经济学人290:咨询公司 战略举措

　　Business
商业报道
Consultancy firms
咨询公司
Strategic moves
战略举措
Big consulting and accounting¹ firms are making a risky² move into strategy work
大型的咨询和财务公司正在战略上铤而走险
OPERATIONS consultants³ sit at the front of the classroom, says a partner at a strategy consultancy. Strategy consultants stay in the back, not paying attention, throwing paper airplanes.
一家战略咨询公司的合伙人说：运营顾问坐在教室的前排，战略顾问坐在教室的后排投掷纸飞机，
But they still get the girls and get rich. Like so many caricatures, this one is cruel but contains a grain of truth.
尽管没人搭理，可是他们仍然能金钱美女双收。和众多的讽刺漫画一样，尽管残忍，它却道出了事实。
Operations consultants—the fine-detail guys who tinker with businesses' internal processes to make them run better.
运营顾问是一些细节家伙们，他们对贸易的内部流程进行粗略的处理，以使其运行更流畅。
2_副本.jpggenerally do not enjoy the same glamour⁴ or financial rewards as strategy specialists, whose job is to advise firms on make-or-break deals, adopting new business models and other big stuff.
一般来说他们不如战略专家抢手，也没有他们赚钱多。战略专家则是负责建议公司做孤注一掷的交易，采用新的商业模式或者其他大型事务。
Although in practice their work overlaps⁵, the two have until now remained distinct businesses.
尽管在实际中他们的工作有重叠的部分，可是这两者至今仍泾渭分明。
Strategy firms like McKinsey, Bain and the Boston Consulting Group hire from the top universities, are packed with highly paid partners and whisper their counsel in CEOs' ears.
战略公司，比如麦肯锡，贝恩和波士顿咨询公司，他们从顶尖大学雇佣大量的高薪员工，专门给总裁出谋划策。
In contrast, operations specialists such as IBM, Accenture and the Big Four accounting firms employ armies of lower-paid grunts⁶; and tend to answer to the client firm's finance or tech chiefs.
相反的，譬如IBM、埃森哲咨询公司和四大会计师事务所这样的操作专家则雇佣低薪大军，往往他们却做上了客户公司的财务或技术主管。
This year, however, that line has begun to blur⁷.
然而今年，他们的界限就变得模糊了。
In January Deloitte became the largest of the Big Four by scooping⁹ up the assets of Monitor, a strategy firm that had gone bust¹⁰.
一月，德勤公司通过收购破产的战略公司莫尼托成了四大会计师事务所之一。
And on October 30th its closest rival, PwC, said it would buy another strategy firm, Booz & Company, for a reported $1 billion.
十月三十号它最有力的竞争者普华永道会计师事务所宣称将斥资十亿美元收购另外一家战略公司博斯公司。
If Booz's partners approve the deal, it will vault¹¹ PwC back into first place.
如果博斯的合伙人批准了这笔交易，这将会帮助普华永道重登第一宝座。
The accountancies' push into strategy has been a decade in the making.
会计师们推进战略的形成已经十个年头了。
During the late-1990s technology bubble they beefed up their IT-consulting arms.
20世纪90年代末期，科技的进步使得他们不得不加强他们的IT咨询武器。
But in 2001 Enron, an energy-trading firm, went bust and took its auditor¹³, Arthur Andersen, down with it.
但是2001年一家能源交易公司安然破产了，它的审计员也被拖下水了。
In response, America's Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-governance reform, which banned firms from doing systems consulting for companies they audited¹⁴.
于是，美国国会通过了萨班斯-奥克斯利公司监管改革法案，该法案禁止企业为他们审计的公司做系统的咨询。
As a consolation¹⁵ prize, the Big Four made a fortune helping¹⁶ clients comply with the new law.
作为安慰奖，四大会计师事务所通过帮助顾客遵守新的法律而大发横财。
Their advisory¹⁷ businesses, full of potential for conflicts of interest with their auditing¹⁸ side, by now seemed dispensable.
他们的咨询业务与他们的审计方面充满了潜在的利益冲突，现在看来也是可有可无了。
All but Deloitte had sold off those divisions by 2003.
除了德勤其他会计师事务所都在2003年前处理掉了这些部门。
Just as the workload¹⁹ from Sarbanes-Oxley began to dwindle²⁰, the 2008-09 financial crisis hit, causing consulting revenues to dip.
正如萨班斯-奥克斯利法案的出台减少了工作量，2008年到2009年的金融危机的冲击造成了咨询工资的减少。
But once the economy recovered, the climate for the Big Four started to resemble the 1990s.
而一旦经济复苏，四大会计师事务所又会像20世纪90年代那样如日中天。
They began to rush back into consultancy, encouraged by its high margins²¹ and double-digit annual growth rates at a time when revenue growth from auditing and tax work had slowed.
