5 Powerful Ways to Give Way to Fraud Like Enron’s Former CFO Andy Fastow
Former Enron CFO, Andy Fastow spoke this past weekend at the annual Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance Conference at the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management. Video recording was forbidden, but fortunately, journalist Cheryl Hall of The Dallas Morning News covered the event and took notes that captured some compelling quotes.
Whether you forgive, condemn, or feel indifferent about Fastow, his statements remind us that any ordinary person can give into The Fraud Triangle. If you ever pondered the thought of giving way to fraud, here are five effective ways that Fastow, once an award-winning CFO, gave way to one of the largest corporate fraud scandals in the world.
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- In the window of opportunity, disregard your gut instincts; delay doing the right thing so that you have more time to rationalize and justify that doing the wrong thing is okay.
- Rationalize your thoughts into thinking that you are helping the company display a picture of financial health.
- Allow the core of your identity to rely on external validation by earthly heroes and man-made titles and rewards. Feel empowered and complimented when the head of finance calls you a genius for manipulating numbers and identifying loopholes.
- Stop yourself short of critically thinking about potentially long term harmful consequences. Focus on immediate gratification and rewards. Narrow your sights to the immediate outcome and ignore thinking about long term implications.
- Give into pressure and disregard the value of prudence. Follow along with group think and do not let your voice dissent. Go along to get along simply because it’s more comfortable.
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Click here to read Hall’s captivating review of Fastow’s presentation from this past weekend at the annual Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance Conference at the University of Texas at Dallas.