????市場研究機構渾水（Muddy Waters）繼續對在美國上市的中國公司窮追猛打，這次遭到攻擊的是移動互聯網企業網秦移動（attack on NQ Mobile）。正如典型的做空方那樣，渾水在網秦身上挑了一堆毛病，以便發動攻勢。我在電子郵件里看到的這個問題則和網秦披露的現金和短期投資信息有關。

????下面是網秦年報中的一張表格，也是引起眾人關注的原因。在所有的財務報告中你們都能看到類似的表格。

????Muddy Waters continued its assault on U.S. listed Chinese companies with an attack on NQ Mobile. As is typical of short seller attacks, Muddy Waters has made a number of allegations, but the one that has been filing up my inbox relates to a disclosure of cash and short-term investments.

????This is the table from NQ Mobile’s 20F that has everyone worked up. You will find a similar one in every financial statement.

????（注：Cash and cahs equivalents – 現金和現金等價物，Term deposits – 定期存款，Short-term investment – 短期投資）

????用這張表格和網秦上年年報中的同一表格進行對比后，渾水一下子來了精神。

????What got Muddy Waters worked up was a comparison of this table to the prior year’s table.

????大家可以看到，網秦將現金和現金等價物的公允價值等級從第一級調整為第二級，但沒有解釋原因。這是網秦自己的失誤，因為如果做了解釋，就能化解渾水就此發動的攻擊。但現在的實際情況卻正好相反，渾水指出，這項調整表明現金已經轉移，而且已經消失。

????在資產負債表中，現金和短期投資等金融性資產的價值是公允價值，而非初始成本。每次公布資產負債表時都會這樣估值，同時按市場價格進行調整，以體現這些資產的當前價值。由于操作方法不同，2008年金融危機期間這個問題引發了極大的混亂。美國財務會計標準委員會（FASB）和國際會計準則委員會（IASB）于2011年確認，雙方統一了美國通用會計準則（GAAP）和國際會計準則（IFRS）。相關改革措施包括將信息披露范圍擴大到投資的定價方法，而目前在中國成為焦點問題的正是這些以前不需要披露的信息。

????對于按照公允價值衡量的資產和負債，公司必須披露估值方法和估值所用的原始數據。上述引起爭議的表格對現金和投資的分類依據是原始數據。這些數據分為三類，有最可靠的，也有最不可靠的。

????一級原始數據是最可靠的定價數據，它們是估值當天公布財報的公司所能得到的同類資產和負債的報價。流通證券有買入價和賣出價，這是一級原始數據。雖然這些價格可能出現波動，但它們是某個時點上價值水平的可靠依據。可能有人會說，就連銀行活期存款都不能按一級原始數據定價，原因是不存在有報價的“同類資產”（雖然現金是定價的基礎）。

????As you can see, NQ Mobile has moved its cash and cash equivalents from Level 1 to Level 2 in 2012 and did not tell us why. That is a self-inflicted wound since an explanation probably would have headed off this part of the Muddy Waters attack. Instead, Muddy Waters suggests that the change implies the cash might have been diverted and is not there.

????Financial assets like cash and short-term investments are reported at fair market value on the balance sheet, rather than at their original cost. This valuation is done at every balance sheet date, and the assets are “marked to market” to reflect the current valuation. Differing approaches to doing this led to great confusion during the financial crisis of 2008, and the FASB and IASB conformed US GAAP and IFRS in 2011 to get consistency. Included in those reforms were expanded disclosures about how investments were priced, and it is those expanded disclosures that are getting all the attention in China today.

????For assets and liabilities that are measured at fair market value, companies have to disclose the valuation techniques and inputs to valuation. The table in question categorizes cash and investments by category of input. There are three categories of inputs, ranging from the most reliable to the least reliable.

????Level 1 inputs are the most reliable pricing data. They are quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities that the reporting entity can access at the measurement date. Traded securities have bid/ask prices and are level 1 inputs. While these prices may be volatile, they are reliable evidence of values at a particular point. Some would argue that even current account bank deposits couldn’t be priced with level 1 inputs, since there are no “identical assets” that have quoted prices (although cash is the basic unit of pricing).