SEC Adopts 'Say on Pay' Rule Last Tuesday the SEC adopted regulations requiring companies to hold non-binding shareholder votes on executive pay packages. The final "say on pay" rules implement a mandate of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law to give shareholders a greater say in compensation packages. Companies don't have... Read more →
FASB and FASB-Lite Do we really need more bureaucracy in accounting standard setting? On January 26 a blue-ribbon panel submitted a report to FASB’s parent organization—the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF)—recommending significant changes to the future of accounting standard setting for private companies, including a separate standard-setting board. The panel concluded... Read more →
Academically Adrift In a previous blog I reported about the low ranking of American students in mathematics and science when compared with their counterparts around the world. American students were ranked 28th and 24th in mathematics and science, respectively, in an international assessment of 15 year olds? Now, a study... Read more →
You Can Whistleblow for the IRS Last week I blogged about whistleblowing provisions in the recently passed Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act. Today, I turn my attention to our friends at the IRS. Did you know the IRS has just made it easier for whistle-blowers to collect rewards for turning in... Read more →
Creating a Values-Driven Organization I previously blogged about what is ethics, business ethics and corporate fraud, the importance of audit committees, a strong corporate governance system and the MBA Oath. The common theme that runs through these blogs is that in order to develop an ethical environment an organization must... Read more →
Whistleblowing and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act The Federal False Claims Act allows individuals who know of fraud committed against the US Government to file suit on behalf of the US against those who have falsely or fraudulently claimed federal funds. Filers typically recover 15 to... Read more →
What Motivated Cho, Hasan and Loughner? I previously blogged about civility and it seems to be a good time to add some thoughts in light of the murders in Tucson one week ago. A poll by the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College and Zogby International found that the... Read more →
Proposed Regulations on For-Profit Institutions I'd like to fill in the gaps in the debate over proposed regulation of for-profit, private institutions. Last fall the Department of Education proposed establishing regulations that could limit the options available for students to attend for-profit institutions at a time when we have stagnating... Read more →
How Should a Corporation Act...Think? I have previously blogged about the lack of a moral compass to direct our free market capitalistic system. The pursuit of self-interests and outright greed seems to rule the day. Our free market economic system depends on the exercise of ethical behavior by corporate officials... Read more →
Nurses #1 Gallup conducts a poll each year of how Americans view the honesty and ethics in a variety of professions. The last poll results were issued in November 2010. For the seventh straight year, nurses were rated number one with 24% of respondents indicating a very high level of... Read more →