Bernard L. Madoff, simply known as Bernie is an American allegedly the operator of what is known as the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Bernie before his capture, acted as the stock broker, investment adviser and non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market. It was not later than 2009 when Madoff pleaded guilty; he was guilty for turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme. This scheme according to various sources defrauded thousands of investors billions of dollars. In 1960, Bernard Madoff founded one of the biggest firms in Wall Street. He was the chairman of his company “Madoff Investment Securities LLC”, until his arrest was warranted on the December of 2008. Before his arrest, the Madoff Investment Securities emerged as one of the top market maker businesses on the Wall Street. After his arrest, Madoff explained to his children as a confession that most of his asset Continue reading
Business Ethics
About Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 commonly known as Sarbanes-Oxley Act or SOX Act was enacted by US Congress to handle concerned issues surrounding business management and financial reporting as a way to restore and maintain investor confidence in the US capital market grappling with corporate scandals and accounting irregularities. With the integrity of the market further compromised by the failures of Enron’s bankruptcy and WorldCom, the act considered as the most significant corporate regulatory reform since the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, sought to curb the ongoing-spectacular corporate failures and scandals occurring in North America. The WorldCom’s failure was the last straw, prompting the speed passage of most drastic legislation to affect the accounting profession since 1933. The major purpose of this act is to provide reliable and accurate information to the investors. The formation of this act had to undergo a detailed process Continue reading
Case Study: British Petroleum and Corporate Social Responsibility
British Petroleum known today as BP Amoco is a petroleum industry based in London. It is recognized as one of the top four oil and petroleum companies throughout the world. The company started in 1901 when William Knox D’Arcy was given the permission by the Shah of Persia to explore the land for oil and founded one in May 1908. Because of this discovery, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was established so as to expose these findings. The company has grown gradually because of this as World War I is happening; the British Government shows intense interest to the company which became the source of fuel oil of Royal Navy during WWI. In 1917, the war gives permission to the British Government to have full control of the company and named it British Petroleum. The company has continued to become one of the largest oil companies in Europe and because the Continue reading
What is Marketing Ethics?
One of the most known definitions of ethics is the one from Aristotle: Human actions from the point of view in their rightness or wrongness. Ethics should concern “personal virtue” and with every decision, one should be honest, good and caring. A definition that is so idealistic and simplistic is not helpful in finding a solid definition: right and wrong are probably just as normative as the term ethics. When we try to give a definition of the term ethics it appears from the literature that you can look at it from two different philosophical views, also know as “ethical dualism”. The first view is the teleological view, also known as the consequentialist view or utilarism, which is based on the results of certain actions taken. Whereas the other view, deontology, is more based on average behavior and obligations to other people. Teleology is based on the ethical valuation of Continue reading
Earnings Management Practices and Techniques
What are earnings and what is earnings management? Simply stated, earnings are the accounting profits of a company. Stakeholders (current or potential providers of debt and equity capital, employees, suppliers, customers, auditors, analysts, rating agencies, and regulators) use earnings to make important financial decisions. Many investors view earnings as value relevant data that is more informative than cash flow data. Others have suggested that current earnings are better predictors of future cash flows than are current cash flows. In the US, these profits are derived using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) – a system based on the accrual method, which measures the performance and position of a company by recognizing economic events regardless of when cash transactions occur. The general idea is that economic events are recognized by matching revenues to expenses at the time in which the transaction occurs rather than when payment is made (or received). This method Continue reading
Managing Ethics in Business Organizations
Earlier, it’s believed that ethics is a prerogative of individuals, but now this perception has immensely changed. Many companies use management techniques to encourage ethical behavior at an organizational level. Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics can be thought of as written and unwritten codes of principles and values that govern decisions and actions within a company. In the business world, the organization’s culture sets standards for determining the difference between good and bad decision-making and behavior. In the most basic terms, a definition for business ethics boils down to knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right. The phrase Continue reading