区块链技术与会计变革

优雅的复式簿记系统在过去500多年中为社会和经济发展做出了无与伦比的贡献。复式簿记是现代会计的基石，几百年来它的地位从未动摇过，然而它的地位可能正遭受前所未有的挑战。这个挑战来自于区块链技术，越来越多的人认为区块链技术将对会计产生颠覆性的变革。

区块链是比特币的底层技术，但其本质上是一个记账系统。这个记账系统有别于传统的复式簿记，是一个分布式的记账系统（Distributed Ledger），ICAEW（2017）称之为“Universal Entry Bookkeeping”。

The block chain is the bottom technology of Bitcoin, but it is essentially an accounting system. Unlike the traditional double bookkeeping system, it is a distributed accounting system (Distributed Ledger), known by ICAEW (2017) as “Universal Entry Book Keeping”.

区块链的主要特征是：

The main features of the

（1）Propagation：其账簿系统由多个相同、等效的账簿组成，所有参与人可以共享这些账簿。新的交易由一个用户发起，但是交易信息会被同时写入多个账薄中，而不需要一个中心控制账簿。

(1) Propagation: Its books system consists of multiple identical and equivalent books, which all participants can share. The new transaction is initiated by a user, but the transaction information is written in multiple books at the same time, without the need for a central control book.

（2）Permanence：所有的交易记录是永久性的，不能被篡改，也不能被消除；由于交易记录过程同时是一个加密过程，所以验证已经记录的交易是非常容易的。

(2) Permanence: All transaction records are permanent, cannot be tampered with or eliminated; as the transaction record process is simultaneously an encryption process, it is very easy to verify the transactions recorded.

（3）Programmability：有些区块链可以储存程序代码，这些程序代码可以自动生成交易记录，当条件满足时可以自动触发交易，又叫做“智能合约”（Smart Contract）。区块链技术将对财务记录的生成、维护和更新方式产生深远的影响，并大大优化金融服务业。

(3) PRORAMABILITY: Some block chains can store program codes that can automatically generate transaction records and trigger transactions when conditions are met, also known as Smart Contract. Block chain technology will have a far-reaching impact on how financial records are generated, maintained and updated, and will significantly optimize the financial services sector.

区块链首先应用于比特币，承载比特币交易账簿的区块链是至今为止最原始、最大的区块链。令人始料不及的是区块链技术可能对会计和金融服务产生多方面的潜在影响。首先，区块链技术可以大大降低账务系统维护成本和对账成本，比如银行间对账和资金转移；其次，由于其永久、不可更改、加密、完全可验证的特点，审计和税务工作的时间将大大减少；第三，区块链技术可以扩展会计确认和计量的范围，比如对专有数据的计量和确认；第四，区块链技术应用于特定资产的记账和管理优势是非常明显的，比如，用于土地登记系统，以及用于跟踪非盈利组织的捐赠收入和使用情况；等等。尽管如此，区块链的大范围应用仍有许多法律和技术障碍需要突破。

First, block chain technology can significantly reduce the maintenance and reconciliation costs of accounting systems, such as inter-bank reconciliations and money transfers; secondly, because of its permanent, irreversible, encrypted, fully verifiable features, audit and tax work time will be significantly reduced; thirdly, block chain technology can expand the scope of accounting recognition and measurement, such as the measurement and validation of proprietary data; fourthly, block chain technology can be applied to asset-specific accounting and management advantages, for example, for land registration systems, and for tracking donor income and use by non-profit organizations; and secondly, there are many legal and technical obstacles that need to be overcome in the wider application of the chain.

迄今为止，区块链技术在会计和金融服务的应用仍处于萌芽阶段。区块链技术需要进一步地发展、标准化、和优化，才能真正成为金融体系不可或缺的部分，这可能需要数十年的时间。然而，会计行业和金融机构已经开始准备张开双臂拥抱这项变革性的技术，国际四大会计师事务所无一例外地开始尝试提供以区块链技术为支持的服务。各大金融机构、会计师事务所、投资银行、以及大公司都竞相加入各种“区块链联盟”。鉴于此ICAEW IT Faculty推出一系列关于区块链的文章，此处推荐“Blockchain and the Future of Accountancy”（2017），文章出自www.icaew.com，版权归原作者所有。

So far, block-chain technology has been in its infancy in accounting and financial services. Block-chain technology needs to be further developed, standardized, and optimized in order to be truly an indispensable part of the financial system, which may take decades. However, the accountancy profession and financial institutions have begun to prepare to embrace this transformative technology with open arms, and four major international accounting firms have tried, without exception, to provide services supported by block-chain technology. Large financial institutions, accounting firms, investment banks, and large companies have competed to join various “block-chain alliances.” Given that ICAEW IT Faculty has launched a series of articles on block-chains, “Blockchain and the Future of Aviation ” (2017), which are recommended here, from www.icaew.com, copyright belongs to the original author.

附：原文题目及摘要

: title and summary in original language

Blockchain and the Future of Accountancy

ICAEW IT Faculty, 2017

Blockchain is fundamentally an accounting technology. In this paper, we describe the technology and its likely impact on business, and in particular on the accounting profession. Blockchain has the potential to increase the efficiency of the process of accounting for transactions and assets, operating as a system of universal entry bookkeeping. This would create certainty over rights and obligations and provenance, which in turn would empower the accountancy profession to expand its scope to record more types of activity than before, and to drill down closer to the economic reality underpinning the transactions recorded.