评价希腊酒店业内部审计的有效性【外文翻译】

本科毕业论文外文翻译

译文

标题：评价希腊酒店业内部审计的有效性

资料来源: 国际经济科学与应用研究

作者：Theofanis Karagiorgos,George Drogalas and Nikolas Giovanis

摘要：近来关于内部审计在商务经济资源的管理上所做的贡献引起了企业管理者的注意。在流动性极强的商业环境这一框架内，研究检测了内部审计对企业的成功是否发挥着作用这一假设。本论文的主要目的不仅是从理论上验证这一问题，还要提出实验证据证明在希腊旅店行业中，内部控制制度的各因素与内部审计之间有相互关联。很据最新的理论和实证文献，论文的最终结果指出内部审计的各组成部分对于内部审计的有效性发挥着重要的作用，并影响企业的生存和发展。

关键词：内部审计内部控制酒店管理有效性

1. 导论

经济的全球化，技术的进步，商业的复杂性，财务报表造假的指控，使得人们把越来越多得目光投注到内部控制与内部审计上(Karagiorgos,2009)。内部审计的作用在其最新的定义中反映为：内部审计是一项独立的，客观的咨询活动，用于改善机构的运作并增加其价值。通过引入一种系统的、有条理的方法去评价和改善风险管理、控制和公司治理流程的有效性，内部审计可以帮助一个机构实现其目标(Savcuk, 2007)。

按照以上所述，现在的企业在面临各种困难和问题时努力发挥自身优势，评估风险并控制不确定因素。这些困难在特殊的商业领域里更加的明显，如全世界发展速度最快的服务业(Politis, 2009)。希腊的酒店业就为这次的研究提供了背景，酒店业是希腊经济增长的基础之一，对外汇的总体平衡做出了重要的贡献。旅游业，建筑业与海洋运输业是希腊三大支柱产业之。希腊的旅游业有广泛的市场，在国民生产总值占到18%，到2010止，每年的入境旅游人数估计达到2千万(Pavlatos and Paggios,2009)。

虽然有研究人员认为内部审计对希腊酒店业和企业的成功起到了积极的作用，但是目前还没有学者研究内部审计影响酒店行业的具体原因。在Priporas

和他同事的共同努力下，提出了一个具有国际化水平的新领域，且又立足于希腊的研究课题。虽然现存关于服务的研究资料有限，但是服务的热情度是服务的重要组成部分，这使得这个主题有研究的可能性。在这样的背景下。本文的目的是突出希腊酒店业中内部审计的各组成部分与其有效性的相互作用。为了实现这一目标，该研究分析了希腊最大的52家酒店内部审计员提供的数据，而结果与预期的一样，结果表明内部审计的成功与内部控制系统的五个要素相关。（Messier, 1997 Candreva, 2006)这五个要素分别为：控制环境，风险评估，控制活动，信息与沟通，监控。

2. 理论框架

分析内部审计的概念对评价内部审计有效性非常重要。毫无疑问，大量内部审计定义的概述是研究人员研究的基础。具体地说，内部审计协会对内部审计的定义为“内部审计是一项独立的，客观的咨询活动，用于改善机构的运作并增加其价值。内部审计本身通过测量和评价组织控制的有效性，成为一个重要的管理控制装置。

委员会的发起的组织（企业）模型被美国注册会计师协会，美国会计，财务执行官协会，研究所内审计人员，和管理会计师协会采用为一般的内部控制框架。内部控制模型中对风险管理定义如下：“企业风险管理是一个过程，它由一个主体的董事会、管理当局和其他人员实施，应用于战略制订并贯穿于企业之中，旨在识别可能会影响主体的潜在事项，管理风险以使其在该主体的风险容量之内，并为主体目标的实现提供合理保证。”

3. 研究设计。

3.1 样本法

为了更真实地描述酒店业内部审计的重要性，需要在大范围内选择研究的样本。作者认为内部审计增加了企业的价值但是在实际的运行中也需要消耗较高成本(Karagiorgos,2009)。这就意味着，内部审计只适用于在大酒店。为了避免其它因素的干扰，设定的样本的酒店须符合净销售额，净利润，总资产，总股本与员工的数量等标准。对符合的酒店设定年限：2005-2009，从中挑选出100家酒店，分成20组，再从20组中至少挑选出八组，最后组成调查样本。