当审计和税收工作的工资增长缓慢而咨询的工资年翻一番时，受高利润的诱惑，他们又开始重操旧业。
In particular, Deloitte and PwC began gobbling up operations consultancies as they sparred for the top spot.
尤其是德勤和普华永道，在坐上头把交椅的过程中，他们狼吞虎咽一般并购咨询公司。
For years the strategy firms remained beyond the Big Four's grasp.
几年里战略公司都不被四大巨头看重。
During the 2000s they had mostly prospered²² on their own, and their partners shuddered²³ at the thought of being subsumed into giant bureaucracies.
2000年里它们自己昌盛了，他们的合伙人想到要卷入复杂的官僚政治就战战兢兢。
After the financial crisis, however, midsized strategy consultants hit hard times.
然而金融危机之后，中型战略咨询公司遇上了寒冬。
Cost-conscious companies with globalising businesses wanted either to hire boutiques with deep knowledge of their industries, or to benefit from the scale of generalist firms with offices everywhere.
注重节约成本的全球化企业要么雇佣有着丰富行业知识的精品店，要么就从到处都有办公室的多面手公司的规模上受益。
Too big for some clients and too small for others, Monitor went under, and Booz—a spin-off from Booz Allen Hamilton, which now focuses on operations work for governments—went on the block.
像莫尼托这样不大不小的公司倒闭了，而现在将重心放在操作工作上的博斯艾伦的子公司博斯则继续步履维艰。
Both Booz and PwC say that the two sides of consulting are converging²⁴, and that more clients want a one-stop shop that can both devise a strategy and execute it.
博斯和普华永道都表示双方正在合并中，而且更多的客户都表示想要既能出谋划策又能去实行策略的一站式商店。
Deloitte and Monitor claim their integration²⁵ is already bearing fruit.
德勤和莫尼托则宣称他们的合并已经初见成效，
There's been a very healthy two-way cross-selling opportunity, says Mike Canning of Deloitte.
德勤的迈克坎宁说：双方有着非常良好的交叉销售的机遇。
Nonetheless, Booz's leadership still faces a hard sell to get the deal passed.
尽管如此，博斯的领导地位仍面临一笔艰难的交易的完成。
In 2010 the company's partners voted down a proposed merger²⁶ with AT Kearney, another midsized strategy firm. This marriage involves far more risks.
2010年，博斯的合作伙伴投票否决了合并另一家中型战略公司科尼尔的决议。
A significant number of Booz's clients would immediately be in doubt because PwC audits²⁷ them—strategy consulting for audit¹² clients is banned in many countries, and even where it is legal it is frowned upon.
这桩联姻的风险大得多。相当一部分博斯的客户立马就会犹疑，因为普华永道审计他们，在很多国家替审计客户作战略咨询是明令禁止的，即使合法也是令人不悦的。
Since the Big Four are structured as associations of national partnerships²⁸, Booz's staff would probably end up being divided by country, hindering the global co-operation that many big clients seek.
由于四大巨头是国家合作伙伴组织，博斯的员工最终可能被国家分开，阻碍许多大客户寻觅的全球合作商机。
Most important, each of Booz's 300 partners would have to trade meaningful sway over the direction of a highly profitable firm for a minuscule²⁹ stake in a diversified³⁰, lower-margin empire.
最重要的是，为了从高盈利的公司转化成一个极小的股权多元的、低利润的帝国，博斯的300个合作伙伴每一个都要作有意义的贸易。
If the sale is approved, the test of its success will come in a few years, after Booz's partners receive their full payout and can head off.
如果销售被批准了，博斯的合作伙伴收到了全额支付并能转移方向后，接下来的几年里对它成功与否的考验将会到来。
An exodus³¹ would leave PwC empty-handed.
大批合作伙伴的离去将会使得普华永道一无所获。
The Big Four are also running a risk far greater than the cost of their purchases.
四大巨头也在运行风险，比他们所购物花销要大得多的风险。
A decade ago they placated³² regulators by retreating from advisory work.
10年前他们退出咨询工作稳住监管者。
High-profile deals like the Booz-PwC tie-up put the conflict of interest between auditing and consulting back in the spotlight³³:
诸如博斯和普华永道的结合这样高调的交易使审计和咨询的利益冲突再度成为人们关注的焦点：
after it was announced, Arthur Levitt, a former head of America's Securities and Exchange Commission, warned that the firms were slipping back towards old, bad habits.
消息传出后，美国证券交易委员会前任掌门人亚瑟莱维特警告说该公司正在向陈旧和恶劣的习性倒退。
