公司財務(wù)之 成本控制　Cost Control

公司財務(wù)之 成本控制　Cost Control

通過控制（exert more control）經(jīng)營成本就有可能讓一個在生死線上掙扎的企業(yè)扭虧為盈。無論你是想保本平衡，還是有志增加利潤，成本控制的技巧（know-how）都對你的生意有重要意義。

⊙What can we do to save some money around here?我們怎么才能省錢呢？

⊙How can we cut costs without cutting corners?

我們怎么才能減少成本又不至于偷工減料呢？

⊙If we all pitch in, we can reduce waste.

如果我們都致力于此，我們就能夠減少浪費。

⊙Outsourcing may be the answer.

業(yè)務(wù)外包也許是個辦法。

⊙How can we reduce our spending?我們怎么才能夠減少支出呢？

⊙It all boils down to being more aware of our expenditures.最主要的就是要謹(jǐn)慎對待開支。

⊙Let's see what we can do to bring costs down.我們看看怎么才能夠降低成本。

人員（staff）

人力費用幾乎是每一個生意最大的固定成本（fixed cost）?？梢試L試通過一些勞動力服務(wù)公司來控制這部分開支并降低風(fēng)險（mitigate risk），比如通過勞動合同（contract labor utilization）或外包（outsourcing）將一些非關(guān)鍵性（non-vital）業(yè)務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)包出去，例如清潔衛(wèi)生、保安、飲食甚至人力資源等。

⊙We need to evaluate which positions are essential and which are optional.我們需要評估哪些職位是必不可少的，哪些是可選擇的。

⊙They've decided to outsource human resources.It will save money and keep us running more efficiently.

他們已經(jīng)決定把人力資源外包管理，這樣既省錢又保證更有效的運轉(zhuǎn)。

⊙We hired a bunch of contractors to take care of this for us.It's cheaper that way.

我們雇了一批分包商來為我們負責(zé)這塊兒，那樣更便宜。

⊙By restructuring our employee base, we've decreased our operating expenses by 15%.

通過重組我們的員工，我們的運營開支減少了15%。

辦公空間

設(shè)施的管理包含了許多運營成本（operational costs），從租辦公場所到房產(chǎn)稅，再到場地維護保養(yǎng)費。在保證行政效率（administrative efficiencies）的前提下，有效管理這些項目的合同并取得最優(yōu)惠的條件能節(jié)省很多成本。

⊙We operate out of a home office.我們在家辦公。

⊙We spend too much on facility management.我們在設(shè)施管理上花費過多。

⊙We can cut back on things like property taxes and maintenance.我們可以在房產(chǎn)稅和維護保養(yǎng)上減少投入。

⊙By contracting out to another company for our real estate needs, we've saved a bundle.

通過把我們的房產(chǎn)需求交給另一家公司打理的方式，我們省了很多。

辦公用品

辦公用品的使用應(yīng)當(dāng)以自覺節(jié)省、減少浪費為原則?？梢栽谵k公室推行綠色倡議（green initiative），要求員工雙面打?。╰wo sided printing）、避免打印郵件（no-print policy for emails）、節(jié)約用電，等等。

⊙Our new policy is to cut back on office waste.我們新政策是減少辦公浪費。

⊙From now on, there is a no-print policy for emails.從今往后，電子郵件將實行不打印政策。

⊙Our office is going green.

我們的辦公室推行綠色環(huán)保。

⊙We need to keep a closer eye on the way we use our office supplies.我們得在辦公用品的使用方式上更加留意。

會議

近些年來，網(wǎng)絡(luò)會議（audio and web conferencing）和語音電話系統(tǒng)[VoIP（Voice over Internet Protocol）]使用愈加廣泛。用這些工具代替?zhèn)鹘y(tǒng)的長途旅行，不僅省費用，而且省時間。

A：How long will it take you to get to the meeting?

B：Less than a minute……

A：What?Don't you have to fly to Chicago?

B：Not this time……we're holding the meeting with web conferencing. Saves everyone, s time and money.

A：你要多長時間去參加會議？

B：不到一分鐘……

A：什么？你不飛到芝加哥去嗎？

B：這次不去了……我們通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)論壇的形式召開會議。每個人都省時也省錢。

供應(yīng)商管理（supplier management）

和供貨商建立緊密的聯(lián)系，不僅可以了解最新供貨信息來有效對比，而且也能在原有的價格基礎(chǔ)上爭取更好的折扣。集體采購（group purchasing）模式能夠發(fā)揮團體優(yōu)勢，爭取更好的價格。

⊙I want you to stay on top of the suppliers, make sure they stick to the agreed terms.

我要你全面了解我們現(xiàn)有的供貨商，確保他們都按照協(xié)議辦事。

⊙Can we make an improvement here?

