萨奥法案对中国上市公司内部控制的启示(上)..doc

萨奥法案对中国上市公司内部控制的启示(上). 【摘 要】内部控制是公司治理问题中必不可少的一环。根据COSO的定义，内部控制是一个过程，由企业的董事会、管理层和其他人员完成，目的在于为企业经营效果和效率、财务报告的可靠性以及遵守法律和规章提供合理保证。 长久以来，我国上市公司的内部控制问题书面功夫做得比实际操作要好。究其根本原因，是缺乏监管机构的明文硬性规定和严厉的处罚机制。 《2002年萨班斯-奥克斯莱法案》的出台标志着新资本市场监管时代的到来，奠定了后安然时代会计、审计发展和公司治理及证券监管的框架。该法案中第四章第四条款（即404），要求上市公司管理层对于自己的内部控制进行自我评估并由外部审计师发表独立审核意见。 本文通过对内部控制和萨奥法案相关内容的整理和阐述，联系中国上市公司的内部控制现状和海外萨奥法案的应用案例，意在对中国上市公司内部控制问题提供借鉴和参考。 关键词：萨奥法案，内部控制，COSO，公司治理 Abstract Internal control is indispensable to corporate governance. According to COSO, internal control is a process to provide reasonable assurance of accomplishing objectives. Specially, it helps achieve objectives relating to reliability of financial reporting, compliance with laws and regulations, and effectiveness and efficiency of operations. For a long time, China抯 listed companies have got used to writing literal rules than practicing them. The radical reason for this problem is the lack of official strict regulations and relevant punishment mechanism. The ordination of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 symbolizes a new era of supervision in the capital market. It establishes the post-Enron framework for accounting, auditing, corporate governance and securities supervision. In Section 404, it requires issuers assess the effectiveness of the internal control, and the registered accounting firm shall attest to and report on the assessment. This thesis is intended to coordinate related internal control theories and Sarbanes-Oxley Act with China抯 situation and certain cases, therefore, it would provide helpful information to China抯 listed companies in the problem of internal control. Key words: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, internal control, COSO, corporate governance 目 录 一、 序言……………………………………………………………1 二、 内部控制问题…………………………………………………1 (一) 内部控制理论发展……………………………………………1 (二) 内部控制的内涵………………………………………………2 (三) 如何实现内部控制……………………………………………4 三、 萨奥法案………………………………………………………5 (一) 背景介绍………………………………………………………5 (二) 萨奥法案404条款…………………………………………