西方会计英语Unit nine Comparative accountin

[00:03.45]Text 9.1  What are brands wort
[00:08.25]Accountants are divided over the treatment of intangible assets because they cannot make up their minds what balance sheets are for.
[00:15.57]Are they supposed to give a brave man's estimate of what a company is worth?
[00:19.49]Or are they to show (as they tend to in Britain) a cautious man's calculation of how much of a company's costs have not yet been written off against revenues?
[00:29.39]To some extent it is up to companies to make up their auditors²' minds for them.
[00:34.53]Price Waterhouse is auditor¹ to both Reckitt & Colman and Rowntree.
[00:39.13]Yet unlike Reckitt & Colman,Rowntree has never included in its annual report any valuation of its famous brands,
[00:46.79]such as Kit³ Kat,Polo,After Eight and Smarties.
[00:51.04]When Nestle offered to pay over ￡1 billion for something that did not appear in Rowntree's accounts,
[00:56.87]it confirmed many laymen's view that accountants must be asses⁴.
[01:01.88]Since Nestle's policy is also to write off trademarks⁵ and goodwill⁶ immediately against reserves,
[01:07.79]the value of Rowntree's brands has once again disappeared into an accounting⁷ black hole.
[01:13.04]Lowly status of marketing⁸
[01:15.36]The fact that few British companies have pushed their accountants to value their brands could have something to do with the lowly status of marketing in the corporate⁹ hierarchy¹⁰.
[01:25.05]It may not be a coincidence that Jean-Claude Larreche is a non-executive director of Reckitt & Colman.
[01:32.42]Mr Larreche is professor of marketing at Insead,the international business school outside Paris.
[01:39.63]No marketing director can be happy to see the fruits of his efforts totally ignored in his company's balance sheet.
[01:45.77]Mr Larreche may also have been influenced by France's example.
[01:50.29]Companies there keep intangible assets on their balance sheet.
[01:54.49]Unfortunately this does not mean that they are any more consistent than the British.
[01:59.56]In France the issue is not valuation but depreciation¹¹.
[02:04.19]In general,intangibles protected by a legal right(such as trademarks and,peculiarly,leasehold rights to property)are not depreciated,whereas goodwill and others are.
[02:16.78]A recent EC draft directive suggests goodwill be written off over five years.
[02:22.60]In practice,France has a host of exceptions.
[02:26.00]In 1984 Printemps,the department-store group,began to write off some FFr50 million of property rights,
[02:36.45]mostly related to its main store on Paris's Boulevard Haussmann.
[02:40.91]In its 1987 accounts Pernod Ricard wrote off FFr289 million of goodwill.
[02:49.14]That,said the company,was all the goodwill arising from mergers¹² before December 31,1987.
[02:56.40]Such practice was in accordance with the recommendations of the French National Council on Accounting Standards'.
[03:02.49]The FFr245 million of intangible assets remaining on the company's balance sheet at the end of 1987 related almost entirely¹³ to trademarks.
[03:13.44]On the other hand,Rhone-Poulenc had almost FFr4 billion of goodwill on its end-1987 balance sheet.
[03:22.50]Its policy is to amortise goodwill over not more than 40 years.
[03:27.73]The problem of how to account for intangible assets will not go away.
[03:32.24]Indeed,it can only become more of a problem.
[03:35.46]Not only because companies are more conscious of the value of brands(and more prepared to pay huge sums to buy them),
[03:42.69]but also because Europe's economies are increasingly becoming service economies.
[03:47.87]Service firms have few assets other than intangible ones.
[03:51.94]If their balance sheets continue to take no account of their most significant asset,then what use are they?
[03:59.20]It would be nice to think that accountants across Europe will find a common solution for the treatment of intangible assets.
[04:05.86]If they do,they will themselves have shown considerable goodwill to consumers of their accounts.
[04:12.68]Text 9.2   Germans draw line at two sets of accoun
[04:18.95]UK accounts at least pay lip-service to the notion that accounts should provide a 'true and fair' representation fo what is happening at the compan
[04:27.62]but German accounting does not aim to give outsiders such as analysts¹⁵ or investors¹⁶ a 'true' or merely 'fair' picture of a company's financial conditio
[04:37.76]If this make it difficult for international fund managers to make informed investment decisions about German companie
[04:44.32]it also denies German companies access to the world's largest capital marke
[04:49.57]The fact that not a single German company has a full listing in the US is directly due to German accountin
[04:56.23]Last year, a number of Germany's largest companies-including Daimler-Benz, Bayer, Hoechst and BAS
[05:04.20]and a number of largee banks -approached the Securities & Exchange Commission in the US with a view to obtaining a listing in the U
[05:11.85]The talks came to nothin
[05:13.94]The main obstacle was the SEC's requirement that the German companies-like all companies listed in the US-should comply with the generally accepted accounting  principles(US GAAP) in the U
[05:27.24]The German companies refused to give way, and the SEC would not compromise ; hence an impass
[05:33.92]The issue has rumbled¹⁷ on since the
[05:36.67]Last month the Federation¹⁸ of German Stock Exchanges said it was likely the European Commission would enter into direct negotiations¹⁹ with the SEC on behalf of all European countrie
[05:47.43]The EC may well take up the 'reciprocity 'argument used by the German companies last yea
