheses that Australian managers are both more likely and more accepting of engaging in whistle blowing as an internal control mechanism than Malaysian and Indian managers. Data was gathered through a survey questionnaire administered to samples o
28、f SME managers that have significant operations in all three countries. The questionnaire comprised two whistle-blowing scenarios, and used both single-attribute and multidimensional attribute measures of managers judgments. The results support the hypotheses about differences in Australian compared
29、 to Indian and Malaysian managers judgments (Chavan & Lamba, 2007, p.1).The findings of this study suggest that enterprises that aim to improve effectiveness in their control systems or achieve similar levels of reliability across divisions in various countries need to implement control systems that
30、 are compatible with cultural values. Specifically, the results suggest that compared to India and Malaysia, whistle blowing as an internal control mechanism is likely to be more effective in Australia (Chavan & Lamba, 2007, p.56).Therefore, one can conclude that the issue of internal control in the
31、 case of Swedish SMEs is an important topic that calls for more research. The most prevalent topics i.e. internalization of SMEs and finance-related issues are highlighted in what follows.3.6.2 Finance-related studiesThe issue of financing of SMEs is a central issue in the literature. The economic a
32、nd social importance of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is well recognized in academic and policy literature. It is also recognized that these actors in the economy may be underserved, especially in terms of finance. This has led to significant debate on the best methods to serve this s
33、ector (Biggs, 2008, p.1). As noted by Cressy, Gandemo and Olofsson (1996, p. 12), major constraints for expansion of financial resources to SMEs are related to the following characteristics of SMEs SMEs rarely have a long history or successful track record that potential investors can rely on in mak
34、ing an investment; Larger companies (particularly those quoted on a stock exchange) are required to prepare and publish much more detailed financial information which can actually assist the finance-raising process; Banks are particularly nervous of smaller businesses due to a perception that theyre
35、present a greater credit risk. SMEs will need to give a business plan, list of the company assets, details of theexperience of directors and managers and demonstrate how they can give providers of finance some security for amounts provided3.6.3 Internationalization of SMEsAs recognized by Kadocsa, o
36、ne of the major challenges of SMEs is global competitiveness (Kadocsa, 2006, p.1). This study made a survey of 100 SMEs in Hungary and conducted interviews with sampled stakeholders. Our review of this study found that the author identified several internal and external factors that influence compet
37、itiveness of SMEs as indicated in Table 6 However, it is to be noted that the study mainly focuses on SMEs in commercial and service sector without including agricultural SMEs. Moreover, the study concentrates around family-based SMEs without including SME of similar sizes but not organized around a
38、 family.Table 6 Influencing factors of competitiveness in SMEsExternal factorsInternal factorsEmploymentMarketingProductivityInnovationCapital supply opportunitiesProductivityGlobalization Knowledge-based developmentEUCapital supplyBusiness relationsManagement, organization, structureAlliancesCost-e
39、fficiencyNetworksComplianceAdapted from Kadocsa, 2006, p. 4Agndal, in his doctoral thesis, reports a study of the internationalization processes of 16 industrial SMEs located in Jnkping, Sweden (Agndal, 2004). More specifically, he identifies changes in international strategies, suggests reasons why
40、 changes are undertaken and discusses how the context of the internationalization process affects these changes. However, the researchers have a reservation over the application of such analysis to small enterprises. The study mainly addresses the internationalization process of medium industrial fi
41、rms. To sum it up all, an overview of the existing literature reveals that the working definition adopted in this research of internal control is the one forwarded by the Internal Control Integrated Framework of COSO. In addition, small and medium size enterprises are categorized according to their
42、size in terms of the number of their employees. According to the definition of the European Commission, this research paper calls medium enterprises those that employ fewer than 250 employees; and small enterprises those with fewer than50 employees.The literature suggests the need for effective of i
43、nternal control for SMEs. It is considered to be an efficient tool for management of risks for the SME. Lack of an effective internal control system has been shown to be one important cause for fraud and, in extreme cases, bankruptcy. The literature review casts no doubt on the preeminence of an eff
44、ective system of internal control for a small and medium size enterprise The objectives of effective internal control are evident in the literature. They are Reliability of Financial Reporting, Efficiency and Effectiveness of Operations, and Compliance with Laws and Regulations. The major components
45、 that are found in the various internal control systems and that enable effective achievement of these objectives come out of the review of the relevant literature. These are Control environment, Risk assessment, Control activities, Information and communication systems, and finally Monitoring. In t
46、he same manner, the principles of internal control those guides SMEs as well as other forms of business organizations are found to stem from these components.Source：Tsegahiwot Teketel Zelalem BerhanuInternal Control In Swedish Small and Medium Size Enterprises DFrance：Ume School of Business，2009.23-
47、29译文：瑞典中小企业内部控制研究3.4内部控制的作用和责任在这一节，我们将讨论在具有内部控制制度的中小企业中各利益相关者的作用和责任。因为内部控制理论强调对作用和责任进行明确区分的重要性，所以它是分开描述这两部分的。本节将用于支持在数据收集过程中包括经理、审计师、会计师等各职位的受访者的选择。这部分的理论框架将为中小企业实施内部控制制度的目标及其实施过程中会面临的主要挑战提供一个基础。在组织中所有人都对内部控制承担责任。所有员工无论他们是参加了控制系统本身，或在控制系统中的生产资料，或多或少，都参与了内部控制。公司治理的参与者，包括管理层、董事会及审计师的作用在下面简要讨论。管理层：行政执行
48、长（CEO）在设计和实施有效的内部控制中发挥了前沿作用。在小企业中，行政长官通常是所有者的领导更直接。然而，在大型和中型公司中，CEO通过指引和评价高级管理层如何进行管理控制所形成的影响更多的是间接的。管理层负责决定多少风险是公司可以承受的。这样，就规定了内部控制系统的有效性和效率水平。（Cheney，2008年，第1页）董事会：董事会通过为公司治理提供战略领导在内部控制体系中发挥重要作用。他们不仅参与资源配置、经营计划决定、提高各部门的综合实力等，还为管理层提供有效的内部控制指定方向。审计师：我们把审计师分为内部审计师和外部审计师。他们高度参与确保内部控制系统的有效性并对控制机制的设计和实施情况进行评估。他们的评价最终转化成就如何提高内部控制的建议。（切尼，2008年，第2页）因此，在大多数组织中，包括中小企业，管理层、董事会、审计师是设计和实施有效的内部控制中的主要参与者。3.5瑞典公司治理守则中的内部控制本文中以该守则条文为一个论据的依据是，中小企业必须在法律框架下提高他们对经营环境和业务运作的正确的理解。本文拟提出的针对中小企业的建议需要符合相关的一般中小企业的法律框架。因此，为了使研究人员能够更好的分析，本文适当引入了瑞典的法律框架。瑞典于2004年12月出版了包含一系列关于公司治理包括内部控制的规则和法规
