【正文】 Warren Buffett39。s Letters To Berkshire Shareholders 1982 巴菲特致股東函 1982 年版 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. Berkshire 海瑟崴股份有限公司 March 3, 1983 1983 年 3月 3日 To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: 致 Berkshire 公司全體股東 : BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. Operating earnings of $ million in 1982 amounted to only % of beginning equity capital (valuing securities at cost), down from % in 1981 and far below our recent high of % in 1978. This decline largely resulted from: 今年的營(yíng)業(yè)利益約為 3,100 萬(wàn)美元，期初股東權(quán)益報(bào)酬率 (持有股權(quán)投資以原 始成本計(jì) )僅約 %，較去年 1979 年的 %下滑，亦遠(yuǎn)低於1978 年近年度的新高 %，主要的原因包括 : (1) a significant deterioration in insurance underwriting results。 (1)保險(xiǎn)核保成績(jī)大幅惡化。 (2) a considerable expansion of equity capital without a corresponding growth in the businesses we operate directly。 and (2)在股本大幅擴(kuò)張的同時(shí)，我們直接控制的被投資事業(yè)卻未同步成長(zhǎng)。 (3) a continuallyenlarging mitment of our resources to investment in partiallyowned, nonoperated businesses。 accounting rules dictate that a major part of our prorata share of earnings from such businesses must be excluded from Berkshire’s reported earnings. (3)我們持續(xù)增加對(duì)不具控制權(quán)事業(yè)的投資，但我們依比例可分得的盈餘，依照會(huì)計(jì)原則卻不能認(rèn)列在帳面上。 It was only a few years ago that we told you that the operating earnings/equity capital percentage, with proper allowance for a few other variables, was the most important yardstick of singleyear managerial performance. While we still believe this to be the case with the vast majority of panies, we believe its utility in our own case has greatly diminished. You should be suspicious of such an assertion. Yardsticks seldom are discarded while yielding favorable readings. But when results deteriorate, most managers favor disposition of the yardstick rather than disposition of the manager. 就在幾年前，我曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)營(yíng)業(yè)利益佔(zhàn)股東資本的比率 (再加上一些調(diào)整 )是衡量企業(yè)單一年度經(jīng)營(yíng)績(jī)效的最佳指標(biāo)，雖然我們堅(jiān)信這套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)仍適用於絕大部份的企業(yè)，但是我必須說(shuō)明的是，這套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)對(duì) Berkshire 來(lái)說(shuō)，其適用性卻已大不如前，或許你會(huì)懷疑這樣的說(shuō)法，認(rèn)為當(dāng)數(shù)字好看時(shí)很少有人會(huì)將標(biāo)準(zhǔn)捨棄，但是當(dāng)結(jié)果變得很糟糕時(shí)，經(jīng)理人通常傾向?qū)⒑饬繕?biāo)準(zhǔn)而非自己給換掉。 To managers faced with such deterioration, a more flexible measurement system often suggests itself: just shoot the arrow of business performance into a blank canvas and then carefully draw the bullseye around the implanted arrow. We generally believe in preset, longlived and small bullseyes. However, because of the importance of item (3) above, further explained in the following section, we believe our abandonment of the operating earnings/equity capital bullseye to be warranted. 當(dāng)成績(jī)惡化時(shí)，自然就會(huì)有另一套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)跑出來(lái)解釋原因，就像是射箭手先將箭射在空白的標(biāo)靶上，然後再小心的將紅心畫在箭的週圍一樣，但基於前述原因 (3)的重要性日益增加 (詳如後述 )，我們確信移動(dòng)紅心的舉動(dòng)是具有正當(dāng)理由的。 NonReported Ownership Earnings 未列入記錄的經(jīng)營(yíng)者盈餘 The appended financial statements reflect “accounting” earnings that generally include our proportionate share of earnings from any underlying business in which our ownership is at least 20%. Below the 20% ownership figure, however, only our share of dividends paid by the underlying business units is included in our accounting numbers。 