1、 1 外文翻译 原文 A design for environmental accounting information system Material Source: International Journal of Strategic Management, August, 2009 Author: Sorin Achim 1. INTRODUCTION It has often been suggested that the current accounting system maybe ill-equipped to address environmental issues. The
2、traditional system puts no emphasis on the environmental costs of an organisations operations. Overhead accounts tend to include many costs that are product and process specific but not on the environmental consequences. More often than not, environmental-related costs are hidden in overhead account
3、s. An assessment of the relative importance of environment-related costs and cost drivers of different processes and product lines can help an organisation determine whether or not the cost allocation bases being used are appropriate for those costs (Sulaiman Presenting the environmental accounting
4、system, its position in the economic system of the company, the components of the environmental accounting system, the flow of environmental information, the receivers of the environmental information 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2 The study represents a practical and theoretical examination of the envir
5、onmental accounting as an information system and it is based on the relevant literature in the field of environment and accounting. The objective of the present study is to improve the understanding of the environmental accounting as an information system, which provides useful information for decis
6、ion making processes within an organisation. In this paper we review the literature regarding environmental accounting, environmental costs, the relation between environmental performance and economic performance and try to design the structure and the position of the environmental accounting system
7、 within an organisation as an important provider of information which are needed in the decision-making processes. The purpose of the paper is to emphasis the importance of environmental accounting witnin an organisation-it pays to be green-that waste minimisation and energy efficiency schemes can a
8、nd will result in substantial economic benefits to the company. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM When trying to construct an environmental system we have to take environmental aspects in relation with operational and financial factors within the company. A framework that combine enviro
9、nmental and financial aspects and helps managers to deal with business processes needs to manage existing links between environmental, financial and operational factors. Such an environmental system which recognises environmental aspects entails challenges to management and accounting systems. The f
10、irst challenge is to identify and analyse the environmental factors of business operations and manage them using environmental management system integrated into the total management system. The second challenge is to define and analyse internal environmental cost factors in relation to environmental
11、 factors and account the internal environmental costs of an organisation. The final challenge is to report environmental aspects and financial factors for developing the decision-making processes. The system enables decision-making to include environmental viewpoints.We will continue our paper with
12、presenting and analysing each component of the proposed system. 3.1. Environmental accounting Environmental economics describes interrelations between the environment and its economics aspects. Sustainable development referees to the ecological use of 3 natural resources. In general environmental is
13、sues are a part of the management system called environmental management. Environmental management and environmental management system are the foundation for a systematic approach to environmental aspects in business.Environmental accounting system has connections to environmental economics, sustain
14、able development and environment management. Environmental accounting system as include both national and business accounting, and deals with both financial and non-financial information. In our research we will focus on the business part of the environmental accounting which represents the environm
