Accounting in China
中国的会计
Seeing the forest for the trees
只见树木，不见树林
Corporate governance in China is lousy
中国的公司治理问题重重
Feb 4th 2012 | HONG KONG | from the print edition
CAN you trust Chinese accounts? Many investors fear (and several short-sellers are betting) that the answer is "no". Sino-Forest, a big forestry firm listed in Toronto, is a case in point. Last year Muddy Waters, a short-seller, accused it of running a Ponzi scheme, which it denies. On January 31st Sino-Forest released the final report of independent investigators into the charge. Insiders crow that the gumshoes found no smoking gun. The gumshoes grumbled that, lacking access to all the evidence, they were "not able to reach definitive conclusions".
中国公司的帐目值得相信吗？许多投资者担心答案会是"不"，而一些做空者却为此下了重注。嘉汉林业（Sino-Forest）是来自中国的一家大型林业企业，其股票已经在多伦多证交所挂牌交易，该公司的遭遇恰好可以用来研究本文开头的问题。去年，一家名为浑水（Muddy Waters）的做空公司指控嘉汉林业实际上是一场庞式骗局，而后者对此予以否认。今年1月31日，针对浑水的指控进行的独立调查最终报告终于出炉，嘉汉林业内部人士欢呼说，调查者们没有找到确凿的证据。调查者则抱怨，由于部分证据的获取受限，他们"无法获得明确的结论"。
America's SEC is trying to force the Shanghai office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a big Western accountancy firm, to hand over papers related to Longtop, a Chinese software firm that was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange last year. Deloitte refuses, saying this would violate Chinese laws on "state secrets". Deloitte may have a point. If it co-operates, its local staff could be jailed under Chinese law.
另外，美国证券交易委员会正试图要求"四大"之一的德勤会计师事务所上海分所提交与一家中国软件公司Longtop有关的资料。这家公司的股票去年被纽约证券交易所摘牌。德勤拒绝了这一要求，因为这违反了中国保护"国家机密"的相关法律。德勤的拒绝有一定道理，如果接受这一要求很可能导致其在当地的部分员工因违反中国法律而入狱。
Many accountancy problems spring from reverse takeovers, when a Chinese firm buys a foreign one to acquire its listing. T. J. Wong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has analysed 200 Chinese reverse takeovers in the West, and found that many have run into trouble. The troubled outfits are typically smallish private ones that opted for a backdoor Western listing because they could not list in Hong Kong (where reverse takeovers are barred).
许多会计问题源自于反向收购，即一家中国公司通过购买了一家外国公司，以此获得上市资格。香港中文大学的T. J. Wong分析了中国公司在西方市场上进行的200次反向收购，发现其中存在许多问题。出现问题的通常是小型私人公司，因为他们无法在禁止反向收购的香港市场上市，所以只得选择走西方证券市场的后门。
Western accountancy firms have taken flak for lending their good names to dodgy Chinese firms. But the international boss of a Big Four accountancy firm says this is unfair. The first 156 Chinese reverse takeovers were not audited by Western accountants, he says, but by their Chinese rivals. He insists the Big Four have greatly increased their vigilance in China.
许多人批评西方会计师事务所用自己的好名声为这些问题重重的中国公司保驾护航。但是"四大"中一家的总裁认为这样的批评并不公平。他说，在中国公司所进行的反向收购中，前156次没有与西方会计师事务所合作，而是选择了国内其他会计师事务所。该总裁坚称，"四大"对于涉及中国公司的业务已经提高了警惕。
Michael Thompson of the China Europe International Business School argues that Chinese corporate-governance laws are better than people think. They call for independent directors, separate the chairman's role from that of the chief executive, and grant shareholders many rights.
中欧国际商学院的Michael Thompson则认为，中国公司治理的相关法律比人们想象中要好得多。中国法律要求公司聘用独立董事，将董事长一职从首席执行官中区分出来，并赋予股东许多权利。
The problem with many of the firms whose accounts are currently under scrutiny is that they were registered in such places as the Cayman Islands, outside the reach of Chinese law. And the loophole that allowed them to list in America via reverse takeovers is an American loophole, not a Chinese one.
问题在于，多数当前受到关注的公司，都在像开曼群岛这样的地方注册，不受中国法律管辖。另外，他们通过反向收购在美国证券市场上市，这体现了美国证券市场的漏洞，而非中国。
China's biggest corporate-governance problem is not its laws, but its government's willingness to enforce them even-handedly. William McGovern of Kobre & Kim, a lawyer and former SEC enforcement official, argues that aggressive action by American regulators after the Enron debacle restored confidence to American markets. China risks a similar crisis of confidence now, but Mr McGovern observes that its regulators have yet to act decisively at home or to co-operate with foreign agencies such as the SEC. Not all Chinese firms are crooked―but until China gets serious about regulating its companies, investors should remain wary.
