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Schumpeter: Bean-counters v lion-tamers
熊彼特：會計師還是馴獅手
In EY’s split, fortune may favour the dull
在安永的拆分中，財富可能會青睞乏味的那一方
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·派森劇團的一部小品中，邁克爾·帕林飾演的中年鳳尾魚先生想要放棄他所說的極其枯燥的特許會計行業，成為一名馴獅手。
His “vocational guidance counsellor”, aka John Cleese, suggests he consider an interim career path—banking, say—while he works towards lion-taming.
他的“職業指導顧問”--又名約翰·克里斯--建議他在致力于從事馴獅工作的同時，考慮一條過渡的職業道路--比如銀行業。
“No, no, no, no, no,” Mr Anchovy interrupts.
“不不不不不，”鳳尾魚先生打斷道。
“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點到那里，開始馴服工作?！?/p>
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.
在四大會計師事務所之一安永匆忙考慮將其快速增長的咨詢業務從過時的審計業務中剝離出來之際，可以聽到鳳尾魚先生渴望的回聲。
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.
英格蘭及威爾士特許會計師協會的邁克爾·伊扎表示，按照記賬公司的標準來看，這不僅是一個大膽的舉措--以至于安永的三個競爭對手德勤、普華永道和畢馬威將根據其決定考慮下一步行動。
There is also a hint of Pythonesque farce about it.
這件事還有一種皮東風格鬧劇的色彩。
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.
人們如此興奮，以至于擬議中的2023年首次公開募股(IPO)的細節被泄露給了《華爾街日報》，該報于6月20日發表了這些細節。
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潛在財富規模--這是安永的老會計們更愿意保密的東西。
The firm insists no final decision has been made.
該公司堅稱尚未做出最終決定。
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.
監管機構擔心，咨詢服務會給同時進行法定審計的公司帶來利益沖突。
After a string of accounting scandals in recent years they are urging the auditors to stand on their own two feet.
在最近幾年發生了一系列會計丑聞后，他們敦促審計師們自力更生。
As for an IPO, that is bound to set consultants’ hearts racing.
至于首次公開募股，這肯定會讓各大咨詢公司心跳加速。
But like Mr Anchovy, they should think twice before they leap into the lion’s den.
但就像鳳尾魚先生一樣，它們在跳進獅子窩之前應該三思。
In the long run, audit may well be the more prudent bet.
從長遠來看，審計很可能是更謹慎的選擇。
Make no mistake, the advisory practice is the red-blooded side of the business.
毫無疑問，咨詢業務是活躍業務。
It accounted for two-thirds of EY’s $40bn in revenues last year.
在安永去年400億美元的營收中，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.
將大部分稅務、咨詢、戰略和交易工作從審計中解放出來，會為咨詢部門提供更大的回旋余地，并使其擺脫阻礙快速決策的合作模式。
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.
新的咨詢公司可以更容易地籌集資金，用于投資技術，并開發流行的外包業務，比如全面管理跨國公司的稅務事務。
It could bolster its fortunes by offloading niche businesses.
它可以通過清理利基業務來增加自己的財富。
(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.)
(并不是說它需要等待首次公開募股才能做到這一點：去年，普華永道以22億美元的價格，將一家處理全球公司海外派駐的公司出售給了一家私募股權公司，這是該公司近20年來最大的一筆撤資。)
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