15、ental accounting system within an organisation. 3.2. Categories of Environmental Accounting There are two aspects when speaking of environmental accounting. The first is the external aspect, the reporting part and the second relates to internal decision-making processes. 3.2.1. Environmental managem
16、ent accounting The International Federation of Accountants defines environmental management accounting as: “The management of environmental and economic performance through the development and implementation of appropriate environment-related accounting systems and practices. While this may include
17、reporting and auditing in some companies, environmental management accounting typically involves life-cycle costing, full-cost accounting, benefits assessment, and strategic planning for environmental management. The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development provides a slightly different d
18、efinition of environmental management accounting. As the UNDSD states: The general use of environmental management accounting information is for internal organizational calculations and decision making. Environmental management accounting procedures for internal decision making include both physical
19、 procedures for material and energy consumption, flows and final disposal, and monitories procedures for costs, savings and revenues related to activities with a potential environmental impact.Environmental management accounting can therefore, depending upon the system implemented, provide a broad r
20、ange of information about financial and non-financial aspects of an organisations environmental performance. According to definitions such as those provided above, environmental management accounting systems have the dual purpose of managing and improving the financial and environmental performance
21、of an entity. These 4 broad definitions of environmental management accounting are consistent with the approach to developing an environmental management accounting system adopted by this projects case study participants. It should be appreciated that environmental management accounting can generate
22、 information about how the use of resources with environmentally related impacts affects the financial position and performance of organisations. Environmental management accounting can also consider how organisational operations impact environmental systems. 3.2.2. Environmental financial accountin
23、g Regarding environmental financial accounting there is a need for a specific standards or guidance on accounting for environmental liabilities and costs. The accounting for the reporting of environmental costs and liabilities arise from transactions and events that affect the financial position and
24、 results of an enterprise and should be reported in an enterprises financial statements. The recognition and measurement of costs or events that are not absorbed by the enterprise are not covered. Regarding environmental financial accounting we can focuses on the following elements which have to be
25、presented in the financial statements of an entities and reported: Environmental costs-comprise the costs of steps taken, or required to be taken to manage the environmental impacts of an enterprises activity in an environmentally responsible manner, as well as other costs driven by the environmenta
26、l objectives and requirements of the enterprise. Environmental assets are environmental costs that are capitalised because they satisfy the criteria for recognition as an asset Environmental liabilities are obligations relating to environmental costs that are incurred by an enterprise and meet the c
27、riteria for recognition as a liability. When the amount or timing of the expenditure is uncertain are recognise as provisions for environmental liabilities. 3.3. Environmental accounting information The environmental accounting system within an organisation produces informations about environmental
28、performance evaluation and environmental cost accounting. Environmental performance is an indicator of the ecological effects generated by business operations (Epstein, 1996). Environmental cost accounting defines and analyse internal and legislative environmental costs in relation to process and en
29、vironmental factors of business processes. 5 3.4. Recipients of the environmental information The recipients of prepared environmental accounting information are the people inside the company who practice the administration and manage the corporate funds. Also recipients can be people outside of the
