Alexandra A. Wrage writes on the WrageBlog about Simple Strategies to avoid paying a bribe: “Our informant carefully prepared himself to meet with a notorious bribe-demanding functionary for the first time. He scripted his approach to the exchange: (a) Stand quietly at the functionary’s little window until the functionary looked at him, (b) Smile confidently, (c) … Read more »
Investigating Complaints of Harassment
E. Jason Tremblay of Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Chicago put together an article in the ABA’s Business Law Today on how to limit a company’s exposure by Properly Investigating Complaints of Harassment. jason points out that an ineffective investigation can turn simple workplace humor into an expensive harrassment of retaliation complaint. He inserts a … Read more »
Books and Records Requirement for Investment Advisers
The proposed Hedge Fund Transparency Act would require private investment funds to maintain books and records that the SEC requires. Presumably, if the Act passes the SEC would promulgate some regulations addressing what it would require. One place to look would be Rule 204-2 under the Investment Advisers Act. The other place would be Rule … Read more »
The Group of Thirty Report on Financial Reform
The Group of Thirty released their latest report: Financial Reform – A Framework for Financial Stability.(.pdf) The report focuses on flaws in the global financial system and provides recommendations to improve the systems. The report project was led by Paul Volcker, Chairman, and Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa and Arminio Fraga Neto, Vice Chairmen. The rrport does not … Read more »
The Unexpected Benefits of Sarbanes Oxley
The April 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review has an article by Stephen Wagner and Lee Dittmar on The Unexpected Benefits of Sarbanes Oxley. Although the article is somewhat dated when it talks about the second year under Sarbanes Oxley, it foretells some of the current thoughts in compliance. Compliance is good for business. Two … Read more »
Auditing Standard No. 5 for Smaller Companies
PCAOB released Staff Views for applying the provisions of PCAOB Standard No. 5 for audits of smaller, less complex public companies (.pdf) on January 23, 2009. Standard No. 5 is focused on assessing the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. This Staff View of PCAOB Standard No. 5 discusses how to scale an audit … Read more »
Madoff in Limerick Form
Freakonomics ran a contest for the best definition for Bernie Madoff in limerick form. They had special guest judge Chris J. Strolin, founder and editor-in-chief of The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form announce The Winning Definition of “Madoff,” in Limerick Form. The best of the best was #98 by sqlman: His investments’ ascent: like … Read more »
Book Review: The Black Swan
I just finished reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The title of the book comes from the observations of Europeans that all swans are white. Much to their surprise, they came to Australia and found their first black swan. The book starts with this story to illustrate the “limitations to our learning from … Read more »
Dilbert on Business Ethics and Online Reviews
Published February 1, 2009 Read more »
When Markets Turn
The Economist ran a special report on the future of finance last week. One item caught my eye – When Markets Turn: A Parable of How Modern Finance Can Go Wrong. The story looks back at the collapse of the Long-Term Capital Management in 1998. The article puts some of the lessons of that funds … Read more »