3.2 调查过程

因为需要的信息不能公开取得，而内部审计人员了解这些信息为实现目标，

该研究使用调查问卷的研究方法。这种数据收集的方法被认为是最合适的。为了提高调查问卷的回收率和有效性，发放问卷调查表之前与潜在的问卷填写者签署了确认该酒店是否有内部审计部门的初级合同。如确定这些公司是否有内审部门就把问卷发放给85家具有内部审计部门且有效运行的样本酒店。调查所用到的的复印本寄给内部审计部部长和财政部长。信封，调查表，包括信寄回的邮费，都直接快递给85家酒店的业务经理。通信尽可能地保证人性化，信封上用手工签名，每一位业务经理将信寄出，信上附带业务经理的头衔和名字。此外，为保证受访者的信息保证不泄漏必须匿名。第一封邮件寄出去三个星期后，寄出第二份邮件。做此次调查的时间：2010.5月-10月。

3.3 数据分析的方法

答卷者需要判断十个表格，根据同意与不同意的程度，分数依次由高向低排，非常同意得5分，依次减分，强烈反对为1分。大量的研究者使用此种方法，因为这种方法答卷使用起来相对容易，此外问卷中得到的答案信息也更具可信度。在这十个表中，所需答案从全部的样本中获得，如果“正”意味着超过25个人同意论断，“负”意味着不同意的人少于25人。不正不负意味着接近25人表明无法决定或表明优劣参半。所有的判断以一种方式设计，即正面的回答意味着超过25人认为内部控制系统的组成积极地影响内部审计的有效性，而负面的回答意味着少于25人表示内部控制系统的组成对内部审计的有效性不产生积极的影响。

4. 结果

发放的85份问卷中，收回有效问卷52份，问卷的填写率达到61.1%。如前文所述，在此研究中，内部审计的有效性是通过COSO报告中内部控制提供的五个标准来评判的。所以为了估算每个标准，我们使用两个问题的数据，控制其中一个问题的数据即控制变量，保证计算系数的一致性以此评估内部控制的每个因素。结果在表1中展示：

表1：内部控制系统中关于可靠性的统计

估算α系数的可靠性可通过测试内部的一致性或是测试内部其他的都相关项目。从表1看，能接受协同因素内部一致性系数的价格。根据对内部控制的各组成部分的评价，将出现一种综合两个问题的新变量。

表2：描述性统计数据

表2显示了整个样本52家酒店业关于内部控制系统中环境控制因素的描述性统计数据。从表中可以看出，平均值为403，标准差为0.85。从以上结果看，我们可以得出管理者意识到内部审计在商业环境中有决定性作用。内部控制系统的风险评估的数据中平均数为376，标准差为0.77。结果也表明风险评估在酒店业高效的运作中发挥着重要的作用。控制活动的结果在第三行描述。更具体得来说，平均数为399，标准差为0.88。这些数据表明内部控制系统大规模地应用控制活动。与前面的发现结果一样，内部控制系统信息交流的平均数为399，而标准差为0.66。这些结果证实，相关的信息与有效的交流在酒店业中占有很大的比重。最后，内部控制系统的监控其平均值为370，标准差为0.95.结果表明，酒店业的内部控制系统受到监控从而能一直对系统性能的质量做出评估。

5. 结论

在经济类文献中，因为近来的企业丑闻和财务报表造假内部审计受到越来越多的关注。根据各种发表的文献资料，我们发现内部审计在企业成功上发挥的作用越来越大。在这样的背景下，对内部审计的有效性已经做了大量的研究。可是在希腊还没有类似的案例研究，尤其是在希腊占有重要地位的酒店业。总

而言之，内部控制的各个因素对内部审计作用的发挥非常重要。其中内部控制系统中控制环境的评估是最高的，平均值达4.03，而监控最小。所有评估项目的平均值为4.12。由此可见，研究的结果证明并强调了内部控制系统各因素在高效运作，对希腊酒店业的成功发挥了决定性的作用。

跟其他研究一样，该研究的研究结果同样存在着局限性。由于时间上的限制，该研究的样本所覆盖的区域仅限于希腊的酒店业。此外，由于内部审计本身所需的成本较高，所以内部审计机构一般只在大型酒店中设置。最后，该研究选择了在样本容量中随机抽样的方法，如果要将研究结果同其他国家中发现的结果相比较的话，就应该考虑到这个局限，即该研究所参与的问卷调查者的基数小。虽然只是从理论上进行验证研究，但是这个研究提出了关于希腊酒店业内部审计有效性的新观点。

外文文献原文

Title: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Internal Audit in Greek Hotel Business Material Source: International Journal of Economic Sciences and Applied Research Author: Theofanis Karagiorgos, George Drogalas and Nikolaos Giovanis Abstract：There is currently considerable interest in the topic of internal audit and its contribution toexact management of any business economic resources. Within this framework of extremely fluid business environment, the research tested the hypothesis about the role of internal auditing for the business success. The main purpose of the present paper is not only to examine the issue in a theoretical level, but also to present empirical evidence for the interaction between components of internal control system and performance of internal auditing in Greek hotel business. According to up-to-date theoretical and empirical literature, the results point out that all components of internal audit are vital for the effectiveness of internal audit and consequently in the business survival and success.

