Tag: tone at the top
SEC Chief Accountant issues statement on tone at the top
In this statement, SEC Chief Accountant Paul Munter discusses the importance of setting the tone at the top. According to Munter, “academic research has ‘long stressed the crucial role that tone at the top, set by leadership, plays in influencing firm culture and how it is ultimately reflected in the actions and behaviors of [auditors].’ The tone at the top of an audit firm determines whether the culture is focused on delivering high-quality audits or is a profit-center chasing the short-term bottom line, and whether ‘top management extols the important role audits play in the capital markets’ or acts as if audits are little more than compliance ‘commodities.’” Although he talks in terms of auditors, some of Munter’s recommendations may prove useful for companies in establishing their own ethics environments and tone at the top.
SEC Chief Accountant addresses audit committee effectiveness
by Cydney Posner In a recent speech at the University of Tennessee, “Advancing the Role and Effectiveness of Audit Committees,” SEC Chief Accountant Wes Bricker discusses his recommendations for — wait for it — improving the effectiveness of audit committees. The speech addresses issues such as diversity, work overload, tone […]
CEOs behaving badly? What do companies do?
by Cydney Posner CEOs ain’t misbehavin’? A new study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, “Scoundrels in the C-Suite,” discusses the fallout from and responses to “bad behavior” by CEOs. While “bad behavior” clearly includes illegal conduct, it may also include other types of questionable but not illegal behavior. […]
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