the.world.is.flat-第3章

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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　
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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　that　is　making　some　big　advances　
in　compression　technology　to　allow　for　easier；　better　transfers　of　CAT　scans　via　the　
Internet　so　you　can　quickly　get　a　second　opinion　from　a　doctor　half　a　world　away。　
A　few　weeks　after　I　spoke　with　Rao；　the　following　e…mail　arrived　from　Bill　Brody；　
the　president　of　Johns　Hopkins　University；　whom　I　had　just　interviewed　for　this　book：　
Dear　Tom；　I　am　speaking　at　a　Hopkins　continuing　education　medical　meeting　for　
radiologists　（I　used　to　be　a　radiologist）　。。。　I　


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came　upon　a　very　fascinating　situation　that　I　thought　might　interest　you。　I　have　just　
learned　that　in　many　small　and　some　medium…size　hospitals　in　the　US；　radiologists　
are　outsourcing　reading　of　CAT　scans　to　doctors　in　India　and　Australia！！！　Most　of　
this　evidently　occurs　at　night　（and　maybe　weekends）　when　the　radiologists　do　not　have　
sufficient　staffing　to　provide　in…hospital　coverage。　While　some　radiology　groups　will　
use　teleradiology　to　ship　images　from　the　hospital　to　their　home　（or　to　Vail　or　Cape　
Cod；　I　suppose）　so　that　they　can　interpret　images　and　provide　a　diagnosis　24/7；　
apparently　the　smaller　hospitals　are　shipping　CAT　scan　images　to　radiologists　abroad。　
The　advantage　is　that　it　is　daytime　in　Australia　or　India　when　it　is　nighttime　here…so　
after…hours　coverage　becomes　more　readily　done　by　shipping　the　images　across　the　globe。　
Since　CAT　（and　MRI）　images　are　already　in　digital　format　and　available　on　a　network　
with　a　standardized　protocol；　it　is　no　problem　to　view　the　images　anywhere　in　the　
world　。。。　I　assume　that　the　radiologists　on　the　other　end　。　。　。　must　have　trained　
in　＇the＇　US　and　acquired　the　appropriate　licenses　and　credentials。　。　。　The　groups　
abroad　that　provide　these　after…hours　readings　are　called　〃Nighthawks〃　by　the　
American　radiologists　that　employ　them。　Best；　Bill　
Thank　goodness　I'm　a　journalist　and　not　an　accountant　or　a　radiologist。　There　will　
be　no　outsourcing　for　me…even　if　some　of　my　readers　wish　my　column　could　be　shipped　
off　to　North　Korea。　At　least　that's　what　I　thought。　Then　I　heard　about　the　Reuters　
operation　in　India。　I　didn't　have　time　to　visit　the　Reuters　office　in　Bangalore；　but　
I　was　able　to　get　hold　of　Tom　Glocer；　the　CEO　of　Reuters；　to　hear　what　he　was　doing。　
Glocer　is　a　pioneer　in　the　outsourcing　of　elements　of　the　news　supply　chain。　
With　2；300　journalists　around　the　world；　in　197　bureaus；　serving　a　
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market　including　investment　bankers；　derivatives　traders；　stockbrokers；　newspapers；　
radio；　television；　and　Internet　outlets；　Reuters　has　always　had　a　very　complex　
audience　to　satisfy。　After　the　dot…com　bust；　though；　when　many　of　its　customers　became　
very　cost…conscious；　Reuters　started　asking　itself；　for　reasons　of　both　cost　and　
efficiency：　Where　do　we　actually　need　our　people　to　be　located　to　feed　our　global　
news　supply　chain？　And　can　we　actually　disaggregate　the　work　of　a　journalist　and　keep　
part　in　London　and　New　York　and　shift　part　to　India？　
Glocer　started　by　looking　at　the　most　basic　bread…and…butter　function　Reuters　
provides；　which　is　breaking　news　about　company