Keywords:Internal Auditing, Internal Control, Hotel Management, Effectiveness of 1.Introduction

The globalization of economy, technological advancements, complexity of business and allegations of fraudulent financial reporting have recently sharpened the ever-increasing attention to internal controls and internal auditing (Karagiorgos ET al.2009). This developing role of the internal auditing is also reflected in its current definition, i.e. “internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity design ed to add value and improve a company’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes” (Savcuk, 2007).

In accordance with the above, today businesses face considerable difficulties and problems when they try to identify their strengths, assess their risk and manage Uncertainties. These difficulties are more obvious in particular business sectors, such as the hospitality sector, which is one of the most growing sectors worldwide

(Politis ET al.2009). The Greek hotel industry provides the context for this research as it constitutes the basic factor of Greek’s economic growth and has important contribution in the overall balance of exterior transactions. Tourism is one of Greece’s three biggest industries, along with construction and shipping. The Greek tourism sector is a growth market and represents 18 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with annual arrivals projected at 20 million by 2010 (Pavlatos and Paggios, 2009).

Despite the aforementioned perspectives of the researchers regarding the crucial role of internal auditing for the business success and the growing importance of hotel sector in Greece, there is no such a study examining the factors that improve internal audit performance in hotel businesses. According to Priporas and colleagues (Priporas and Poimenids, 2008; Priporas and Mylona, 2008; Priporas et al, 2005) a research topic constitutes a desirable one when is generally a new research area at international level and on a national basis in Greece. Due to the fact that only a limited number of studies exist especially in services, where hospitality is considered a significant part of this sector (Kamenidou et al, 2009), this makes the theme a desirable for research. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the interaction between elements of internal audit and effectiveness of internal auditing in Greek hotel business, in particular. To accomplish its goal, the study uses survey data from chief internal auditors from 52 hotel businesses, which are listed as the biggest ones in terms of Greece. Consistent with the predictions, the results indicate that the success of internal auditing is associated with the five elements of internal control system (Messier, 1997; Candreva, 2006): Control environment, Risk assessment, Control activities, Information and communication and Monitoring.

2. Theoretical Framework

In order to determine internal audit efficiency evaluation principles it is important to analyze the concept of internal audit. Undoubtedly, the large amount of definitions that is given by many researchers depicts the great importance of internal auditing. More specifically, the Institute of Internal Auditors, defined internal

auditing as “an independent appraisal function, established within an organization to examine and evaluate its activities as a service to the organization”. By measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of organizational controls, internal auditing, itself, becomes an important managerial control device, which is directly linked to the organizational

structure and the general rules of the business In the same period, the Committee o f Sponsoring Organization’s (COSO) model developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Accounting Association, the Financial Executives Institute, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Institute of Management Accountants has been adopted as the generally accepted framework for internal control and is widely recognized as the definitive standard to assess the effectiveness of internal control system. In this context, the COSO model defines internal control as follows: “Internal control is a process, effected by an entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel designed to provide reasonable assurance of the achievement of objectives in the following categories: effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations”.

3. Research Design

3.1 Sample

To describe more realistically the importance of internal audit in the hotel enterprises, the sample of research was selected with multiple criteria. From the author’s point of view, it is important to mention that internal audit as service that offers added value has also a high cost of operation (Karagiorgos et al., 2009). This implies that internal auditing is used only in “big” hotel bu siness. To avoid confounding effects, the sample was judgmental and the basic criteria that characterize “big” hotel enterprise are:Net Turnover (sales), Net Results (profit), Grand Total Assets, Total Capital and Reserves and Number of employees. For each criterion and its year from 2005 to 2009 the first one hundred hotels were selected. Therefore twenty groups were generated. From these groups the hotels which were at least in eight groups were chosen and constitute the final sample.

3.2 Survey Development

To achieve its objective the research uses the exploratory research methods of research questionnaires. This method of data collection was considered appropriate because the information sought is not publicly available and internal auditors are in a good position to know the answers to the questions asked. To enhance the survey response rate preliminary contact was made with potential respondents ahead of sending the questionnaire. This preliminary contact served to establish whether or not the hotel business had an internal audit department. After identifying those companies not having an internal audit department, the questionnaires were sent to the remaining sample of 85 hotel businesses where it was thought an internal audit department existed. For each of the selected hotel, copies of the survey instrument were sent to: the director of internal audit and the chief finance officer. Cover letters and surveys, along with postage paid return envelopes, were mailed directly to each of the business executives at each of the 85 hotel businesses. Hence, correspondence was personalized as far as possible; cover letters were hand signed and envelopes were individually addressed with the name and title of the business executive. Additionally, respondents were guaranteed anonymity. Approximately three weeks after the initial mailing a second mailing was made to all business executives in the sample. The research was conducted in the period from May to October 2010.

