1、 1 外文翻译 译文 Intellectual Capital: Tomorrows Asset, Todays Challenge Material Source: http:/ Author: Dr Philip Stiles When Netscape went public in 1995, it was a $17 million company with fifty employees. Yet after only the first day of trading, the stock market valued Netscape at $3 billion. What were
2、 investors buying? Certainly they were not fifty telephones and the companys inventory of software. In fact, what investors “bought” were the people who had built Netscape their knowledge, skills, ideas and talent. They were also investing in the companys demonstrated ability to innovate, create. In
3、 short, they were paying an enormous premium for Netscapes intellectual capital. As technology continues to transform the workplace and markets, intellectual capital will undoubtedly become one of the most critical issues that CPAs must grapple with in order to continue providing clients and employe
4、rs high-quality, value-added services and advice. The Emergence of Intellectual Capital Although it has been around forever, intellectual capital was not identified as a key asset until a few years ago. In 1994, Fortune carried several stories about intellectual capital (brainpower) based on pioneer
5、ing efforts going on then in both the United States and Scandinavia. These articles helped generate awareness of intellectual capital in the mainstream of U.S. business. In May 1995, Skandia (the largest insurance and financial services company in Scandinavia) released the first intellectual capital
6、 annual report, using its unique “Navigator” reporting model. The Skandia model have been adopted and refined by other companies, some of which have created their own approaches to intellectual capital. Hughes Aircraft, for example, created an intellectual capital program called the 2 “Knowledge Hig
7、hway.” The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (North Americas seventh-largest bank) instituted a loan program to finance knowledge-based companies using intellectual capital valuations. Ernst it is often knowledge that people do not even realize they have. Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, is w
8、hat can be explained in words, traded, or sold for example, 4 a corporate mission statement, an operations manual, a sales script or a manufacturing procedure. This knowledge remains with the company after an employee leaves. Companies have to make tacit knowledge explicit if it is to be formalized,
9、 examined, improved or shared and thus turned into an asset with added value. Human capital grows when a corporation uses more of employees knowledge or when more employees gain more useful knowledge. Therefore, a companys ability to capitalize on its employees ideas and know-how, and its commitment
10、 to training and education, can enhance productivity and add value. Making Human Capital Measurable To manage human capital, it must be measurable. If companies want to maximize their use of knowledge, they need to know who has it, what they know, how much they know and how to use it. But how do you
11、 measure the hearts and minds of human beings? And how do you do it if theyre telecommuters, on the road 80 percent of the time, or simply subcontractors? How do you do it if youre a virtual corporation? Certainly some basic characteristics can be measured, including: Training programs Credentials E
12、xperience Competence Recruitment Mentoring Learning programs Individual potential Personality Quantifying these facets of human capital, identifying other meaningful measures, and then assessing them within the context of the companys strategy are the first steps toward valuing human capital. Struct
13、ural Capital 5 Structural capital is the skeleton and glue of an organization. Its value depe nds on how well it enables a company to use human capital the companys knowledge in service to corporate goals. Structural capital is a companys capability to use these tools to contribute to profitability.
14、 Brookings identifies six key components to structural capital (or infrastructure assets, as she calls them): Management philosophy: What company leaders believe about their company, their employees and their mission? Corporate culture: How a company does things its styles and its values. The corpor
