They’re everywhere, and they can help—but it’s not automatic. Here’s how to ensure your mission and values statements make a real impact. These days, corporate values statements are all over the place. Most large companies now post them online—and everywhere else from wall signage to wallet cards. Many include them as components of corporate training,…
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We hear a lot about different generations in the workplace – Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials. But what does business ethics mean to them, and how do you engage them with ethical issues in the workplace? Understanding the different characteristics of the generations is fundamental in building a business culture founded on ethical values.…
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Consumers seek out socially or environmentally responsible brands and products. Today’s consumers expect companies to focus on more than the bottom line—addressing social and environmental issues is also important. According to March 2015 polling by Cone and Ebiquity, 91% of internet users worldwide expected companies to do more than make a profit. Such demand can actually affect…
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Attitudes among business leaders about the relationship between business and social change are shifting. On the one hand, executives understand that their businesses have an important role to play in solving social problems. On the other hand, the value of corporate social responsibility isn’t clear and many believe a new approach that delivers more return…
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Ever since the publication of Milton Friedman’s book; Capitalism and Freedom, there has been constant debate of corporate social responsibility and profits, both in the business world, as well as the academic field. The debates now transcend to another level, whether businesses exist for “reason” or profits. Put his argument in simplicity, Milton thinks that…
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Corporates have scrambled to meet their corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations under the new Companies Act, 2013. This is not a surprise, as most companies have not regarded CSR as a business priority. The positive outcome is that the act has compelled an introspection. Jeremy Rifkin’s latest book, The Zero Marginal Cost Society, contains within…
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Earlier this month, the Nordic Federation of Accountants (NRF) published a consultation on a new Standard for Audits of Smaller Entities (SASE) that, if finalised, will apply in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Denmark. We’re concerned about smaller entity audits Smaller entity audits have been a central ICAEW concern for over a decade. There has been a…
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While enhanced skepticism is a key argument for requiring auditor rotation, a new report suggests that what really happens is the opposite. An intricate experiment reported in a leading accounting journal has cast new light on a contentious issue regarding the auditing of financial statements — namely, whether companies should be required to periodically change…
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Without trust, there can be no growth. Although the auditing profession has played a significant role in establishing trust for centuries, in the wake of the global financial crisis, concerns have been raised about relevance and the value of auditors’ work. While our work allows us to express opinions on the fairness of financial information…
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Inconsistencies in ACT from company to company, and even within companies, cloud net-income reporting, an accounting expert says. Every well-controlled company has an asset capitalization threshold (ACT) that should be consistently applied. The ACT is the dollar value at which an acquired asset is capitalized rather than expensed. Pretty basic, right? However, there is no…
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