3.3 Methodology for Data Analysis

Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with each of the ten statements on a five-point Likert response scale (Likert, 1932) that ranged from “strongly agree” (scored as 5) to “strongly disagree” (scored as 1).

A large amount of researchers use this methodology, because it is relatively easy for respondents to use,and responses from such a scale are likely to be reliable (Nunnally, 1978; Myers and Gramling; 1997, Balzan and Baldacchino, 2007; Lam and Kolic, 2008). For all ten statements, mean responses are obtained from the full sample. A positive mean response more than 2,5 suggests agreement with the statement, a positive mean response less than2,5 implies disagreement and a mean response close to 2,5 indicates indecision or offsetting differences. All of the

statements are coded in such a way that a positive mean response more than 2,5 displays that this component of internal control system influences positively the effectiveness of internal auditing, while a positive mean response less than2,5 reveals that this component of Internal Control System does not influence positively the effectiveness of internal auditing.

4. Results

Finally, out of the 85 questionnaires distributed, 52 completed usable questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 61.1 percent. As mentioned, in this study the effectiveness of internal auditing is assessed via the five criteria that are provided by COSO report (COSO, 1992; Roth and Espersen, 2002; Bowrin, 2004). Hence, for the estimation of each characteristic are used data that comes from two questions. To evaluate each component of internal control, the calculation of coefficient “Cronbach a” is needed (Norusis, 1990). The results of “Cronbach a” are shown in Table 2: ?Reliability Statistics ?Cronbach a? in regard with components of Internal Audit.

Table 2: Reliability Statistics ?Cronbach a? in regard with

Components of Internal Control System

Coefficient alpha estimates the reliability of this type of scale by determining the internal consistency of the test or the average correlation of items within the test (Cronbach 1951; Dafermos, 2005). From the Table 2, it appears that prices of coefficient ?Cronbach a?are accepted (Norusis, 1990; Carver and Nash, 2000). Then from the questions that concern the evaluation of each component of Internal

Control, a new variable is exported that combines the answers of the two questions (of each component).

Table 3: Descriptives Statistics

Table 3 shows the descriptive statistics of the entire sample of 52 hotel businesses.Regarding the Control Environment component of internal control system, it appears that the mean is 4,03, while the standard deviation is 0,85. From the above results, it can be concluded that management recognise the decisive role of internal auditing in the business environment. In regard with the Risk Assessment component of internal control system, the mean is 3,76, while the standard deviation is 0,77. These results also imply that risk assessment plays significant role in the efficient functioning of hotel business. The results for Control Activities component are depicted in line 3. More specifically, the mean is 3,99, while the standard deviation is 0,88. These statistics show that control activities are implemented by internal control system to a large degree. Similar to the above findings, the mean is 3,99, while the standard deviation is 0,68 for Information-Communication component of internal control system. These results affirm that pertinent information and effective communications occur at a large degree in hotel businesses. Finally, regarding the Monitoring component of internal control system, it appears that the mean is 3,70, while the standard deviation is 0,95. These results indicate that

internal control system of hotel business is monitored in order to assess the quality of the system’s performance over time.

5. Conclusions

In response to recent corporate scandals and breakdowns in financial reporting, Internal auditing is attracting increasing attention in economic literature (Rittenberg, 2006). In the light of this theoretical and empirical literature, it is observed the growing importance of internal auditing in business success. Within this environment, significant amount of research has been conducted on the effectiveness of internal audit. Unfortunately, there is no such a study for the case of Greece and in particular for the hotel business which is of great importance in Greece (Sigala, 2003). Overall, from the results, it is important to mention that all the components of internal control system are highly rated. More precisely, the Control Environment component of internal control system is the most highly rated item with a mean of 4.03 while Monitoring is the least rated item with a mean of 4.12. Overall, the results stress the efficient functioning of all components of internal control system and their decisive role in the efficient functioning and consequently success of Greek hotel business.

As with other studies, the findings of this study should be viewed taking into account its limitations. The sampling area of the study was limited to the Greek hotel businesses due to time constraints. Moreover, due to the fact that internal auditing has a high cost of operation, internal auditing is used only in “big” hotel business. Consequently, ton-random selection had to be the choice in this study. A further limitation in carrying out this study, to be taken into account particularly if one is to compare these results to those that may be found in other countries, is the small number of respondents on which the study was necessarily based. Hence, this study provides useful insights on the effectiveness of internal auditing