Highlighting the continuing challenge of information systems security, more than 80% of companies around the world have been hacked by cyber-criminals, including more than 80% of companies in the U.S., and more than 85% of companies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, according to a worldwide survey of CFOs. The goal in these attacks […]
Read More… from CFO Survey: Most Hit by Hackers Otherwise Optimistic
The extensive damage caused by computer hackers accessing the confidential information held within a company’s information technology is, unfortunately, well documented. But beyond compromising millions of customers or accessing company secrets, a cyber attack on an SITE (systemically important technology enterprise) could be even more catastrophic, potentially damaging the global economy and undermining the value […]
Read More… from Cyber-Attack Catastrophe: Lessons from a Plausible Risk Scenario
New research, focusing on accounting ethics and using a carefully controlled experiment, reveals the power of social influence on the ethical standards of managers. After seeing honest budget reporting from another manager — a peer — a manager is more likely to be honest: despite an incentive to inflate costs to secure a bigger budget, […]
Read More… from How Peers Influence Ethics: Good Eggs and Bad Apples
Major social and political events around the world can often have rippling and lasting effects on businesses. Take the tragic fires and accidents in factories in India and Bangladesh during the spring of 2013 that shook the global apparel and textiles industry; companies like Wal-Mart Stores, The Gap, H&M and many others suddenly found they […]
Read More… from Does Your Organization Need a Chief External Officer?
In 2013, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $20 billion to settle investigations and lawsuits about misrepresentation of the quality of mortgages the bank sold during the housing bubble. They are not the only ones to suffer from a tarnished reputation over the years; unfortunately, financial improprieties and fraud have been common in the 2000s. So […]
Read More… from Rebuilding Reputation after a Serious Financial Restatement
Decision-making on the financial markets is driven by information and by trust. But trust can be flagrantly abused. This was amply demonstrated by the Bernard Madoff scandal, considered to be the biggest fraud in American history. Madoff, a former non-executive chair of the NASDAQ stock exchange, used a ‘Ponzi scheme’ to defraud investors, paying returns […]
Blowing the whistle on internal wrongdoing can be a risky endeavour. What if nothing happens and you’re now branded a fink? What if there’s retaliation from your boss or even your peers? A team of researchers decided to empirically test the influence of the social environment — including both management and peers — on whistleblowing […]
Read More… from Blowing the Whistle on Unethical Conduct: It Takes a Village
In recent years, the trust afforded to senior management has eroded significantly, particularly for those executives in finance-related positions. The demise of certain companies sent shockwaves across industries; successful covering up of the actual financial situation a company was in meant regulators, employees and the general public remained unaware till it was too late. Going […]
Read More… from How to Recognize Managements With Something to Hide
What are the causes of organizational misconduct? How does it spread and what consequences does it have? These questions are the focus of research by faculty from the University of California and INSEAD. Considering the wealth of existing literature on this topic, they examine the causes of misconduct and suggest some safeguards. Organizational misconduct is […]