undistributed earnings of such lessthan20%owned businesses are totally ignored. 後附財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表所反映的帳面盈餘，通常已將我們持股超過(guò) 20%的股權(quán)投資按持股比例認(rèn)列其損益，然而低於 20%股權(quán)投資的部份，卻只能認(rèn)列實(shí)際收到的現(xiàn)金股利，至於未發(fā)放的盈餘則完全不列入計(jì)算。 There are a few exceptions to this rule。 ., we own about 35% of GEICO Corporation but, because we have assigned our voting rights, the pany is treated for accounting purposes as a lessthan20% holding. Thus, dividends received from GEICO in 1982 of $ million after tax are the only item included in our “accounting”earnings. An additional $23 million that represents our share of GEICO’s undistributed operating earnings for 1982 is totally excluded from our reported operating earnings. If GEICO had earned less money in 1982 but had paid an additional $1 million in dividends, our reported earnings would have been larger despite the poorer business results. Conversely, if GEICO had earned an additional $100 million and retained it all our reported earnings would have been unchanged. Clearly “accounting” earnings can seriously misrepresent economic reality. (當(dāng)然也有少數(shù)例外，譬如我們持有 35%的 GEICO 保險(xiǎn)公司便因?yàn)槲覀円褜⑼镀睓?quán)委託給別人，故在 1982 年僅能 以成本法認(rèn)列實(shí)際收到的現(xiàn)金股利 350 萬(wàn)美元，至於剩下的 2,300 萬(wàn)未分配的盈餘則完全不列入計(jì)算 。而假設(shè) GEICO 當(dāng)年度賺的比原本的少但卻多發(fā) 100 萬(wàn)，則Berkshire 的帳面反而變得更好看，很明顯的會(huì)計(jì)原則有時(shí)會(huì)扭曲經(jīng)濟(jì)現(xiàn)實(shí) )。 We prefer a concept of “economic” earnings that includes all undistributed earnings, regardless of ownership percentage. In our view, the value to all owners of the retained earnings of a business enterprise is determined by the effectiveness with which those earnings are used and not by the size of one’s ownership percentage. If you have owned .01 of 1% of Berkshire during the past decade, you have benefited economically in full measure from your share of our retained earnings, no matter what your accounting system. Proportionately, you have done just as well as if you had owned the magic 20%. But if you have owned 100% of a great many capitalintensive businesses during the decade, retained earnings that were credited fully and with painstaking precision to you under standard accounting methods have resulted in minor or zero economic value. This is not a criticism of accounting procedures. We would not like to have the job of designing a better system. It’s simply to say that managers and investors alike must understand that accounting numbers are the beginning, not the end, of business valuation. 所以我們比較認(rèn)同將所有未分配盈餘皆計(jì)入而不管持股比例的經(jīng)濟(jì)盈餘概念，我們認(rèn)為一家公司其所賺得的盈餘對(duì)股東的價(jià)值在於公司是否將其在運(yùn)用於有效的用途之上，反而跟分配與否或是持股比例多寡無(wú)關(guān)，如果你擁有 Berkshire 萬(wàn)分之一的股權(quán)，在過(guò)去十幾年來(lái)你一定擁有並實(shí)際感受到公司盈餘的成長(zhǎng)，不管你採(cǎi)用的是何種會(huì)計(jì)原則。同樣的，你也可能 100%擁有一家資本密集的公司，即使每年皆能完全認(rèn)列公司的損益，卻可能絲毫感受不到實(shí)質(zhì)經(jīng)濟(jì)利益成長(zhǎng)的喜悅。這不是在批評(píng)會(huì)計(jì)原則，事實(shí)上，我們也沒(méi)有能力再建立一套更好的制度，我們只是要告訴 所有的經(jīng)營(yíng)階層與投資大眾，會(huì)計(jì)數(shù)字只是企業(yè)評(píng)價(jià)的貣點(diǎn)而非終點(diǎn)。 In most corporations, lessthan20% ownership positions are unimportant (perhaps, in part, because they prevent maximization of cherished reported earnings) and the distinction between accounting and eco