Business

PARIS, FRANCE - JUN 22, 2017: New Boeing 737-9 MAX airliner at the Paris Air Show 2017.

The Boeing Accountants Overseeing 737 Max Safety

Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX, which experienced two crashes and claimed 346 lives, was a cost saving move to tweak an existing airplane design rather than develop a new plane from scratch. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that nearly half of the Boeing directors who approved the initiative have ties to private equity. One of them is David Calhoun, who took over as Boeing’s CEO on Monday.

The flying public can take great comfort knowing that Calhoun is an accountant by training, as are two of the three Boeing directors who comprise the board’s aerospace safety committee. What more could possibly go wrong?

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An orange jumpsuit of a prisoner. close up. Prison clothes, prisoner overalls

Mike Bloomberg’s Prison Labor

Mike Bloomberg on Christmas Eve immediately terminated his campaign’s involvement with a call center staffed with inmates after The Intercept reported on the initiative. While it’s possible Bloomberg’s campaign used exploited prison workers, Microsoft and other Fortune 500 technology companies are proudly involved with programs that successfully give inmates second chances. Here’s an example of the potential damaged caused when reporters make assumptions about issues they know little or nothing about.

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Interior of modern spa salon

One Medical’s Healthcare Disruption

When it came to my primary healthcare, I had a charmed life during my time in New York and San Francisco. In New York, where I lived for more than 20 years, my primary care doctor was Harry Lodge, a distinguished Columbia medical school professor, a best-selling author, and the…

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Dennis Muilenburg and Boeing’s Unsung Heroes

Congressional hearings of CEOs under fire make for great television, but that’s pretty much all they are good for. My favorite inquisitor is California’s Katie Porter, whose takedown of Equifax CEO Mark Begor was such a delight I’ve watched it multiple times. Begor is still Equifax’s CEO. This week it…

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Rope noose hanging outdoors in sandy wilderness on sunny blue sky background. Scaffold for committing death punisment executions or suicide abstract idea. Judgment and justice.

The Execution of Kenneth Fisher

Even before I learned about Ken Fisher’s crudeness and disregard for the lessons of the #MeToo movement, I’d have nothing to do with his eponymous firm. For seemingly forever, Fisher Investments has been junking up my mailbox with slick flyers touting the founder’s investment prowess. When it comes to money…

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HONG KONG - June 9, 2019: Hong Kong June 9 protect with million of people on the street.

Mark Kern: A Moral Leader in an ‘Immoral’ Industry

I’m often accused of being too black and white in my thinking. My skepticism about ESG, a popular form of socially responsible investing, is a case in point. I applaud those who wish to apply moral considerations when investing in public entities, but companies comprising the biggest holdings of Vanguard’s…

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Lynne Doughtie’s KPMG Culture Mismanagement

Accountants are the Rodney “I don’t get no respect” Dangerfield of the professional services industry. I know this because my father was the senior partner of a Toronto accounting firm and I learned about the abuse he took despite his unrivaled knowledge of Canada’s tax code. A former senior partner…

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Social issues.

The Deceit of “Socially Responsible” Investing

When I migrated from journalism to PR decades ago, I was appalled at services major firms were promising but I knew couldn’t deliver. I shared my dismay with my father, a brilliant businessman who I always turned to for counsel and advice. He was neither sympathetic nor supportive. “Bullshit sells,”…

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The Lipstick on GE’s Financials

I’m bad at math, much to the chagrin of my father, an award-winning accountant who rarely used a calculator or slide rule because he could process numbers faster in his head. I long blamed my algebraic impairment for my inability to analyze a balance sheet, but GE CEO Larry Culp…

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flag usa on the background of sunrise

Uber and the Killing of the American Dream

Silicon Valley’s tech denizens fancy themselves as above reproach liberal do-gooders, disrupting antiquated business models and government regulations for the betterment of genderfluidkind, a term I imagine they’d prefer to “mankind.” Donald Trump is among the greatest things to happen to the Valley since the creation of the microchip because…

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