15、ate culture should reflect management philosophy and be in line with corporate goals. Management processes: The mechanisms by which a company implements its philosophy. This includes how managers listen to employees, quality control processes, policies and procedures for managing knowledge. Informat
16、ion technology systems: The systems by which management processes are implemented. These systems are evaluated by how well they improve efficiency, customer care and employee satisfaction. They include customer databases, customer tracking and other means to make knowledge within a company of practi
17、cal use. Networking systems: Owning the ability to liaise with other network computers we will gain customers, suppliers and databases. Evaluating networking systems reveals how well companies communicate both internally and externally. Financial Relations: Favorable relations with banks and investo
18、rs that provide companies the flexibility they need to raise money quickly and to respond to environmental demands The combined value of these components depends on how well they work together to achieve the companys goals. Knowledge Managers Structural capital is where knowledge managers come in. I
19、n fact, the emergence of the knowledge management field demonstrates the positive effect that improving structural capital value can have on corporate profitability. Certainly, the way in which a company uses its information technology and networking systems can have 6 a profound effect on its abili
20、ty to do business on a global level, to assure uniform standards of quality in different locations, and to share important information about customers or about production innovations. The need for knowledge management has spurred the development of software, systems and consulting services. Knowledg
21、e databases are becoming more common. The big consulting firms have introduced numerous related services. In recent years, for example, Arthur Andersen has created its Knowledge Xchange, Booz Allen & Hamilton has developed Knowledge On-Line (KOL), and Ernst & Young has launched a Center for Business
22、 Knowledge. Evidence that knowledge management can positively affect the bottom line is plentiful. For example, Andersen Consul tings knowledge database not only helps provide information to whoever needs it, but it saves the firm millions of dollars annually in FedEx charges alone. Another example
23、of how structural capital can help create a comparative advantage can be seen in how Skandia quickly managed to take advantage of the worldwide trend toward deregulation of insurance and other financial services by efficiently sharing, moving and creating information and ideas through its systems. T
24、ying Structural Capital to Corporate Goals The challenge in valuing structural capital is in measuring how well it serves a companys goals. Structural capital can be either a liability or an asset. Investing in a computer network does not necessarily increase the value of structural capital. How the
25、 network is used to increase profitability does. Technology in particular can present pitfalls to corporations, and it definitely affects how structural capital is measured. Finding the Right Measures One solution is to develop measures that can help avoid mistakes while also valuing improvements. E
26、dvinsson proposes the following: (1) Value acquired process technologies only when they contribute to the value of the firm. (2) Track the age and current vendor support for company process technology. 7 (3) Measure not only process performance specifications but actual value contribution to corpora
27、te productivity. (4)Incorporate an index of process performance in relation to established process performance goals. Ultimately, both human and structural capital is assessed in how they affect profitability, and profitability relies in large part on how well clients and customers are reached and r
28、etained. Therefore, the third key component of intellectual capital is companies relationships with customers, as explained below. Customer Capital Customer capital is the most obviously valuable component of intellectual capital. In some ways, it is also the easiest to measure, because revenues com
29、e from customers. Thus, companies can track market share, price sensitivity, market size, seasonality and so on. And the information is illustrative. For example, Ford Motor knows that an increase of one percentage point in customer loyalty represents a $100 million increase in profits. But products
