As long as institutions and organizations offer their students, members, and employees the chance to learn about and openly discuss ethics, unethical behaviors, and what they witness in their interactions, we can help safeguard against future fraud and the harm that comes from ignoring warnings.
Will Citigroup Finally Fix Its Corporate Culture?
Jane Fraser, who replaced Michael Corbat as CEO of Citigroup in March of 2021, follows a line of CEOs who have each tried unsuccessfully to change Citigroup’s culture and the resulting ongoing problems with risk compliance and internal controls.
Resisting Corporate Corruption at the University of North Carolina
The class discussed the case about my experience at Citigroup “Write to Rubin? – Pressure on Underwriting Standards at Citigroup,” focusing on whether or not there were viable alternatives to my writing my email warning Robert Rubin (who was named Chairman of the Citigroup Board of Directors the following day) about the massive fraud I had discovered involving the underwriting and selling of mortgage loans.
Speaking at the University of North Texas
The ethics students learn and develop now will affect their actions when they become move into the workforce. As Professor Madhuri Bandla emphasized to the students, ethics and integrity are absolutely essential to the accounting profession. Sharing my experience and the actions I have witnessed is my way of helping those essential features become part of a young accountant’s education.
Ethics in the Last and Next Financial Crisis
I spoke recently at the new Dallas campus of Texas A&M Commerce University to their graduate and undergraduate business students and alumni, with many others, including some Texas A&M financial planning students, attending virtually via zoom. Professor Jared Pickens, the organizer of the event, asked me to speak on “Ethics in the Last and Next… [Read More]
Speaking on Resisting Corporate Corruption
I was honored to speak to Stephen Arbogast’s “Resisting Corporate Corruption” class and discuss why it is important for students to learn ethics and how to identify corruption early.
Is there a lesson in the Holmes verdict?
People are hoping that the Theranos case means that the DOJ will finally start prosecuting high-tech fraud, but many folks don’t think that this will necessarily mean that the DOJ has developed a spine for this industry. As the NYT writers pointed out, executives are rarely charged with fraud, and even less often convicted.
Citigroup to Facebook, it’s about power
While our stories come from different industries, both situations involve manipulating people. All the similarities between our stories come down to one: Powerful people exploited those who lacked power in order to increase personal gain.
The Con Docuseries More Widely Available
I have just learned that the documentary, The Con, a five-part investigative docuseries revealing massive frauds committed by large banks which led to the Great Financial Crisis, is being released through multiple channels… Apple TV, Amazon, Xbox, Vimeo, and Comcast On Demand.
Another Non-Ethical Poster Child
Making ethical decisions and conducting business in an ethical way is a key component to future profitability and a litmus test for keeping productive, committed employees. Yet to date too many companies do not operate from this foundation. Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale in their bestselling book, The Power of Ethical Management, advocate asking… [Read More]
