Operation Varsity Blues, the multi-million dollar college admissions scandal involving 52 defendants, including celebrities, coaches, college admissions and business people, holds the dubious distinction of being the largest college admissions scandal in the history of the United States. The mastermind orchestrating the bribes, William “Rick” Singer, CEO of his charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation, funneled… [Read More]
Search Results for: Dan Ariely
Visiting with the Investments and Wealth Institute
It was an honor to address the Retirement Management Forum, an annual conference of Retirement Management Advisors sponsored by the Investments and Wealth Institute (IWI) in Hollywood recently, well Hollywood, Florida that is. I spoke to IWI conferences in 2015 and again in 2017 so it felt like being reunited with old friends. Established in… [Read More]
Let’s Get Real!
Authentic is defined as being true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character; no pretensions. Recent studies emphasize that bringing the real you, the whole self, an authentic self to work impacts ethical behavior. According to Maryam Kouchaki’s recent research with Mahdi Ebrahimi and Vanessa Patrick, it seems that “enabling people to bring their whole selves… [Read More]
Everybody Lies!
You can’t pick up a newspaper, turn on a news channel or be online without getting the latest on the college admission bribery scandal. In fact, a federal college admissions probe has led to the criminal indictment of more than 50 people nationwide and sparked a class action lawsuit. This latest round involves lying, cheating… [Read More]
Responsible Leadership – Does It Exist?
Building a culture of responsible leadership that earns the respect of all stakeholders is challenging. In the last several articles I talk about culture, define it and how important it is to the successful outcomes of any organization. And I continue to emphasize that a culture that is built on sound ethical principles has a… [Read More]
What do Lehman Brothers, Enron, and Citigroup Have in Common?
What did WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual, Enron, Tyco, HealthSouth, AIG, and many other well known companies have in common? In the last decade-and-a-half, we have seen some of the biggest accounting scandals in history. This last week, I had the privilege of speaking to the Texas Association of College and University Auditors,… [Read More]
What if Arthur Andersen’s Auditors Had Spoken Up at Enron?
Can we influence human behavior for the better? I tend to think we can and we must. And so I am honored to be invited to talk at various events and conferences on ethics to professionals who are in the business of assuring their clients are doing the right thing. One such group recently was… [Read More]
Will Small Investment Advisory Firms Go the Way of Community Banks?
This last week I was honored to be invited back to speak to a conference of the Investments and Wealth Institute, a highly regarded professional association for financial advisors, investment consultants, and wealth managers who embrace excellence and ethics. As I was preparing, I noted the strong parallels between the breakdowns of ethics in banking,… [Read More]
Can Ethical Principles Become the New Norm?
Pick up a newspaper, read the headlines, turn on your TV set and the prevalent news relates to lying, cheating and stealing. Whether it regards our politicians, business professionals, or local leaders much of our daily input is negative. The trust we put in our elected officials, the media, bankers and business executives is at… [Read More]
Speaking Out Has a Price… Are You Willing to Pay the Cost?
This week I had the opportunity to speak to the University of Nebraska at Omaha for their fifth annual Accounting Speaker Series. Close to two hundred accounting alumni as well as business school students taking ethics courses attended. Many of these young men and women would be auditing company books. Many would see red flags… [Read More]