30、 are changing, and so are consumers. The information age has created smarter products, but also smarter, more demanding consumers. Many companies now equate their competitive advantage with their ability to deliver complete customer satisfaction. To this end, Edvinsson suggests that companies can ev
31、aluate how well they are doing i.e., assess their customer capital Implications for Accountants In intellectual capital, the accounting profession has an exciting opportunity to bring its talent and experience to bear on an issue that will affect business fundamentally from now on. The urgency of th
32、e problem seems to have taken hold, as a recent article on the editorial page of the The Wall Street Journal shows: “we have no accounting methodology for recognizing the value of investments in intangible assets. As companies accelerate spending on intangibles to capture global opportunities, earni
33、ngs are being understated while returns on book equity and market-to-book and price/earnings ratios are being overstated. 8 Progress has been made in developing measures for specific elements of intellectual capital. In Britain, for example, some companies have shown a separate value for brand names
34、 in their balance sheets, though this practice has been highly controversial. So far, however, efforts to measure the value of intellectual capital have not stood the test of time, nor are they comprehensive. New performance measures are needed, and new valuation methods will have to be devised. Ann
35、ie Brookings hangs her hat on the strategic value of an intellectual capital audit. Who better to refine that process than accountants? But making sure that businesses recognize the value of intellectual capital is not a job only for auditors. Instead, CPAs in business and industry, along with accou
36、nting educators, consultants, and regulators, will all have to collaborate on establishing criteria for recognizing and measuring intellectual capital, implementing appropriate controls and developing information systems. Expertise in intellectual capital valuation and management can become a core c
37、ompetency for any accounting firm. Further, accounting firms can perform internal audits of intellectual capital to assess where their own firms hidden assets lie. 译文 知识资本：明天的资产，今天的挑战 资料来源 : http:/ 作者：菲利普 斯蒂尔斯博士 1995年上市的 Netscape公司是一个拥有 50名员工和具有 1700万美元的公司。然而，通过短短一天的交易 ， Netscape 公司在股市的价值就上升到了 3 亿美元
38、。投资者购买的是什么？当然不是公司那 50 部电话和软件清单。 事实上，投资者“买”的是员工们创建 Netscape 所运用的的知识、技术、理念和才能。他们还投资公司所展示的创新、创造能力。简而言之，他们对Netscape 的知识资本投入了大量的资金。 随着技术在工作和市场当中的不断运用，智力资本必将成为注册会计师必须解决的关键问题之一，以便继续为客户和雇主提供高品质的咨询和服务。 知识资本的产生 9 尽管知识资本一直存在，可是直到几年前，人们才意识到它是企业的一项重要资产。 1994 年，财富杂志记载了一些以知识资本先进作用为基础，美国和斯堪的纳维亚开拓进取的故事。这些文章帮助知识资本意识成
39、为美国商业的主流意识。 1995 年 5 月，斯堪迪亚（斯堪的纳维亚最大的保险和金融服务公司）利用其独特的“导航”报告模式发布了第一个知识资本年度报告。斯堪迪亚模式后来被引用到其他公司，有些公司还创造了具有自身特色的知识资本使用方法。 例如，休斯飞机公司创造了一个被称为“知识公路”的知识资本计划。加拿大帝国商业银行（北美第七大银行）建立了以财务知识为基础并运用知识资本评估的贷款项目。安 永会计师事务所和安达信是最早发展客户端知识资本的会计师事务所。 但是，为什么要将知识资本进行衡量呢？原因有以下两方面： （ 1） 知识资本可以促进企业内部决策和发展。 知识资本可以帮助公司提高效率，获得更高的收
40、益以及在市场中更具竞争力。通过对知识资本的认识和测量，高层管理人员可以在企业管理中进行更好的决策： 确认公司实现目标的能力。 计划和投资企业研究和发展项目。 制定公司重组计划。 计划和组织对重点人才的培养。 对企业价值进行准确的评估。 对企业的关键资源进行确认。 （ 2）作为隐藏资源的知识资本可 以提高企业收益。 Gottlieb Tutwiler 基金会最近研究发现，提供给公司使用的知识实际只有20%。然而，在公司使用其未开发的知识方面，结果却相当出乎意料。 例如 1993 年，道氏化学公司创建了一个新的部门 知识资产管理部门。这个部门的目标很明确，就是为了收集未被使用的专利。道琼斯发现，不
41、到一半的专利是能够在生活当中被使用的，而且遭淘汰的专利只是因为被认为价值太低。在计划中的前 18 个月，道氏公司所节省的维修费就超过 1 百万美元（包括申请费，税费等）。通过对宝贵的但未被使用的专利进行开发，道琼斯 2000年 专利预计收入可从 2500 万美元增加到 1.25 亿美元。 知识资本的定义 10 在进行衡量之前，你必须知道你测量的对象是什么。一个被普遍接受的定义是走向标准化的第一步。那么知识资本又该如何界定呢？ 有些人误认为知识资本是书呆子的智囊团。还有些人把知识资本混淆为知识产权（如版权，专利等等）， 而 这 些 仅仅 只 是知识资本的一部分。事实上，我们仍 在对 知识资本的标
42、准化定义 进行研究 。 Annie Brooking（ 知识 资本 第三个千年的企业的核心资产的顾问和作者）将知识资本定义为 “知识资本是促进公司运作的无形资产的总和。 ”换句话说，她认为企业应该包括所有的有形资产和知识资本，如下列公式所示： 企业 资产 =有形资产 +知识资本 雷夫文森（瑞典斯堪的亚公司董事 知识 资本与合作 知识 资本 实现以寻找隐藏 在 公司 内部 真实价值的作者）认为，知识资本等于人力资本和结构资本的总和。 知识 资本 =人力资本 +资本结构 托马斯斯图尔特（ 知识 资本 新的组织财富的作者 ）说， 知识 资本只不过是 “对有用的信息进行打包 ”。 目前普遍认为， 知识
43、 资本包括人力资本 、 结构资本和客户资本。 人力资本 人力资本是 知识 资本的命脉。这是创新和改进的来源，但 它也是最难衡量的部分 。此 外，人力资本不能由一个公司拥有，它只能被 “租 ”（即 以 雇员的形式）。当企业 对 人力资本 进行 投资 时 ， 企业的价值才能 增加。 企业里的人力资本分为两种 ：隐性 人力资本 和显性 人力资本 。隐性 人力资本很难被解释和记录 ， 以至于 人们 常常忽略它的存在 。 而 显性 人力资本 ， 则 可以 用语言来描述的，它可以用来交易或者出售。 例如，公司的 任务说明书 ，操作手册 、 销售脚本或 是 生产流程。这 些 知识 就算是 员工离 开了，还是可以保留在公司 。公司 如果想让 隐性 人力资本 正规化， 或是被 检 测、 改 进和 共享 ，就要对隐性人力资本进行确认和计量， 从而 使之 成为 具有增值效应的资 产 。 当一个企业让更多的员工使用其知识或是当更多的员工获得更多有用的知识的时候 ， 人力资本就会增加。因此，利用员工的意见和知识，对员工进行培训和教育，可提高公司的生产力 。 人力资本衡量
