因此，當(dāng)初董事會(huì)進(jìn)行了足夠調(diào)查嗎?

????略作調(diào)研就能從其他渠道發(fā)現(xiàn)值得擔(dān)憂的因素。好的董事會(huì)成員會(huì)從Glassdoor.com等網(wǎng)站尋找外部信息。從該網(wǎng)站可以看到Autonomy的員工非常不滿（收購(gòu)前后都是如此）。

????一項(xiàng)決策失利后，“依賴管理層”可謂是董事會(huì)的一個(gè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)借口，但惠普還運(yùn)用了一種不那么常見的策略來推卸責(zé)任：他們將88億美元減值中的50億美元?dú)w咎于Autonomy的會(huì)計(jì)問題。十年前，麥克森（McKesson）董事會(huì)在類似的境地下曾成功逃脫法庭問責(zé)。約翰?漢默格林現(xiàn)任惠普董事和麥克森CEO，當(dāng)年就是麥克森的一名高管。

????獲得好估值的第一步，首先是要檢驗(yàn)數(shù)字的可信性。這一點(diǎn)不能隨意略過。這意味著不光是依賴經(jīng)審計(jì)財(cái)務(wù)數(shù)據(jù)，還要看這些數(shù)據(jù)的背后，正如筆者在書中所討論的那樣。審計(jì)師事務(wù)所很少被問責(zé)，即便是那些嫌疑很大的事務(wù)所，比如這樁交易中的審計(jì)師事務(wù)所。

現(xiàn)在情況如何？

????或許惠普董事會(huì)成員不必在法庭上忍受太多煎熬。在交談中，筆者發(fā)現(xiàn)董事會(huì)成員通常并不擔(dān)心會(huì)承擔(dān)個(gè)人責(zé)任，因?yàn)闃?biāo)準(zhǔn)設(shè)得太高了，幾乎不可能影響到他們。

????但另一件事也讓惠普董事會(huì)的可信度大打折扣。上個(gè)季度，惠特曼減記80億美元商譽(yù)。即便今天，曾經(jīng)支持董事會(huì)收購(gòu)Autonomy決定的人們?nèi)匀粚?duì)惠普董事會(huì)和公司未來存有疑問。

????Sterne Agee and Leach分析師吳肖（音譯）去年8月在接受消費(fèi)者新聞與財(cái)經(jīng)電視頻道采訪時(shí)曾稱，Autonomy交易可能長(zhǎng)期有益于惠普。上周，他告訴《芝加哥每日先驅(qū)報(bào)》（Chicago Daily Herald）稱，“他甚至都不知道惠特曼的CEO位子還穩(wěn)不穩(wěn)，因?yàn)樵贏utonomy交易獲批時(shí)她也是董事會(huì)成員。”

????有些人甚至都在要求清理惠普董事會(huì)。意外的是，董事成員無一主動(dòng)請(qǐng)辭?；萜瞻l(fā)言人邁克爾?薩克爾告訴我，董事會(huì)對(duì)公司正在推進(jìn)的事情有信心。

????在這一片混亂中，現(xiàn)在可能有一個(gè)人在笑。在惠普董事會(huì)決定收購(gòu)Autonomy后不久，惠普董事多米尼克?塞尼奎爾決定“不再參與惠普下一次年度股東大會(huì)的董事會(huì)選舉”（惠普提交的一份文件顯示）。這一年的早些時(shí)候，惠普剛剛?cè)蚊峥鼱枔?dān)任董事。

????本文作者埃莉諾?布洛斯?jié)h姆是董事會(huì)咨詢公司價(jià)值聯(lián)盟與公司治理聯(lián)盟（http://thevaluealliance.com）的首席執(zhí)行官。

????譯者：楊智

Did the board probe enough?

????A little research would have highlighted other sources for concern. Good board members look for outside information at sites like Glassdoor.com. That site gives a picture of a very disgruntled Autonomy workforce (pre and post-takeover).

????While reliance on management is a standard defense for a decision gone awry, the tech giant also used a less common deflection strategy: they blamed $5 billion of the $8.8 billion write-down on Autonomy's bookkeeping. The McKesson (MCK) board was able to escape blame in the courts in a similar situation a decade ago. John Hammergren, a current HP board member and CEO of McKesson, was a top exec at that company at the time.

????But the first step to any good valuation is testing the plausibility of the numbers in the first place. And that's not something to skip over lightly. That means more than relying on audited financials but looking behind the numbers, as I discussed in my book. Audit firms, even those withconflicts, as was the case here, are rarely held to account.

What happens now?

????Perhaps HP's board members will not have to suffer much in court. Board members I speak with are generally not concerned with being held personally responsible because the bar is set so high that it is nearly impossible to affect them.

????But the HP board has suffered yet another blow to its credibility. Last quarter, Whitman wrote down $8 billion in goodwill. Even now, those who supported the board's Autonomy purchase are having doubts about the board and HP's future.

????Sterne Agee and Leach analyst Shaw Wu, who went on CNBC last August to say the Autonomy deal might be beneficial to HP in the long term, told the Chicago Daily Herald last week that "he isn't even sure Whitman's job as CEO is safe because of her presence on the board when the Autonomy deal was approved."

????Some are even calling for a purge of HP's board. It's surprising that board members aren't raising their hands to resign. But HP's Thacker told me the board is comfortable with how the company is proceeding.

????Amid all this mess, there's one person who probably is smiling right now. Shortly after HP's board decided to buy Autonomy, Dominique Senequier decided "not stand for re-election at HP's next annual meeting of stockholders," according to an HP filing. HP had appointed Senequier to the board earlier that year.

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.