碰男将多大是 高级商务英语阅读 expenses low.As a big advocate of pay for performance,Welch transformed GE into a large issuer of stock options.Because stock options are not expensed as cash compensation is,this too resulted in savings of hundreds of millions of dollars and,by some measures,inflated income This isn't the first time GE has come in for criticism of its accounting.In general,though,the company has been singled out far more often for its smart management,financial discipline--and its ability to turn accounting and tax rules to its advantage."Shorts and skeptics for years were ignored.They were backwater guys,nobody was particularly paying attention,"says Lehman Brothers Inc.accounting expert Robert Willens. But since Enron,"these guys are the oracles.These are the people everyone's listening to." GE's stock price makes that clear.On Apr.15,GE fell to a six-month low after a story appeared in The New York Times questioning the quality of its earnings in the first quarter.In late 1999,the heyday of Welch,GE stock traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 48,well in excess of the Standard Poor's 500-stock index's p-e of 33.Today,that's flipped,with GE trading at a discount to the S&P 500. This is despite the fact that over the same period,GE's earnings per share have grown much faster than the S&P 500's.In that,accounting consultant Thornton L.O'Glove sees a sensible reconsideration of the sustainability of GE's earnings and the value of contributors like pension income,which do not generate cash."The market's peeling off layers of earnings now,"he says. "[Investors]are asking 'Why would I give a high multiple for a paper item that doesn't even impact cash?" That's a question Jack Welch never had to face. By Nanette Byrnes With Frederick F.Jespersen and Diane Brady in New York (2) 第3页共9页高级商务英语阅读 expenses low. As a big advocate of pay for performance, Welch transformed GE into a large issuer of stock options. Because stock options are not expensed as cash compensation is, this too resulted in savings of hundreds of millions of dollars and, by some measures, inflated income. This isn't the first time GE has come in for criticism of its accounting. In general, though, the company has been singled out far more often for its smart management, financial discipline--and its ability to turn accounting and tax rules to its advantage. "Shorts and skeptics for years were ignored. They were backwater guys, nobody was particularly paying attention," says Lehman Brothers Inc. accounting expert Robert Willens. But since Enron, "these guys are the oracles. These are the people everyone's listening to." GE's stock price makes that clear. On Apr. 15, GE fell to a six-month low after a story appeared in The New York Times questioning the quality of its earnings in the first quarter. In late 1999, the heyday of Welch, GE stock traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 48, well in excess of the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's p-e of 33. Today, that's flipped, with GE trading at a discount to the S&P 500. This is despite the fact that over the same period, GE's earnings per share have grown much faster than the S&P 500's. In that, accounting consultant Thornton L. O'Glove sees a sensible reconsideration of the sustainability of GE's earnings and the value of contributors like pension income, which do not generate cash. "The market's peeling off layers of earnings now," he says. "[Investors] are asking `Why would I give a high multiple for a paper item that doesn't even impact cash?"' That's a question Jack Welch never had to face. By Nanette Byrnes With Frederick F. Jespersen and Diane Brady in New York (2) 第 3 页 共 9 页