the.world.is.flat-第3部分

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feature　of　Globalization　3。0；　companies…large　and　small…have　been　newly　empowered　
in　this　era　as　well。　I　discuss　both　in　detail　later　in　the　book。）　
Needless　to　say；　I　had　only　the　vaguest　appreciation　of　all　this　as　I　left　Nandan's　
office　that　day　in　Bangalore。　But　as　I　sat　contemplating　these　changes　on　the　balcony　
of　my　hotel　room　that　evening；　I　did　know　one　thing：　I　wanted　to　drop　everything　and　
write　a　book　that　would　enable　me　to　understand　how　this　flattening　process　happened　
and　what　its　implications　might　be　for　countries；　companies；　and　individuals。　So　I　
picked　up　the　phone　and　called　my　wife；　Ann；　and　told　her；　〃I　am　going　to　write　a　
book　calledThe　World　Is　Flat。〃　She　was　both　amused　and　curious…well；　maybe　more　amused　


than　curious！　Eventually；　I　was　able　to　bring　her　around；　and　I　hope　I　will　be　able　
to　do　the　same　with　you；　dear　reader。　Let　me　start　by　taking　you　back　to　the　beginning　
of　myjourney　to　India；　and　other　points　east；　and　share　with　you　some　of　the　encounters　
that　led　me　to　conclude　the　world　was　no　longer　round…but　flat。　
Jaithirth　〃Jerry〃　Rao　was　one　of　the　first　people　I　met　in　Bangalore…
and　I　hadn't　been　with　him　for　more　than　a　few　minutes　at　the　Leela　
Palace　hotel　before　he　told　me　that　he　could　handle　my　tax　returns　and　
any　other　accounting　needs　I　had…from　Bangalore。　No　thanks；　I　de12　
murred；　I　already　have　an　accountant　in　Chicago。　Jerry　just　smiled。　He　was　too　polite　
to　say　it…that　he　may　already　be　my　accountant；　or　rather　my　accountant's　accountant；　
thanks　to　the　explosion　in　the　outsourcing　of　tax　preparation。　
〃This　is　happening　as　we　speak；〃　said　Rao；　a　native　of　Mumbai；　formerly　Bombay；　whose　
Indian　firm；　MphasiS；　has　a　team　of　Indian　accountants　able　to　do　outsourced　
accounting　work　from　any　state　in　America　and　the　federal　government。　〃We　have　tied　
up　with　several　small　and　medium…sized　CPA　firms　in　America。〃　
〃You　mean　like　my　accountant？〃　I　asked。　〃Yes；　like　your　accountant；〃　said　Rao　with　
a　smile。　Rao's　company　has　pioneered　a　work　flow　software　program　with　a　standardized　
format　that　makes　the　outsourcing　of　tax　returns　cheap　and　easy。　The　whole　process　
starts；　Jerry　explained；　with　an　accountant　in　the　United　States　scanning　my　last　
year's　tax　returns；　plus　my　W…2；　W…4；　1099；　bonuses；　and　stock　
statements…everything…into　a　computer　server；　which　is　physically　located　in　
California　or　Texas。　〃Now　your　accountant；　if　he　is　going　to　have　your　taxes　done　
overseas；　knows　that　you　would　prefer　not　to　have　your　surname　be　known　or　your　Social　
Security　number　known　＇to　someone　outside　the　country＇；　so　he　can　choose　to　suppress　
that　information；〃　said　Rao。　〃The　accountants　in　India　call　up　all　the　raw　information　
directly　from　the　server　in　America　＇using　a　password＇；　and　they　complete　your　tax　
returns；　with　you　remaining　anonymous。　All　the　data　stays　in　the　U。S。　to　comply　with　
privacy　regulations。　。　。　We　take　data　protection　and　privacy　very　seriously。　The　
accountant　in　India　can　see　the　data　on　his　screen；　but　he　cannot　take　a　download　
of　it　or　print　it　out…our　program　does　not　allow　it。　The　most　he　could　do　would　be　
to　try　to　memorize　it；　if　he　had　some　ill　intention。　The　accountants　are　not　allowed　
to　even　take　a　paper　and　pen　into　the　room　when　they　are　working　on　the　returns。〃　
I　was　intrigued　at　just　how　advanced　this　form　of　service　outsourcing　had　become。　
〃We　are　doing　several　thousand　returns；〃　said　Rao。　What's　more；　〃Your　CPA　in　America　
need　not　even　be　in　their　office。　They　can　be　sitting　on　a　beach　in　California　and　
e…mail　us　and　say；　'Jerrv》　you　are　really　good　at　doing　New　York　State　returns；　so　
you　do　Tom's　returns。　And　Sonia；　you　and　your　team　in　Delhi　do　the　Washington　and　
Florida　
13　
returns。'　Sonia；　by　the　way；　is　working　out　of　her　house　in　India；　with　no　overhead　
＇for　the　company　to　pay＇。　'And　these　others；　they　are　really　complicated；　so　I　will　
do　them　myself。〃　
In　2003；　some　25；000　U。S。　tax　returns　were　done　in　India。　In　2004；　the　number　was　


