2022年经济学人 安永的拆分(1)（在线收听）

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Schumpeter: Bean-counters v lion-tamers

熊彼特：会计师还是驯狮手

In EY’s split, fortune may favour the dull

在安永的拆分中，财富可能会青睐乏味的那一方

In a Monty Python sketch from 1969, the middle-aged Mr Anchovy, played by Michael Palin, wants to give up what he calls the desperately dull world of chartered accountancy in order to become a lion-tamer.

在1969年蒙蒂·派森剧团的一部小品中，迈克尔·帕林饰演的中年凤尾鱼先生想要放弃他所说的极其枯燥的特许会计行业，成为一名驯狮手。

His “vocational guidance counsellor”, aka John Cleese, suggests he consider an interim career path—banking, say—while he works towards lion-taming.

他的“职业指导顾问”--又名约翰·克里斯--建议他在致力于从事驯狮工作的同时，考虑一条过渡的职业道路--比如银行业。

“No, no, no, no, no,” Mr Anchovy interrupts.

“不不不不不，”凤尾鱼先生打断道。

“I don’t want to wait. At nine o’clock tomorrow I want to be in there, taming.”

“我不想等。我想明天9点到那里，开始驯服工作。”

Echoes of Mr Anchovy’s yearnings can be heard in the haste with which EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms, is considering spinning off its fast-growing consultancy practice from the unfashionable audit side of the business.

在四大会计师事务所之一安永匆忙考虑将其快速增长的咨询业务从过时的审计业务中剥离出来之际，可以听到凤尾鱼先生渴望的回声。

Not only is it a bold move by the standards of book-keeping firms—to the point, says Michael Izza of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, that EY’s three rivals, Deloitte, PWC and KPMG, will be considering their next steps in light of its decision.

英格兰及威尔士特许会计师协会的迈克尔·伊扎表示，按照记账公司的标准来看，这不仅是一个大胆的举措--以至于安永的三个竞争对手德勤、普华永道和毕马威将根据其决定考虑下一步行动。

There is also a hint of Pythonesque farce about it.

这件事还有一种皮东风格闹剧的色彩。

Such is the excitement that details of a proposed initial public offering (IPO) in 2023 were leaked to the Wall Street Journal, which published them on June 20th.

人们如此兴奋，以至于拟议中的2023年首次公开募股(IPO)的细节被泄露给了《华尔街日报》，该报于6月20日发表了这些细节。

They included the size of the potential bonanza for some of the firm’s 13,000 partners—something EY’s bean-counters of old would much rather have kept under their bowler hats.

其中包括安永13000名合伙人中一些人的潜在财富规模--这是安永的老会计们更愿意保密的东西。

The firm insists no final decision has been made.

该公司坚称尚未做出最终决定。

Yet a split would make sense.

然而，拆分是有道理的。

Regulators worry that consulting services generate conflicts of interest for firms also carrying out statutory audits.

监管机构担心，咨询服务会给同时进行法定审计的公司带来利益冲突。

After a string of accounting scandals in recent years they are urging the auditors to stand on their own two feet.

在最近几年发生了一系列会计丑闻后，他们敦促审计师们自力更生。

As for an IPO, that is bound to set consultants’ hearts racing.

至于首次公开募股，这肯定会让各大咨询公司心跳加速。

But like Mr Anchovy, they should think twice before they leap into the lion’s den.

但就像凤尾鱼先生一样，它们在跳进狮子窝之前应该三思。

In the long run, audit may well be the more prudent bet.

从长远来看，审计很可能是更谨慎的选择。

Make no mistake, the advisory practice is the red-blooded side of the business.

毫无疑问，咨询业务是活跃业务。

It accounted for two-thirds of EY’s $40bn in revenues last year.

在安永去年400亿美元的营收中，它占到了三分之二。

Unshackling much of the tax, consulting, strategy and transactions work from audit would give the consulting arm more room for manoeuvre and free it from a partnership model that smothers quick decision-making.

将大部分税务、咨询、战略和交易工作从审计中解放出来，会为咨询部门提供更大的回旋余地，并使其摆脱阻碍快速决策的合作模式。

The new advisory firm could raise capital more easily to invest in technology, as well as developing trendy outsourcing businesses such as fully running multinationals’ tax affairs.

新的咨询公司可以更容易地筹集资金，用于投资技术，并开发流行的外包业务，比如全面管理跨国公司的税务事务。

It could bolster its fortunes by offloading niche businesses.

它可以通过清理利基业务来增加自己的财富。

(Not that it needs to wait for an IPO to do that: last year PWC sold one that handles global companies’ foreign postings to a private-equity firm for $2.2bn, its biggest divestment in nearly two decades.)

(并不是说它需要等待首次公开募股才能做到这一点：去年，普华永道以22亿美元的价格，将一家处理全球公司海外派驻的公司出售给了一家私募股权公司，这是该公司近20年来最大的一笔撤资。)