2022年经济学人 安永的拆分(2)

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There is an even more enticing¹ precedent².

还有一个更诱人的先例。

Accenture, which was spun³ off from Arthur Andersen and then went public a year before the accounting⁴ firm collapsed⁵ in 2002, has soared in value to $190bn.

埃森哲是从安达信独立出来的，在2002年安达信倒闭前一年上市。如今，埃森哲的市值飙升至1900亿美元。

EY’s consulting arm would not be worth close to that.

安永的咨询部门远不会值这么多钱。

However, the leaked documents, based on recent market conditions, suggest it could raise $10bn by selling a 15% stake.

然而，根据最近的市场状况，泄露的文件表明，该公司可以通过出售15%的股份筹集100亿美元。

The partners who join it would receive 70% of the shares (the remaining 15% would be for lowlier staff).

加入它的合伙人将获得70%的股份(剩下的15%将留给较低级别的员工)。

It is not all upside for the consultants⁶, though.

不过，这对咨询公司来说也不全是好事。

The split would involve a cash payout from the spun-off company to partners remaining in the rump EY, and would cover potential claims against the firm for problems such as those at Wirecard, a failed German payments company, and NMC Health, a collapsed British hospital chain, both of which EY audited⁸.

拆分将涉及：一，独立出来的公司向仍留在安永剩余部分的合作伙伴支付现金；二，支付因一些问题而可能对该公司提出的索赔，比如破产的德国支付公司Wirecard和倒闭的英国医疗连锁公司NMC Health的问题，这两家公司都是由安永审计的。

To make the payment, the new firm would reportedly borrow $17bn—a large sum considering that publicly traded rivals like Accenture and TCS have low debts.

据报道，为了支付这笔款项，新公司将借入170亿美元--考虑到埃森哲和塔塔咨询服务公司等上市竞争对手的低负债，这是一笔不小的金额。

Those are not the only competitors, either.

这些也不是唯一的竞争对手。

Barriers to entry in consulting are low.

进入咨询行业的门槛很低。

Big tech firms such as Microsoft and data-miners such as Palantir may try to muscle into the space.

微软等大型科技公司和Palantir等数据挖掘公司可能会试图强行进入这一领域。

The EY brand may have raised the stature⁹ of the consultancy practice, but it will probably be floated with a new name.

安永这个品牌可能提升了咨询业务的声望，但它很可能会以一个新的名字上市。

Like some other consultants, it could fall victim to delusions¹⁰ of grandeur¹¹.

与其他一些咨询公司一样，它可能会沦为妄自尊大的受害者。

That is why, despite being the pedestrian side of the business, audit⁷ could be a dark horse.

这就是为什么，尽管审计业务平淡乏味，却可能是一匹黑马。

Its shortcomings are well known: lack of trust, conflicts of interest, low pay compared with other professional services, the risk that AI-powered “audit bots” will crawl over its business model.

它的缺点众所周知：缺乏信任、利益冲突、与其他专业服务相比薪酬较低、人工智能驱动的“审计机器人”可能会影响其商业模式。

Yet it has some advantages.

但它也有一些优势。

For one thing, it remains¹² an entrenched¹³ oligopoly.

首先，它仍然是一个根深蒂固的寡头垄断。

The Big Four audit 99% of firms in the S&P 500 index.

四大会计师事务所审计了标普500指数中99%的公司。

Moreover, structural¹⁴ changes are afoot that could benefit it.

此外，结构性改变正在发生，这可能会让它受益。

The first is regulatory.

第一个变化是监管问题。

As the Big Four auditors¹⁵ are forced to become more independent, they are raising fees.

随着这四大审计公司被迫变得更加独立，它们正在提高费用。

As pressure mounts to improve audit quality, they will charge more for it.

随着提高审计质量的压力越来越大，它们将收取更高的费用。

The second change is to their scope.

第二个变化是它们的工作范围。

The firms are expecting a lot of new work as regulators force companies to disclose more about their climate impact.

随着监管机构迫使公司披露更多有关其气候影响的信息，这些公司预计会有大量新工作。

Much of this will have to be checked and approved by auditors.

其中很多信息将必须得到审计公司的检查和批准。

One senior accountant talks excitedly about hiring “thousands of eco-warriors”.

一位资深会计师兴奋地谈到要雇佣“数千名生态卫士”。

If history is any guide, the windfall from the split may favour the auditors, too.

如果以史为鉴，拆分带来的意外之财可能也会让审计公司受益。

Though the partners remaining on the audit side would receive lower payouts than those departing with the consultancy, cash in hand is precious, especially in times of volatile¹⁶ markets.

尽管留在审计部门的合伙人获得的分红会低于离开咨询公司的合伙人，但手中的现金是宝贵的，尤其是在市场动荡的时候。

The last time EY split off its consultancy, selling it to Capgemini, a French firm, in 2000, the partners who received cash, not shares, did better.

安永上次在2000年将其咨询业务拆分，出售给法国凯捷公司时，获得现金而非股票的合伙人表现更好。

And after that the auditors simply rebuilt the consulting side of the business.

在那之后，审计公司简单地重建了咨询业务。

Even now they plan to retain elements of advisory¹⁷ work, such as parts of the tax practice.

即使是现在，它们也计划保留部分咨询工作，例如部分税务业务。

These could again be reconstructed into something bigger.

这些可以再次被重建成更大的业务。

Those with long memories, such as the older partners, will know all this.

那些拥有更长久记忆的人，比如资历更深的合伙人，会知道这一切。

Many of the more junior ones may find themselves lured¹⁸ by the eat-what-you-kill excitement of consultancy.

许多资历较浅的人可能会发现，自己被咨询公司那种论功行赏制度带来的兴奋感所吸引。

But if they ignore history, they should not ignore comedy.

但如果他们忽视历史，就不应该忽视喜剧。

Mr Anchovy¹⁹ never did become a lion-tamer.

凤尾鱼先生从未成为一名驯狮手。

What he thought was a lion was instead an anteater.

他以为的狮子其实是食蚁兽。

Shown a photo of a real lion, he passed out.

给他看了一张真狮子的照片后，他昏了过去。

1 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

2 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

3 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

7 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

8 audited   

v.审计，查账( audit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The accounts have to be audited by a firm of external auditors. 这些账目必须由一家外聘审计员的公司来稽查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• E. g. few if any charities collection publishes audited accounts. 例如很少义款收集有公布经过查核的帐目。 来自互联网

9 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

10 delusions   

n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想

参考例句：

• the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
• She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句

11 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

14 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

16 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

17 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

18 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

19 anchovy   

n.凤尾鱼

参考例句：

• Waters off the Peruvian coast become unusually warm,destroying the local anchovy fishing industry.由于异常的高温，秘鲁海岸的海水温度变化异常，影响了当地的凤尾鱼捕捞业。
• Anchovy together with sweet-peppergarlic,milk,chicken stock,and add cheese toasted.奶油状的搅打鸡蛋，放在涂有凤尾鱼糊的吐司面包上。