100；000。　In　2005；　it　is　expected　to　be　400；000。　In　a　decade；　you　will　assume　that　
your　accountant　has　outsourced　the　basic　preparation　of　your　tax　returns…if　not　more。　
〃How　did　you　get　into　this？〃　I　asked　Rao。　
〃My　friend　Jeroen　Tas；　a　Dutchman；　and　I　were　both　working　in　California　for　
Citigroup；〃　Rao　explained。　〃I　was　his　boss　and　we　were　coming　back　from　New　York　one　
day　together　on　a　flight　and　I　said　that　I　was　planning　to　quit　and　he　said；　'So　am　
I。'　We　both　said；　'Why　don't　we　start　our　own　business？'　So　in　1997…98；　we　put　together　
a　business　plan　to　provide　high…end　Internet　solutions　for　big　companies。　。　。　Two　
years　ago；　though；　I　went　to　a　technology　convention　in　Las　Vegas　and　was　approached　
by　some　medium…size　＇American＇　accounting　firms；　and　they　said　they　could　not　afford　
to　set　up　big　tax　outsourcing　operations　to　India；　but　the　big　guys　could；　and　＇the　
medium　guys＇　wanted　to　get　ahead　of　them。　So　we　developed　a　software　product　called　
VTR…　Virtual　Tax　Room…to　enable　these　medium…size　accounting　firms　to　easily　
outsource　tax　returns。〃　
These　midsize　firms　〃are　getting　a　more　level　playing　field；　which　they　were　denied　
before；〃　said　Jerry。　〃Suddenly　they　can　get　access　to　the　same　advantages　of　scale　
that　the　bigger　guys　always　had。〃　
Is　the　message　to　Americans；　〃Mama；　don't　let　your　kids　grow　up　to　be　accountants〃？　
I　asked。　
Not　really；　said　Rao。　〃What　we　have　done　is　taken　the　grunt　work。　You　know　what　is　
needed　to　prepare　a　tax　return？　Very　little　creative　work。　This　is　what　will　move　
overseas。〃　
〃What　will　stay　in　America？〃　I　asked。　
〃The　accountant　who　wants　to　stay　in　business　in　America　will　be　the　one　who　focuses　
on　designing　creative　complex　strategies；　like　tax　avoidance　or　tax　sheltering；　
managing　customer　relationships；〃　he　said。　〃He　or　she　will　say　to　his　clients；　'I　
am　getting　the　grunt　work　done　efficiently　far　away。　Now　let's　talk　about　how　we　manage　
your　estate　and　what　you　are　

going　to　do　about　your　kids。　Do　you　want　to　leave　some　money　in　your　trusts？'　It　means　
having　the　quality…time　discussions　with　clients　rather　than　running　around　like　
chickens　with　their　heads　cut　off　from　February　to　April；　and　often　filing　for　
extensions　into　August；　because　they　have　not　had　the　quality　time　with　clients。〃　
Judging　from　an　essay　inthe　journal　Accounting　Today　（June　7；　2004）；　this　does；　indeed；　
seem　to　be　the　future。　L。　Gary　Boomer；　a　CPA　and　CEO　of　Boomer　Consulting　in　Manhattan；　
Kansas；　wrote；　〃This　past　＇tax＇　season　produced　over　100；000　＇outsourced＇　returns　
and　has　now　expanded　beyond　individual　returns　to　trusts；　partnerships　and　
corporations　。　。　。　The　primary　reason　that　the　industry　has　been　able　to　scale　up　
as　rapidly　as　it　has　over　the　past　three　years　is　due　to　the　investment　that　these　
＇foreign…based＇　companies　have　made　in　systems；　processes　and　training。〃　There　are　
about　seventy　thousand　accounting　grads　in　India　each　year；　he　added；　many　of　whom　
go　to　work　for　local　Indian　firms　starting　at　100　a　month。　With　the　help　of　high…speed　
communications；　stringent　training；　and　standardized　forms；　these　young　Indians　can　
fairly　rapidly　be　converted　into　basic　Western　accountants　at　a　fraction　of　the　cost。　