在這個方面我們能夠改進嗎？

⊙We need to invest the time to find an economical supplier.我們需要花時間找一個更經(jīng)濟的供貨商。

⊙Can you offer us a better discount?你們能給我們一個更好的折扣嗎？

⊙I've signed us up to participate in group purchasing.我已經(jīng)簽字表示愿意參加團購。

總結(jié)

在很多人眼里，通過削減成本省出來的資金微不足道。但是如果人人從我做起，日積月累，節(jié)省出來的將是一筆很大的財富。將這部分節(jié)省下來的錢轉(zhuǎn)入生產(chǎn)，效益將不容小視。

Words　單詞表

convince確信

excess超額

expenditure開支，支出額

expense開支，費用，經(jīng)費

hire雇用

human resources人力資源

lazy懶惰

non-vital非關(guān)鍵的

outsourcing業(yè)務(wù)外包

reduce削減，減少

resource資源

waste浪費

Phrases　短語表

a bunch of一批，大量的，大堆的

be（more）aware of sth對某事物有更深刻的認識

bring cost down降低成本

contract out（work）包出去，給人承包

cut cost削減成本

cut corners偷工減料

cut out刪掉，去除

free up sth騰出來，挖出來

greenback美元，美鈔

It all boils down to……所有的這些歸結(jié)為……

overhead expense管理費，間接費用

reduce spending精簡開支，減少費用

pitch in投身，投入

save money省錢，存錢

stay on top of sth全面了解

stick to sth堅持某事

take……for example以……為例子

take care of sth處理，應(yīng)對某事

to be the answer是解決辦法

實景對話1

A：How long will it take you to get to the meeting?

B：Less than a minute……

A：What?Don't you have to fly to Chicago?

B：Not this time……we're holding the meeting with web conferencing. Saves everyone time and money.

A：That's a big focus lately for us, isn't it?Our new policy is to cut back on office waste.

B：What, do you mean the no-print policy for emails?Our office is going green. And part of the reason, I think, has to do with greenbacks.

A：Ha ha. Seriously, we do need to keep a closer eye on the way we use our office supplies. We spend too much on overhead and facility management.

B：Well, there's not much we can do to cut costs on our facilities.We can't run our business out of the boss'garage.

A：Well, if we did turn our operation into a home business somehow, we'd be able to cut back on things like property taxes and maintenance.

B：By the way, while we're talking about saving money, we need to invest the time to find an economical supplier. Can you look into that?

A：Sure.

B：And while you're at it, I want you to stay on top of the supplier we have now……make sure they stick to the agreed terms. That should help control costs as well.

A：你要多長時間去參加會議？

B：不到一分鐘……

A：什么？你不飛到芝加哥去嗎？

B：這次不去了……我們通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)論壇的形式召開會議。每個人都省時也省錢。

A：這不是我們最近集中倡導(dǎo)的嗎？我們的新政策是減少辦公浪費。

B：你是指避免打印電子郵件的政策嗎？我們辦公室走向綠色環(huán)?；?。而且我想部分原因是和鈔票有關(guān)。

A：哈哈。嚴(yán)肅地說，我們需要更多留意辦公用品的使用方式。我們在管理方面和設(shè)施費用方面花銷過多。

B：我們在硬件設(shè)施上沒有多少成本可以削減?？偛荒茉诶习寮臆噹炖镒錾獍?？

A：如果我們真的把運營轉(zhuǎn)入家庭，我們就能夠砍掉房產(chǎn)稅和維護保養(yǎng)支出。

B：順便說一句，談到省錢，我們需要花時間找更便宜的供貨商。你能找到嗎？

A：當(dāng)然。

B：在你負責(zé)這個的同時，我想要你全面了解我們現(xiàn)有的供貨商，確保他們都履行協(xié)議，那也應(yīng)該能幫助控制成本。

實景對話2

A：What can we do to save some money around here?I'm not totally convinced we need to be spending as much as we are spending every month for our overhead expenses. How can we reduce our spending?

B：My question is how do we cut costs without cutting corners?

C：Cutting corners is the lazy way to save money. There's a lot we can do to control our costs. It all boils down to being more aware of our expenditures.

A：What do you mean?

C：Well, let's see what we can do to bring costs down. First, we need to know where the money is going to see if there are any excesses we can easily cut out. If we all pitch in, we can reduce waste.

A：Outsourcing may be the answer, too.

B：Outsourcing?How can that save us money?

A：If we contract out some of the non-vital parts of our business, we may be able to save resources. Take our human resources for example.We hired a bunch of contractors to take care of this for us.It's cheaper that way.

B：Oh, yeah. I guess that's right, we don't have a human resource department of our own anymore.

C：It frees up a lot of our time and money to spend on making more profit for our business.

A：我們怎么才能省錢呢？我認為沒必要每個月花那么多管理費。怎么做才能減少開支呢？

B：問題是怎么才能在削減開支的同時保證質(zhì)量？

C：偷工減料是一個懶惰的省錢辦法。有很多控制成本的辦法，最主要的就是謹(jǐn)慎對待開支。

A：你的意思是？

C：這樣，我們來看看能做些什么來降低成本。我們得知道錢都花在哪里，看有沒有可以輕松減掉的超額部分。如果我們都致力于此，我們就能夠減少浪費。

A：業(yè)務(wù)外包也許是個辦法。

B：業(yè)務(wù)外包？那怎么能夠省錢呢？

A：如果把一些非關(guān)鍵性的部分承包出去，我們也許能夠節(jié)省資源。以人力資源為例，我們雇了一批中間商為我們負責(zé)這部分，那樣很省錢。

B：哦，是的。我想那是對的。我們沒有自己的人力資源部。

C：這給我們節(jié)省了大量時間和金錢，然后把它們用在爭取更多的利潤上。