Look in the mirror and ask yourself…
Tom Hood, head of the Maryland CPA association, recently met with a class of college accounting students. They picked the topics: corporate scandals and fraud, which, in itself, it an encouraging sign that some of our hopes can rest easy in the next generation.
But some of what Tom delivered could be useful for anyone.
Tom posts:
We finished with tips for them to stay ethical (the mirror test) and have the courage to “do the right thing”:
1. Publicity test – how would your action look on national tv or in a headline?
2. Conscience test – listen to your inside voice
3. Parent test – if you had children looking over your shoulder would the be embarrassed?
4. Role Model test – would your role model approve?
5. Universality test – what if everyone did this?
6. Golden Rule – would you like to be treated this way?
And he left some recommended readings:
- Madoff fraud – Markopolis whistleblower memo (PDF)
- Sherron Watkins – memo about Enron
- MACPA’s Accounting Reform Task Force Report – circa 2002 during Enron-Worldcom – Download MACPA ACCOUNTING REFORM WHITE PAPER (PDF)
- Wired magazine – XBRL – Road Map for Financial Recovery
- Wired magazine – Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street
And, don’t miss Tom’s post on Transparency, Accountability, Efficiency: Time for a Revolution
