The quarterly financial conference call has just begun… The CEO welcomes everyone to the call and begins a review of the top-line revenue results.
“Ladies and Gentleman, we had a challenging quarter, given the economic downturn and increased competition. Our revenue showed no growth quarter over quarter and year over year, but we are proud of our sales staff for maintaining the utmost in ethics. In this challenging environment, there is increased temptation to provide kickbacks, gifts, and other incentives to client staff in exchange for sales and our team resisted this type of temptation. Everyone is focused not just on the sale, but also on building productive client relationships and the way the sale is closed.”
What company is this? When was the last time someone publicized a highly ethical failure in a quarterly conference call or any company meeting for that matter? Are we still focused only on the bottom line after all of the scandals in the last (almost) ten years?
Of course, those calling into a quarterly financial conference call are most concerned about the financial results. However, as more scandal stories pile up, I wonder when investors will start asking specifically about the ethics and compliance programs. In these times, without a robust ethics and compliance program (along with financial standards and robust auditing), the figures that are announced during a quarterly call may be as firm as jell-o… The current economic crisis is a clear indicator of this…