中国公司治理的最大问题不是缺乏相关法律，而是政府是否愿意公平地贯彻和实施相关法律。来自Kobre & Kim 的律师William McGovern曾任美国证券委员会执行官员，他认为美国监管者在安然事件后采取的严厉措施有助于恢复市场信心，中国正面临着同样的信心缺失风险。但是Mr McGovern观察到，中国的监管者既没有下定决心在国内解决问题，也不愿意和像美国证券交易委员会这样的外国机构进行协作。并非所有的中国公司都使诈，但是如果中国不能实施严格的监管，投资者必须保持谨慎。
中国的会计
Seeing the forest for the trees
只见树木，不见树林
Corporate governance in China is lousy
中国的公司治理问题重重
Feb 4th 2012 | HONG KONG | from the print edition
CAN you trust Chinese accounts? Many investors fear (and several short-sellers are betting) that the answer is "no". Sino-Forest, a big forestry firm listed in Toronto, is a case in point. Last year Muddy Waters, a short-seller, accused it of running a Ponzi scheme, which it denies. On January 31st Sino-Forest released the final report of independent investigators into the charge. Insiders crow that the gumshoes found no smoking gun. The gumshoes grumbled that, lacking access to all the evidence, they were "not able to reach definitive conclusions".
中国公司的帐目值得相信吗？许多投资者担心答案会是"不"，而一些做空者却为此下了重注。嘉汉林业（Sino-Forest）是来自中国的一家大型林业企业，其股票已经在多伦多证交所挂牌交易，该公司的遭遇恰好可以用来研究本文开头的问题。去年，一家名为浑水（Muddy Waters）的做空公司指控嘉汉林业实际上是一场庞式骗局，而后者对此予以否认。今年1月31日，针对浑水的指控进行的独立调查最终报告终于出炉，嘉汉林业内部人士欢呼说，调查者们没有找到确凿的证据。调查者则抱怨，由于部分证据的获取受限，他们"无法获得明确的结论"。
America's SEC is trying to force the Shanghai office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a big Western accountancy firm, to hand over papers related to Longtop, a Chinese software firm that was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange last year. Deloitte refuses, saying this would violate Chinese laws on "state secrets". Deloitte may have a point. If it co-operates, its local staff could be jailed under Chinese law.
另外，美国证券交易委员会正试图要求"四大"之一的德勤会计师事务所上海分所提交与一家中国软件公司Longtop有关的资料。这家公司的股票去年被纽约证券交易所摘牌。德勤拒绝了这一要求，因为这违反了中国保护"国家机密"的相关法律。德勤的拒绝有一定道理，如果接受这一要求很可能导致其在当地的部分员工因违反中国法律而入狱。
Many accountancy problems spring from reverse takeovers, when a Chinese firm buys a foreign one to acquire its listing. T. J. Wong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has analysed 200 Chinese reverse takeovers in the West, and found that many have run into trouble. The troubled outfits are typically smallish private ones that opted for a backdoor Western listing because they could not list in Hong Kong (where reverse takeovers are barred).
许多会计问题源自于反向收购，即一家中国公司通过购买了一家外国公司，以此获得上市资格。香港中文大学的T. J. Wong分析了中国公司在西方市场上进行的200次反向收购，发现其中存在许多问题。出现问题的通常是小型私人公司，因为他们无法在禁止反向收购的香港市场上市，所以只得选择走西方证券市场的后门。
Western accountancy firms have taken flak for lending their good names to dodgy Chinese firms. But the international boss of a Big Four accountancy firm says this is unfair. The first 156 Chinese reverse takeovers were not audited by Western accountants, he says, but by their Chinese rivals. He insists the Big Four have greatly increased their vigilance in China.
许多人批评西方会计师事务所用自己的好名声为这些问题重重的中国公司保驾护航。但是"四大"中一家的总裁认为这样的批评并不公平。他说，在中国公司所进行的反向收购中，前156次没有与西方会计师事务所合作，而是选择了国内其他会计师事务所。该总裁坚称，"四大"对于涉及中国公司的业务已经提高了警惕。
Michael Thompson of the China Europe International Business School argues that Chinese corporate-governance laws are better than people think. They call for independent directors, separate the chairman's role from that of the chief executive, and grant shareholders many rights.
中欧国际商学院的Michael Thompson则认为，中国公司治理的相关法律比人们想象中要好得多。中国法律要求公司聘用独立董事，将董事长一职从首席执行官中区分出来，并赋予股东许多权利。
The problem with many of the firms whose accounts are currently under scrutiny is that they were registered in such places as the Cayman Islands, outside the reach of Chinese law. And the loophole that allowed them to list in America via reverse takeovers is an American loophole, not a Chinese one.
问题在于，多数当前受到关注的公司，都在像开曼群岛这样的地方注册，不受中国法律管辖。另外，他们通过反向收购在美国证券市场上市，这体现了美国证券市场的漏洞，而非中国。
China's biggest corporate-governance problem is not its laws, but its government's willingness to enforce them even-handedly. William McGovern of Kobre & Kim, a lawyer and former SEC enforcement official, argues that aggressive action by American regulators after the Enron debacle restored confidence to American markets. China risks a similar crisis of confidence now, but Mr McGovern observes that its regulators have yet to act decisively at home or to co-operate with foreign agencies such as the SEC. Not all Chinese firms are crooked―but until China gets serious about regulating its companies, investors should remain wary.
中国公司治理的最大问题不是缺乏相关法律，而是政府是否愿意公平地贯彻和实施相关法律。来自Kobre & Kim 的律师William McGovern曾任美国证券委员会执行官员，他认为美国监管者在安然事件后采取的严厉措施有助于恢复市场信心，中国正面临着同样的信心缺失风险。但是Mr McGovern观察到，中国的监管者既没有下定决心在国内解决问题，也不愿意和像美国证券交易委员会这样的外国机构进行协作。并非所有的中国公司都使诈，但是如果中国不能实施严格的监管，投资者必须保持谨慎。
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