经济学人227:公司透明化 离析淤积物

 　　Business

　　商业报道

　　Corporate¹ transparency

　　公司透明化

　　Measuring mud

　　离析淤积物

　　How transparent² are the world's biggest listed companies?

　　世界上最大的上市公司透明程度到底如何

　　Clear envelopes have yet to catch on

　　透明的信封，要流行还尚需时日

　　ARE you cheating on your spouse³?

　　你正对自己的配偶不忠吗？

　　If so, please stand up and declare it.

　　如果是这样，请站起来承认。

　　Total silence? What virtuous⁴ readers The Economist⁵ has.

　　全都沉默？《经济学人》的读者是何其品德高尚啊。

　　Trying to measure corruption⁶ is a bit like surveying adultery.

　　尝试去测量腐败的程度就有一点像是调查婚外情。

　　Those who indulge in it are unlikely to admit it.

　　深陷其中的人们可不愿意主动承认。

　　So when surveying big companies, Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, asks a different question:

　　于是调查大公司时，反腐败监管机构透明国际问了个不一样的问题：

　　how transparent are you?

　　你的透明程度如何？

　　Its latest survey, “Transparency in Corporate Reporting”, looks at the world's 105 biggest listed firms.

　　它的最新调查“企业报告中的透明度”涵盖了世界上最大的105家上市公司。

　　It measures three things.

　　他衡量三方面情况。

　　First, a company's internal rules and procedures to prevent corruption.

　　首先是公司用于防范腐败的内部条例、流程。

　　Second, the transparency of its organisational structure.

　　第二是组织构架的透明度。

　　Third, TI asks whether a firm publishes detailed⁷ financial information about its activities in every country where it operates,

　　第三，TI将询问公司是否公布了每个它参与运营的国家中所做活动的详细财务信息，

　　including how much it pays in taxes and royalties⁸ to each government.

　　比如向政府交了多少税，交了多少版权费。

　　Most firms in the sample have strict rules barring bribery¹⁰.

　　样本中的大部分企业都有严格的条例杜绝行、受贿。

　　The average score on this count was 69%, up from 47% in 2009, the last time TI conducted a similar exercise.

　　这项标准的平均得分率从TI上次在2009年引导一个类似练习时的47%提到了现在的69%。

　　Many firms also disclose ample details about which holding company owns which subsidiary, and so forth¹¹.

　　许多企业还披露了哪家控股集团拥有哪家子公司等丰富的细节。

　　Of the 105 companies, 45 scored a perfect 100% for organisational transparency.

　　全部105家企业中，四十五家在企业透明度上的得分率都达到了完美的100%。

　　On the third measure, however, most firms remained tight-lipped.

　　但是在第三项指标上，许多企业都守口如瓶。

　　This does not mean they have done anything illegal.

　　这不表示他们就干过违法的事。

　　Suppose a mining firm pays 10m to a government for a licence to dig.

　　设想一个采矿业公司为了得到挖掘许可，向政府支付了1000万美元。

　　The fee may be legitimate¹², but the government may wish to keep it secret, to make it easier to embezzle¹³.

　　这项费用可能合法，但政府也可能希望在这件事上保密，让侵吞变得更容易。

　　A company that is completely transparent may find it hard to win any more contracts from dodgy governments, which, alas¹⁴, control a lot of the world's natural resources.

　　完全透明的公司也许会很难从乐于遮掩的政府那里赢得更多的合约，然而这些政府却控制着全世界的自然资源。

　　Statoil, Norway's state-controlled oil-and-gas firm, was by far the best performer, yet it scored only 50% on this measure.

　　挪威的国家控股油气企业挪威国家石油公司在这项指标上只得了50%。

　　More than a third of firms scored zero; the average was a meagre 4%.

　　三分之一以上的企业得分为零；平均得分率只有可怜的4%。

　　Campaigners have long complained that money from oil and minerals props¹⁵ up predatory governments, and lobbied firms to publish what they pay.

　　竞选者一直在抱怨从石油和矿产得来的钱支持了掠夺成性的政府，并且游说企业公布出他们支付了的东西。

　　Big Western miners and drillers have taken heed¹⁶: the top five on TI's list are all involved in natural resources.

　　西方大型挖掘与钻井公司已经留意到TI列表上的前五名都和自然资源有关。

　　Many firms, however, are reluctant to answer probing questions from Western busybodies: Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant, scores zero on the first and third measures.

　　但是许多公司不愿回答西方好事者提出的探查性问题：俄罗斯国有天然气巨头俄罗斯天燃气公司就在第一和第三问题上得分为零。

　　TI's calculations are open to challenge.

　　这项评估受到了挑战。

　　Do Amazon, Google and Berkshire Hathaway deserve to be ranked near the bottom?

　　亚马逊，谷歌，伯克希尔·哈撒韦应该排在接近底部的位置吗？

　　Probably not.

　　也许不是。

　　These firms may not disclose as much as TI would like,

　　这些企业公布的信息没有TI期待的那样多，

　　but they are not in businesses where one is ever asked to bribe⁹ a cabinet minister to win a mining concession¹⁷.

　　但他们所处的商业环境也并不需要他们去贿赂内阁大臣以获得采矿许可。

　　TI does a good job of focusing attention on a serious problem.

　　TI在聚焦重要问题方面做得不错，

　　But like The Economist's adultery survey, its results should be taken with a handful of salt.

　　但就像经济学人杂志的婚外情调查一样，其结果只应受到谨慎的参考。

　　1.transparency n.透明；透明度；透明性

　　The transparency of the auditing¹⁸ shall be strengthened.

　　加强审核工作的透明度。

　　2.envelope n.信封，封皮；壳层

　　Inside the empty envelope propped¹⁹ up against a cup.

　　紧靠在杯子旁的那个空空的信封里面。

　　3.declare v.宣布；声明，声称

　　We can declare bankruptcy²⁰, we can sell the house.

　　我们可以宣布破产，我们可以把房子卖了。

　　4.virtuous a.有道德的，有德行的；善良的

　　Never want to prove his virtuous than his mother.

　　永远不要想证明自己比他的母亲贤惠。

　　5.corruption n.腐败；贪污；贿赂

　　He was initially²¹ charged with corruption.

　　最初他被指控腐败。

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

3 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

4 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

9 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

10 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

13 embezzle   

vt.贪污，盗用；挪用(公款；公物等)

参考例句：

• I suppose they embezzle a lot.我想他们贪污了不少。
• The cashier embezzled $50,000 from the bank and ran away.银行的出纳盗用了五万美元，并且逃跑了。

14 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

15 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

16 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

17 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

18 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

19 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

20 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

21 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。