Some　of　the　Indian　accounting　firms　even　go　about　marketing　themselves　to　American　
firms　through　teleconferencing　and　skip　the　travel。　Concluded　Boomer；　〃The　accounting　
profession　is　currently　in　transformation。　Those　who　get　caught　in　the　past　and　resist　
change　will　be　forced　deeper　into　commoditization。　Those　who　can　create　value　through　
leadership；　relationships　and　creativity　will　transform　the　industry；　as　well　as　
strengthen　relationships　with　their　existing　clients。〃　
What　you're　telling　me；　I　said　to　Rao；　is　that　no　matter　what　your　profession…doctor；　
lawyer；　architect；　accountant…if　you　are　an　American；　you　better　be　good　at　the　
touchy…feely　service　stuff；　because　anything　that　can　be　digitized　can　be　outsourced　
to　either　the　smartest　or　the　cheapest　producer；　or　both。　Rao　answered；　〃Everyone　
has　to　focus　on　what　exactly　is　their　value…add。〃　
But　what　if　I　am　just　an　average　accountant？　I　went　to　a　state　university。　I　had　a　
B＋　average。　Eventually　I　got　my　CPA。　I　work　in　a　big　accounting　firm；　doing　a　lot　
of　standard　work。　I　rarely　meet　with　clients。　

They　keep　me　in　the　back。　But　it　is　a　decent　living　and　the　firm　is　basically　happy　
with　me。　What　is　going　to　happen　to　me　in　this　system？　
〃It　is　a　good　question；〃　said　Rao。　〃We　must　be　honest　about　it。　We　are　in　the　middle　
of　a　big　technological　change；　and　when　you　live　in　a　society　that　is　at　the　cutting　
edge　of　that　change　＇like　America＇；　it　is　hard　to　predict。　It's　easy　to　predict　for　
someone　living　in　India。　In　ten　years　we　are　going　to　be　doing　a　lot　of　the　stuff　
that　is　being　done　in　America　today。　We　can　predict　our　future。　But　we　are　behind　
you。　You　are　defining　the　future。　America　is　always　on　the　edge　of　the　next　creative　
wave　。。。　So　it　is　difficult　to　look　into　the　eyes　of　that　accountant　and　say　this　
is　what　is　going　to　be。　We　should　not　trivialize　that。　We　must　deal　with　it　and　talk　
about　it　honestly　。。。　Any　activity　where　wecan　digitize　and　decompose　the　value　chain；　
and　move　the　work　around；　will　get　moved　around。　Some　people　will　say；　Yes；　but　you　
can't　serve　me　a　steak。'　True；　but　I　can　take　the　reservation　for　your　table　sitting　
anywhere　in　the　world；　if　the　restaurant　does　not　have　an　operator。　We　can　say；　Yes；　
Mr。　Friedman；　we　can　give　you　a　table　by　the　window。'　In　other　words；　there　are　parts　
of　the　whole　dining…out　experience　that　we　can　decompose　and　outsource。　If　you　go　
back　and　read　the　basic　economics　textbooks；　they　will　tell　you：　Goods　are　traded；　
but　services　are　consumed　and　produced　in　the　same　place。　And　you　cannot　export　a　
haircut。　But　we　are　coming　close　to　exporting　a　haircut；　the　appointment　part。　What　
kind　of　haircut　do　you　want？　Which　barber　do　you　want？　All　those　things　can　and　will　
be　done　by　a　call　center　far　away。〃　
As　we　ended　our　conversation；　I　asked　Rao　what　he　is　up　to　next。　He　was　full　of　energy。　
He　told　me　he'd　been　talking　to　an　Israeli　company　t