30、 company who have direct or indirect interest in the company. For the environmental decision-making processes we should take into account the external and the internal requirements of environmental aspects (Miller, 1996). Significant external requirements derive from environmental legislation and ex
31、ternal stakeholders, and in addition to environmental regulations, government incentives try to advance innovations in pollution abatement. Business partners and costumers and other groups require environmental information on companies. The internal and external requirements are large, and the inter
32、actions between different requirements extend the scope of environmental issues. The recipients need reliable informatio n in order to: identify environmental opportunities to produce economic performance; determine the environmental expenses that do not provide added value; determine a correct cost
33、 accounting and pricing of environmental products, and environmental operations; identify and measure the companies impact upon the environment; determine if the environmental responsiveness within a company; From all that we describe above we can deduct that environmental accounting system produce
34、environmental information and deliver them to the receivers who use this information in decision-making processes. So environmental-environmental accounting system function is an information system with two main functions 译文 一个会计信息系统的设计 资料来源： 2009 年 8 月 国际战略杂志 作者：索林阿琪马 1 简介 人们常常认为，目 前的会计系统可能还不够精良来回应
35、环境问题。传统体6 制没有重视一个组织运作的环境成本。架空账户往往包括生产和具体过程中的许多费用，而非是环境后果。环境相关成本的相对重要性的资产评估和通常情况下，环境相关的成本是隐藏的开销帐户。与环境相关的成本和不同工艺和产的成本驱动因素的相对重要性评估可以帮助企业确定是否为那些正在使用的分摊成本基础为。因此，企业融入环境会计是必不可少的。有一个适当的环境会计制度将使管理人员等作出更明智的决策。该系统在提供了一个更好的环境成本分析，如原材料的回收利用，产品更好的设计和制造工艺更好 的应用。 本文着重以环境和企业的经济业绩对环境会计信息系统为纽带，提出了以下观点： 识别和分析业务流程的环境因素，
36、财务和经营因素的相互关系； 突出环境会计制度在该公司的经济体系中的地位，环境会计制度的重要组成部分，环境信息的接收器。 2 研究方法 这项研究代表了作为信息系统的环境会计部门的实际与理论的结合，以环境和会计领域的相关文献为基础。此项研究的目的是要提高作为一个信息系统的理解，在一个组织中，它提供了有效的信息来做决策。本文回顾有关环境会计，环境成本，环境性能和经济之间的表现等的文献，同时，环境 会计系统作为一个重要的信息供应方，本文尝试在决策过程中设计环境会计系统在组织中的结构和地位。 本文的目的是要理解环境会计在组织中的重要性 :环保，废物排放最小化以及能源使用的有效计划，而这可以为公司产生在巨
37、大的经济利益（并购艾哈迈德苏莱曼， 2006）。 3 环境会计信息系统 当试图建立一个环境系统，我们不得不考虑到环境方面与公司运作和财务因素的关系。一个结合环境和财务方面的问题，并帮助管理者来处理业务流程的框架需要管理与环境，财务和业务因素的现有联系。 这样的能认出环境各方面的环境系统需要挑战来管理和建立 会计制度。第一个挑战是确定和分析企业经营的环境因素和管理他们使用的环境管理系统进入全面管理系统的集成（爱泼斯坦， 1996 年）。第二个挑战是确定和分析有关环境因素和内部环境成本因素考虑的一个组织的内部环境成本（班尼特 &詹姆斯， 1997 年，帕克， 1995 年，施罗德与冬季， 1997
38、）。最后的挑战是报告对发展决策过程的环境因素和经济因素（斯宾格勒等， 1997）。对环境会计制度的目的是生产环境和财务绩效的成本信息。 该系统在做决策时会考虑到环境的观点（爱泼斯坦， 1996）。 3.1 环境会计 7 环境经济学描述了环境和经 济方面的相互关系。可持续发展指的是自然资源的社会生态使用（卡伦 &托马斯， 1996）。通常来说，环境问题是管理系统的一部分，就是所谓的环境管理。环境管理和环境管理系统在商业环境方面来说是一个系统化的基本方法（克拉森和劳克林， 1996）。环境会计制度与环境经济学、可持续发展和环境管理的相联系。 环境会计制度，包括国家和企业会计，处理财务和非财务信息。
39、在我们的研究，我们将侧重于环境会计的商业部分，它代表了组织内的环境会计系统。 3.2 环境会计分类 当提及环境会计时，会涉及两个方面。第一个方面是外部因素，及报道 部分（环境财务会计），第二个方面与内部决策过程相关。 3.2.1 环境管理会计 国际会计师联合会环境管理会计的定义为：通过适当的发展和环境有关的会计制度和做法的执行环境和经济绩效管理，而这可能包括一些公司报告和审计，环境管理会计通常涉及生命周期成本、全成本核算、效益评估和环境管理的战略规划（国际会计师联合会， 1998）。 而联合国可持续发展部门提供的关于环境管理会计的定义又稍有不同。它的描述为：“环境管理会计信息的一般用于内部组织
40、计算和决策。企业内部决策程序的组织环境管理会计包括对材料和能源消耗，资金流和 最终处置有形的程序，手续和成本监控，储蓄和收入相关，与一个潜在的环境因素”。因此，环境管理会计可以，这取决于实现的系统，提供了一个组织的环境绩效财务和非财务方面的广泛信息。根据上述提及的定义，环境管理会计系统具有管理和提高实体经济和环保性能的双重作用。这些环境管理会计的广泛定义发展的环境管理会计制度这个项目的案例研究参与者采取的方法所组成。 人们应该明白，环境管理会计可以生成有关的资源如何与环境有关的重大影响使用影响的财务状况和组织性能的信息。环境管理会计还可以考虑组织的运作如何影响环境系统（伯里特等， 2002）。
41、 3.2.2 环境财务会计 关于环境财务会计必须有一个特定的对环境负债和成本会计的标准或指导。 对于环境成本和负债的会计报告产生的交易和事件影响的财务状况和企业业绩，应在企业的财务报表中报告。对成本或事件的认知和举措承认和费用或不包括在企业内部。关于环境财务会计，我们可以专注于以下内容，即实体呈现在财务报表和报告中（贸发会议， 1999）：环境成本 -包括成本所采取的步骤，或者在一个对环境负责任的态度上，被要求来管理一个企业的活动对环境的影响或需要将要采取的管理方式对环境负责的企业活动对环境的影响， 以及企业其他因环境目标或要求而被驱使的成本。环境资产是指环境资产的成本化，因8 为它们满足成为
42、资产的标准。 环境负债有关的义务所招致的企业，满足作为负债的确认标准的环境成本。以款额或支出的时间是不确定的环境责任的规定作为识别。 3.3 环境会计信息 环境会计系统的产生的组织信息是关于环境绩效评估和环境成本会计。环境绩效是一个由业务操作所产生的生态效应指标。 环境成本会计的定义和内部分析以及环境成本的立法是为了业务流程和环境因素。 3.4 环境信息接收者 环境会计信息编制的接受者是公司内部的对公司进行实践管理和资 金管理的人员（经理，企业所有者）。同时接收者也可以是在公司内有直接或间接利益关系的外部人员。 对于环境的决策过程，我们应该考虑到的环境因素的内在和外在的要求（米勒， 1996）。显著的外部要求主要来源于环境立法和外部股东，同时对于环保法规，政府鼓励尝试创新并推进污染治理。商业伙伴、消费者以及其他团体对公司的环境信息都有需求。内外部的需求都很大，不同的需求间的相互作用要求扩大环境问题的范围。接收者需要可靠的信息来鉴定环境机会来生产经济效益，决定环保支出，同时不提供附加值。正确的决定一个成本会计和环保产品的价格、环保行为、鉴定和为公司对环境的影响采取行动，决定是否在公司的的可应变范围内。综上所述，我们可以除去环境会计系统产生的环境信息并将它们传递给使用这些信息来做过程决策的接收者们，因此，环境会计系统功能是一个有两种主要功能的信息系统。