[05:53.54]that a company which had complied with German listing requirements ought to qualify automatically for a listing in the US,without having to comply with US GAAP.
[06:03.44]Since German listing requirements are much less strenuous,US companies have no difficulty gaining a quote there.
[06:10.34]Apart from the general principle that German companies give away very little financial informatio
[06:15.51]the main practical difference between Teutonic accounting and the Anglo-American variety is that German accounting invariably understates both assets and profit
[06:25.49]as compared to figures presented under UK rules or US GAA
[06:31.13]An exercise conducted last year by Mr Gary Schieneman ,an analyst¹⁴ for Smith New Court in New Yor
[06:37.77]showed that shareholders²¹'equity at Mannesmann -a large German engineering company - at the end of 1989 would have been at least 40 percent higher if presented under US GAA
[06:50.78]while net profits would have been 50 percent and 36 per cent higher in 1988 and 1989 respectivel
[06:58.61]In another study, Mr Schieneman showed how the Voldswagen car company's 1989 profits would grow form DM1.04bn under German rules,to DM1.5bn under UK rules and DM1.9bn under US rule
[07:14.68]In the answer to the question 'what did Volkswagen really in 1989
[07:18.91]Schieneman was forced to conclude that it depended entirely on your accounting perspectiv
[07:24.21]What was true for the 1989 figures ,applies equally to those produced by large German companies in 1990 and 1991,says Schienema
[07:33.36]The differences between the German and the UK and the US versions of the figures are in part due to German conservatism on specific issues such as accounting for goodwill and depreciatio
[07:45.11]but there are also more fundamental factors at wor
[07:48.11]Mrs Heidrun Haase of Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt identifies some of the underlying²² causes of the differences between German and Anglo-American accountin
[07:57.18]German law insists that the interests of creditors²³ take precedence over those of shareholder²⁰
[08:03.42]The so-called Glaubigerchutzprinzip,in which this principe is enshuined, means that companies are under legal pressure to understate reported profits and asset
[08:13.37]There is no distinction between tax accounts and published accounts,as there is in the UK or the US:
[08:20.06]the Massgeblichkeitrinzip ordains²⁴ that in order to get a deduction²⁵ for tax purposes it must be booked in the published account
[08:28.11]Thus there is a cash incentive²⁶ for German companies to keep reported profits as low as possible ,because lower profits mean lower tax bill
[08:36.91]The structure of the German capital market does not bring pressure on companies to ramp²⁷ up their reported profit
[08:43.42]Only about 650 German companies are listed on the stock market,and of these the vast majority are controlled by banks or families with long-term investment horizon
[08:54.13]These shareholders have access to the management accounts, which tell the full story denied to those who must rely on published figure
[09:01.68]Despite recent developments such as the Continental-Pirelli saga²⁸ and Krupp's takeover of Hoesch
[09:08.08]there is no vigorous market for corporate control in Germany and managers do not have to present spectacular profits growth to fend²⁹ off takeove
[09:17.06]A further unspoken reason why German companies do not want to present US- style figures is that it would weaken their hand in negotiations with union
[09:26.33]Germany's labour costs are already higher than anywhere else in Europe and the fear is that they could get higher if the unions saw the profits restated upwards under US or UK GAA

1 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。

2 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

3 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

4 asses   

n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人

参考例句：

• Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分
• Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。

5 trademarks   

n.（注册）商标( trademark的名词复数 )；（人的行为或衣着的）特征，标记

参考例句：

• Motrin and Nuprin are trademarks of brands of ibuprofen tablets. Nuprin和Motrin均是布洛芬的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many goods in China have the trademarks of a panda. 中国的许多商品都带有熊猫的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

7 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。

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 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。

10 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

11 depreciation   

n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低

参考例句：

• She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
• They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

12 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

17 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

18 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

19 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

20 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

21 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

22 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

23 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 ordains   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• The festival ordains the Jains to observe the ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. 盛典命令耆那教徒日常遵守十大美德。 来自互联网

25 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

26 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

27 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

28 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

29 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。