Business Ethics


There is much talk today about ethics in business - as there should be, but there should be more than talk; there should be a high moral code for all executives who are responsible to both their customers and their shareholders.

I have been the president and CEO of one publicly owned company and also was president of another that was responsible to customers who traded equities. This carries a high responsibility to all concerned. You have to be more than worried if you do something wrong because you will go to jail. You must have the desire to try to always do your best for everyone who works for you as well as all the customers or investors that deal with your company.

Ethics is supposed to be either black or white, right or wrong, but today it is many shades of grey. If any company does shady business you can be sure it starts at the top and filters down because the president is the one who sets the example for the actions of the entire company. This is as true for actions of our elected officials as it is for corporations or individuals. We have had some pretty sorry examples of that in Washington.

Each time there is a new scandal the public seems less disturbed. The recent disclosure that mutual funds have been allowing hedge funds and other large traders to take positions after the closing bell is a brutal example. Maybe investors are not aware that someone is writing checks on their account. This is stolen money that is no different than a guy with a gun holding up a 7-11 store. Yes, the one difference is that the mutual funds have allowed millions of dollars to be siphoned off from those to whom they owed a fiduciary relationship. The fund manager is a crook and deserves jail time. He just took the money with a click of the computer keyboard and that was his weapon. White collar crime deserves the same punishment as the guy with a gun.

When you give a brokerage company, a mutual fund or any financial institution your money you expect, in fact, you demand, that they treat you fairly within the rules of the industry. When you are short-changed you should not accept it.

Because of the huge amounts of money available and accessible to people in the financial industry it is easy to understand how they can be tempted into criminal actions. That is why all publicly traded companies are required to have their books audited annually. Lately we have seen that even these audits are tainted.

Investors rely upon the numbers set before them in order to make decisions about owning stock in a company. If the information is dishonest a proper decision cannot be made.

Today we are seeing another type of corporate officer being created. He is called the Governance Officer. It is his job to see that the company maintains high ethical standards. I applaud this action and hope he cannot be seduced by big bucks.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005

al@mutualfundstrategy.com; 1-888-345-7870


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Times

Currie appears before ethics panel
Baltimore Sun
Ulysses S. Currie attended a closed-door meeting of the legislature's ethics committee Monday, making his first appearance before a panel expected to recommend whether he should be punished for failing to report income on financial disclosure forms.
Ethics panel set to meet again on CurrieDaily Record (subscription)
Maryland Senate to introduce ethics billWashington Times
Senator Wants Financial Disclosures OnlineWBAL Baltimore
WBAL Radio
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Christian Science Monitor

Newt Gingrich ethics investigation: 4 facts you haven't heard from him
Christian Science Monitor
In January 1997, Gingrich, then House speaker, received a “reprimand” and was required to pay $300000 to the House Ethics Committee after admitting wrongdoing. Recently, on the campaign trail, Gingrich has made a number of forceful claims about his ...
Gingrich's old ethics case gets new lifeUPI.com
SOUNDING BOARD: Presidential morality counts, but how much?Bakersfield Californian
Newt and Mitt: Two guys with issuesCNN
San Francisco Chronicle -Newsweek -NPR (blog)
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Haaretz

Knesset Ethics C'tee bans Tibi from short speeches
Jerusalem Post
By REUTERS The Knesset Ethics Committee forbade MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta'al) from giving one-minute speeches for the next month on Tuesday, after he said in the plenum, in Arabic, that he “scorns” a previous Ethics Committee decision to suspend him from ...
Knesset committee retracts Israeli Arab MK's right to speak at parliamentary ...Haaretz
Labor, Kadima MKs Side with Tibi over ProfanityArutz Sheva

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Politico

Ethics panel examining Rep. Buchanan over financial disclosures
The Hill
By Josh Lederman - 02/06/12 08:32 PM ET The House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) violated federal law and House rules by failing, in his financial disclosures, to report his positions in 17 entities.
Ethics panel punts on Vern BuchananPolitico
House Ethics Committee to continue Buchanan investigationBradenton Herald
Ethics panel to review Fla. rep's financesMiamiHerald.com
Washington Post -Sarasota Herald-Tribune -Florida Independent
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CBS Local

Ethics panel meets on Rep. Bradford, will seek supporting documents and police ...
Denver Post
Laura Bradford, above, back in charge of the Local Government committee if the House ethics panel votes to dismiss a complaint stemming from her Jan. 25 traffic stop. Bradford said she drank wine the night she was pulled her over but wasn't drunk.
Ethics Probe Starts Over Lawmaker's Traffic StopKMGH Denver
Ethics probe begins for CO Republican lawmaker who has threated to leave partyThe Republic
Denver DA: no charges against Rep. BradfordFox 31 KDVR.com

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Gingrich's old ethics case revived
Atlanta Journal Constitution
In 1988, then-Congressman Newt Gingrich's success in bringing down Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright on ethics charges helped propel the Georgian into the House GOP leadership. But in 1994, then-Speaker Gingrich became the subject of his own lengthy ...
What Really Happened to the Gingrich Ethics Case?Town Hall

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Council to continue search for attorney for ethics issues
Delmarva Now
SALISBURY -- The City Council will continue its search for an attorney to handle several ethics... BERLIN -- When Nick Craven began playing football four years ago, playing college football was the... DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies acquired veteran ...

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Worcester to review updated ethics laws
Delmarva Now
SNOW HILL -- The Worcester County Commissioners are scheduled to hold a review of new county ethics laws today at a public meeting to be held at the county jail. In August 2011, the Commissioners voted to approve emergency legislation that makes the ...

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New ethics rules require spouse finance info
Parkersburg News
By PAMELA BRUST (pbrust@newsandsentinel.com) , Parkersburg News and Sentinel PARKERSBURG - In accordance with new state ethics regulations requiring financial disclosure not only by public officials but also by their spouse, Wood County Commissioner ...

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The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

State judge reverses dismissal of ethics charges against lawmaker
NorthJersey.com
BY MATTHEW MCGRATH An action by a state panel that resulted in dismissing ethics charges against state Assemblyman Scott Rumana was scuttled by a judge Monday because a panel member was allowed a vote by phone. William Brennan, the Wayne resident who ...
Judge tosses decision that cleared NJ assemblyman of ethics complaintThe Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Judge Throws Out Committee's Ruling Against RumanaPatch.com

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