Rudyard Kipling’s classic poem, “If,” written in 1895, talks about rewards to be reaped if we’re able to “keep our head[s] when all about [us] … are losing theirs.” The reality of corporate life, however, is that public companies can’t keep their heads, or their other key executives. Eventually, CEOs and senior executives die, suffer […]
L. Pitt Harvey
Posted inUncategorized
The Inevitable Move to IFRS: Getting Started
The shift to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is both appropriate and, in any event, ineluctable. It is appropriate because our markets today, more than ever before, are truly global. Investors worldwide need to be able to compare companies across the board, and disparities in accounting conventions will only create major traps for the unwary. […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
A Regulatory Regime for Modern Times
More than 20 years ago, at the Brandenburg Gate in West Germany, President Reagan gave an historic speech, in which he called upon Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Two years later, the Berlin Wall in fact came tumbling down, and the City of Berlin was reunited, permitting Western technology and […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Learning the Lessons of the Sub-Prime Crisis
On seeing several criminals led to the scaffold in the 16th century, English Protestant martyr John Bradford remarked, “There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” His words, without his name, are still very common utterances today, used for expressing one’s blessings compared to the fate of others. This was especially poignant for […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Avoiding Murphy’s Law: Tips for Boards and Management
At Compliance Week’s annual conference in June, former SEC Chairman and Compliance Week Columnist Harvey Pitt delivered the closing keynote address. In this edition, we reprint his speech. A gracious good morning. I’m pleased to participate in Compliance Week’s 2007 Annual Conference on Governance, Risk & Compliance. As always, [Compliance Week founders] Scott Cohen and […]