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There is an even more enticing precedent.
还有一个更诱人的先例。
Accenture, which was spun off from Arthur Andersen and then went public a year before the accounting firm collapsed in 2002, has soared in value to $190bn.
埃森哲是从安达信独立出来的，在2002年安达信倒闭前一年上市。如今，埃森哲的市值飙升至1900亿美元。
EY’s consulting arm would not be worth close to that.
安永的咨询部门远不会值这么多钱。
However, the leaked documents, based on recent market conditions, suggest it could raise $10bn by selling a 15% stake.
然而，根据最近的市场状况，泄露的文件表明，该公司可以通过出售15%的股份筹集100亿美元。
The partners who join it would receive 70% of the shares (the remaining 15% would be for lowlier staff).
加入它的合伙人将获得70%的股份(剩下的15%将留给较低级别的员工)。
It is not all upside for the consultants, though.
不过，这对咨询公司来说也不全是好事。
The split would involve a cash payout from the spun-off company to partners remaining in the rump EY, and would cover potential claims against the firm for problems such as those at Wirecard, a failed German payments company, and NMC Health, a collapsed British hospital chain, both of which EY audited.
拆分将涉及：一，独立出来的公司向仍留在安永剩余部分的合作伙伴支付现金；二，支付因一些问题而可能对该公司提出的索赔，比如破产的德国支付公司Wirecard和倒闭的英国医疗连锁公司NMC Health的问题，这两家公司都是由安永审计的。
To make the payment, the new firm would reportedly borrow $17bn—a large sum considering that publicly traded rivals like Accenture and TCS have low debts.
据报道，为了支付这笔款项，新公司将借入170亿美元--考虑到埃森哲和塔塔咨询服务公司等上市竞争对手的低负债，这是一笔不小的金额。
Those are not the only competitors, either.
这些也不是唯一的竞争对手。
Barriers to entry in consulting are low.
进入咨询行业的门槛很低。
Big tech firms such as Microsoft and data-miners such as Palantir may try to muscle into the space.
微软等大型科技公司和Palantir等数据挖掘公司可能会试图强行进入这一领域。
The EY brand may have raised the stature of the consultancy practice, but it will probably be floated with a new name.
安永这个品牌可能提升了咨询业务的声望，但它很可能会以一个新的名字上市。
Like some other consultants, it could fall victim to delusions of grandeur.
与其他一些咨询公司一样，它可能会沦为妄自尊大的受害者。
That is why, despite being the pedestrian side of the business, audit could be a dark horse.
这就是为什么，尽管审计业务平淡乏味，却可能是一匹黑马。
Its shortcomings are well known: lack of trust, conflicts of interest, low pay compared with other professional services, the risk that AI-powered “audit bots” will crawl over its business model.
它的缺点众所周知：缺乏信任、利益冲突、与其他专业服务相比薪酬较低、人工智能驱动的“审计机器人”可能会影响其商业模式。
Yet it has some advantages.
但它也有一些优势。
For one thing, it remains an entrenched oligopoly.
首先，它仍然是一个根深蒂固的寡头垄断。
The Big Four audit 99% of firms in the S&P 500 index.
四大会计师事务所审计了标普500指数中99%的公司。
Moreover, structural changes are afoot that could benefit it.
此外，结构性改变正在发生，这可能会让它受益。
The first is regulatory.
第一个变化是监管问题。
As the Big Four auditors are forced to become more independent, they are raising fees.
随着这四大审计公司被迫变得更加独立，它们正在提高费用。
As pressure mounts to improve audit quality, they will charge more for it.
随着提高审计质量的压力越来越大，它们将收取更高的费用。
The second change is to their scope.
第二个变化是它们的工作范围。
The firms are expecting a lot of new work as regulators force companies to disclose more about their climate impact.
随着监管机构迫使公司披露更多有关其气候影响的信息，这些公司预计会有大量新工作。
Much of this will have to be checked and approved by auditors.
其中很多信息将必须得到审计公司的检查和批准。
One senior accountant talks excitedly about hiring “thousands of eco-warriors”.
一位资深会计师兴奋地谈到要雇佣“数千名生态卫士”。
If history is any guide, the windfall from the split may favour the auditors, too.
如果以史为鉴，拆分带来的意外之财可能也会让审计公司受益。
Though the partners remaining on the audit side would receive lower payouts than those departing with the consultancy, cash in hand is precious, especially in times of volatile markets.
尽管留在审计部门的合伙人获得的分红会低于离开咨询公司的合伙人，但手中的现金是宝贵的，尤其是在市场动荡的时候。
The last time EY split off its consultancy, selling it to Capgemini, a French firm, in 2000, the partners who received cash, not shares, did better.
安永上次在2000年将其咨询业务拆分，出售给法国凯捷公司时，获得现金而非股票的合伙人表现更好。
And after that the auditors simply rebuilt the consulting side of the business.
在那之后，审计公司简单地重建了咨询业务。
Even now they plan to retain elements of advisory work, such as parts of the tax practice.
即使是现在，它们也计划保留部分咨询工作，例如部分税务业务。
These could again be reconstructed into something bigger.
这些可以再次被重建成更大的业务。
Those with long memories, such as the older partners, will know all this.
那些拥有更长久记忆的人，比如资历更深的合伙人，会知道这一切。
Many of the more junior ones may find themselves lured by the eat-what-you-kill excitement of consultancy.
许多资历较浅的人可能会发现，自己被咨询公司那种论功行赏制度带来的兴奋感所吸引。
But if they ignore history, they should not ignore comedy.
但如果他们忽视历史，就不应该忽视喜剧。
Mr Anchovy never did become a lion-tamer.
凤尾鱼先生从未成为一名驯狮手。
What he thought was a lion was instead an anteater.
他以为的狮子其实是食蚁兽。
Shown a photo of a real lion, he passed out.
给他看了一张真狮子的照片后，他昏了过去。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
