Dealing with the downturn
应对衰退
Accounts not receivable
账难收 钱难要
Sep 4th 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition
Companies are taking longer to pay one another
各公司之间需要更长时间还款
AS THE world economy slows, the number of people who have fallen behind on loan and credit-card payments is soaring. But although dud consumer loans have attracted much attention, individuals are not the only ones failing to pay on time. Firms are struggling too.
由于世界经济的放缓，拖欠贷款和透支信用卡的人数急剧增加。虽然无力偿还的消费信贷已经备受关注了，但是，消费者并非唯一无法按时还贷的人群。目前，各大公司也面临着同样的困扰。
A recent survey of large public companies in America conducted by REL, a consultancy, and CFO, a sister title of The Economist, highlights this trend. It shows that “days’ sales outstanding” (DSO)-or the number of days it takes companies to collect money owed to them, often by other firms-hit an average of 41 in 2007, up from 39.7 in 2006. That might not seem a big increase, but the indicator has rarely risen or fallen by more than half a day a year. When America went into recession in 2001, DSO averaged 38.9.
咨询公司REL和经济学人杂志的姐妹篇《CFO》发布的关于美国大型上市公司的调查报告突显了这个趋势。报告显示，应收账款平均回收时间（DSO）–或者说公司回收账款的天数从06年的平均39.7天上升到了07年的41天。这也许不是很大的增加，但是这个指数一年上升或者下降的波动很少超过半天。01年美国经济陷入衰退时，DSO平均为38.9天。
In Europe and Asia average DSOs lie in the high 50s (credit terms tend to be easier than in America). They also rose a shade-and are likely to shoot up in 2008. On September 2nd the OECD forecast that Europe’s big economies would be “broadly flat” in the second half of the year. As sales stagnate, firms will delay paying suppliers for as long as they can.
欧洲和亚洲的应收账款平均回收时间（DSOs）都高于50天（信贷条件比美国相对宽松）。这同样给他们蒙上了阴影–DSOs到08年可能会更高。9月2日，经合组织预计，欧洲整体经济在二季度将大致持平。由于销售的停滞，各公司将会尽可能的拖延偿还供应商的资金。
Chaos in the banking system is also causing managers to think twice about paying promptly. “The biggest issue that companies are having is that banks are curtailing credit lines,” notes Lyle Wallis of the Credit Research Foundation, which studies business-to-business credit trends in America. By putting off payments to creditors, treasurers can conserve cash and thus reduce their reliance on nervous bankers.
银行体系的混乱也使公司经理重新思考是否立即还款。信贷研究基金会（主要研究美国B2B的信贷变迁）的莱尔·沃里斯表示，”各公司面临最大的问题是银行正在缩减对公司的贷款上限”。通过推迟偿还债权人，财务人员可以保持现金流并减少对神经紧张银行的依赖。
All this puts in-house debt-collection teams in a delicate position. A hard line with delinquent debtors risks alienating customers temporarily lacking cash. But if they are too soft, their own companies may run short. Most are taking a firm approach. In Britain the number of county-court cases involving companies chasing overdue debts has risen sharply in the past year or so, according to the Credit Management Research Centre at Leeds University Business School.
所有这些都使得公司内部债务催收团队处于一种两难的境地。对拖欠债务的债务人采取强硬路线有可能疏远这些暂时缺乏现金的客户。但如果心太软的话，他们自己的公司也许会出现资金短缺。大部分公司采取一种坚决的路线。根据利兹大学商学院信贷管理研究中心的研究成果，英国涉及公司间追偿过期债务的诉讼数量大约从去年开始急剧上升。
To help get their money, firms are calling in specialist collection agencies soon after debts turn sour. “We are definitely getting cases earlier,” says Fred Sampliner, the boss of S.S. Sampliner, a New York agency. Mr Sampliner and his fellow commercial-debt collectors are likely to be busy.
为了帮助收回自己的资金，不良债务出现不久，公司就会召集催收中介的专家。”我们接案的时间确实更早了”，纽约一家中介机构S.S. Sampliner的老板Fred Sampliner表示。Sampliner先生和他的商业贷款催收同行们可能会很忙了。
译者：jyjnl http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=13797&extra=page%3D1