制卧爱分贸易+学 英汉商务翻译 Moneypenny understands why he has had to do this.But he doesn't like it.He worries about the creeping perception that all finance executives are somehow dirty."I've never had anyone put pressure on me to fudge numbers,"he says."I'm not approachable for that crap." If Moneypenny sounds a bit defensive,consider how topsy-turvy his world has become.Not so long ago the superstars of CEO-dom were no mere number crunchers.The'90s had given birth to wheeler-dealer finance officers,instrumental in such master-of-the-universe activities as negotiating mergers and acquisitions.Wall Street watched their every move.Think of IBM's Jerome York,who became"the $1.3 billion man,"named for the amount Big Blue's stock fell(and Chrysler's gained)the day York defected to aid Kirk Kerkorian in raiding the carmaker.Or Disney's CFO,Stephen Bollenbach,who commanded an unprecedented $20million pay package and helped the entertainment giant capture Capital Cities/ABC.Corporations started looking for financial officers who could do more than cut costs;they wanted someone who could make them money.So CFOs tossed aside their green eyeshades and turned to more creative pursuits.By the late'90s,CFOs were prized for their ability to find new finance and accounting tricks.They became spokesmen,quietly guiding stock analysts to quarterly earnings estimates-and then making sure their companies beat those targets.Still,it's a tough job.The CFO is a convenient scapegoat when a company disappoints Wall Street,and the average one lasts just four years on the job,according to Financial Executives International.But if they succeed,the rewards can be great.Many CFOs have moved up to run their companies. Now several prominent finance execs have been indicted;some will almost certainly go to jail. The same creative financing techniques that allowed companies to carefully manage their earnings suddenly get a cocked eyebrow and an SEC investigation.New regulations have outlawed some questionable practices,and even legitimate financing tools have been tainted by association with the likes of Enron and WorldCom.Today CFOs are expected to be paragons of transparency and accountability and must personally certify their companies'financial results.But one thing hasn't changed:They still have to make the numbers-or else.Is it any wonder they are freaking out? 篇章练习三 Shareholders Are No Fools-Anymore You're a fool and a chump.What other conclusion can we draw?You've bought shares in publicly traded companies,haven't you?Then as far as the rules and regulations are concerned,you're too dumb to deserve any say in how those companies ought to be governed."The law has regarded shareholders as fools since the 1920s,"says Charles Elson,director of the University of Delaware's Weinburg Center for Corporate governance and a corporate director himself."Fools who had to be protected from their own foolish ways." Not,maybe,for much longer.A swirl of events in recent days and weeks suggests that authorities at many levels are realizing that last year's much-hyped governance reforms aren't doing the job. Amazingly,despite the honeyed assurances that accompanied the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other measures,they leave shareholders with about as much power to influence governance as a baseball fan has to yank the pitcher.Most significant,the very heart of corporate governance,the 第2页共3页英汉商务翻译 Moneypenny understands why he has had to do this. But he doesn’t like it. He worries about the creeping perception that all finance executives are somehow dirty. “I’ve never had anyone put pressure on me to fudge numbers,” he says. “I’m not approachable for that crap.” If Moneypenny sounds a bit defensive, consider how topsy-turvy his world has become. Not so long ago the superstars of CEO-dom were no mere number crunchers. The `90s had given birth to wheeler-dealer finance officers, instrumental in such master-of-the-universe activities as negotiating mergers and acquisitions. Wall Street watched their every move. Think of IBM’s Jerome York, who became “the $1.3 billion man,” named for the amount Big Blue’s stock fell (and Chrysler’s gained) the day York defected to aid Kirk Kerkorian in raiding the carmaker. Or Disney’s CFO, Stephen Bollenbach, who commanded an unprecedented $20million pay package and helped the entertainment giant capture Capital Cities/ABC. Corporations started looking for financial officers who could do more than cut costs; they wanted someone who could make them money. So CFOs tossed aside their green eyeshades and turned to more creative pursuits. By the late `90s, CFOs were prized for their ability to find new finance and accounting tricks. They became spokesmen, quietly guiding stock analysts to quarterly earnings estimates – and then making sure their companies beat those targets. Still, it’s a tough job. The CFO is a convenient scapegoat when a company disappoints Wall Street, and the average one lasts just four years on the job, according to Financial Executives International. But if they succeed, the rewards can be great. Many CFOs have moved up to run their companies. Now several prominent finance execs have been indicted; some will almost certainly go to jail. The same creative financing techniques that allowed companies to carefully manage their earnings suddenly get a cocked eyebrow and an SEC investigation. New regulations have outlawed some questionable practices, and even legitimate financing tools have been tainted by association with the likes of Enron and WorldCom. Today CFOs are expected to be paragons of transparency and accountability and must personally certify their companies’ financial results. But one thing hasn’t changed: They still have to make the numbers – or else. Is it any wonder they are freaking out? 篇章练习二 Shareholders Are No Fools – Anymore You’re a fool and a chump. What other conclusion can we draw? You’ve bought shares in publicly traded companies, haven’t you? Then as far as the rules and regulations are concerned, you’re too dumb to deserve any say in how those companies ought to be governed. “The law has regarded shareholders as fools since the 1920s,” says Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware’s Weinburg Center for Corporate governance and a corporate director himself. “Fools who had to be protected from their own foolish ways.” Not, maybe, for much longer. A swirl of events in recent days and weeks suggests that authorities at many levels are realizing that last year’s much-hyped governance reforms aren’t doing the job. Amazingly, despite the honeyed assurances that accompanied the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other measures, they leave shareholders with about as much power to influence governance as a baseball fan has to yank the pitcher. Most significant, the very heart of corporate governance, the 第 2 页 共 3 页