Corporate finance jobs

HERE is a sampling of recent newspaper editorials concerning last year's corporate scandals and whether anything has changed.

One of the problems during the late, unlamented stock market bubble is that nearly everyone seemed to lose their heads, even the supposed watchdogs. Auditors were among those who often got swept away. The political class reacted by giving us Sarbanes-Oxley, one of those Washington specials that imposes new costs and burdens on the entire economy in the name of punishing the guilty few. We think history shows that the better way to deter against future misbehavior is for individuals to be held accountable for their own actions.

--The Wall Street Journal

The good news is that directors and, particularly, audit committees seam to be taking their jobs more seriously; they've been empowered, even instructed, to ask questions of management rather than simply ratify its decision-making ... Meanwhile, some unattractive grousing can be heard from companies about the costs of complying with the new law, as well as some muttering about its supposed effect on corporate initiative ... But there's little doubt that investors are better off today than they were a year ago. Corporate America is, too, if it would stop a moment and consider the erosion of trust that Sarbanes-Oxley attempts to repair.

--The Washington Post

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. In the past year, prosecutors have secured more than 250 corporate fraud convictions, including 25 former CEOs; charged 354 people with white-collar crime; and recovered more than $85 million in fines, forfeiture and restitution. But instead of celebrating this corporate comeuppance with any tone of revenge, Americans should hail what's happened as a prime example of good government. The Corporate Fraud Task Force, established by President Bush, has become an effective tool for leading our nation beyond the scandals. Making money in America is difficult enough. What businesses and investors don't need is more of the scandalous days of 2001 and 2002.

--The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)

There is the basic issue of business ethics, which cannot be mandated or controlled by a government agency. Thomas Donaldson, a professor at the Wharton School, spoke at an anniversary event for Burson-Marsteller, and told the group about the most common misperceptions about managing ethics. One is that "bad things are always caused by bad people," when, in fact, he's observed that factors like uncommon stress and blind precedents are really at the root of the actions of those behaving unethically. Compliance programs instituted by companies can play a positive rule, but they do little to help executives counter an unethical environment.

--PR Week