Any gains from pushing into strategy work might end up being outweighed³⁴ by the cost of another regulatory crackdown.
推行战略工作的任何收益也将被用在监管镇压的开销而抵消。
1.pay attention 专心
But I forgot about them or didn't pay attention.
但是我忘了，或者根本就没有注意。
So we can't actually be aware unless we pay attention.
所以说，我们只有注意到某件事物，才能了解这件事物。
2.pack with 用…充满
You brought your whole pack with you?
你把你这帮爪牙都带上了？
The film had led the pack with 13 nominations³⁵.
返老还童》以13项提名领先各候选影片。
3.tend to 朝某方向；趋向；偏重
Smaller laptops also tend to have longer battery life.
小巧的电脑也趋向更长的电池持续时间。
I tend to prefer light colors.
我往往更喜欢淡颜色。
4.scoop⁸ up 铲起；舀
Scoop up some spawn³⁶ in your net or hands-making sure you don't squeeze it too hard.
用渔网或您的手捞一些卵要保证你不会伤害到它们。
Now they had to use their spoons with their left hand to steady the food while cutting with the right hand, then switch the spoon to the right hand to scoop up a bite.
而一直以来，人们都是用刀子戳食物的，所以只能左手持勺子，按住食物，右手用钝刀切，切完后再把勺子换到右手，舀东西吃。

1 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。

2 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

3 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。

4 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

5 overlaps   

v.部分重叠( overlap的第三人称单数 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• The style in these two books largely overlaps. 这两本书的文体有许多处是一致的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The new office overlaps the functions of the one already in existence. 新机构的职能与那个现存机构的职能部分重叠。 来自辞典例句

6 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。

7 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

8 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

9 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

10 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

11 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

12 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。

13 auditor   

n.审计员，旁听着

参考例句：

• The auditor was required to produce his working papers.那个审计员被要求提供其工作底稿。
• The auditor examines the accounts of all county officers and departments.审计员查对所有县官员及各部门的帐目。

14 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

15 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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 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 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

20 dwindle   

v.逐渐变小（或减少）

参考例句：

• The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。

21 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

22 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

23 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

25 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

26 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

27 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

28 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

29 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

30 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

31 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

32 placated   

v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She hardly knew how to answer this, and yet her wrath was not placated. 她几乎不知道该如何来回答他，然而她的怒气并没有气息。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

33 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

34 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

35 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

36 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。