Title: Moving beyond compliance and control: building a values-based corporate governance culture supportive of a culture of mutual accountability

Authors: Elisabeth Sundrum

Addresses: eCultureTeam, Munich, Germany

Abstract: Will the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the emerging EU auditing standards be adequate to stop major corporate scandals? Certainly they will help, but the best defence against fraud is a corporate culture strong enough to itself stop abuse internally. Activities imposed from the outside can never match the role of colleagues within a company who challenge one another to maintain the highest of ethical standards and good business practices. Boards must ensure a strong ethics framework of appropriate behaviour. Since behaviour is based on values priorities, a mutual effort at all levels to deal with corporate ethics begins with a clear understanding of core values, both individually and organisationally. If a company wants to achieve a high Return on Capital Employed and Customers Engaged, a high Return on Competencies Enhanced, and a high Return on Co-Creative Energy, it is a major breakthrough to discover the interrelationship between: value, values, valuing and valuation.

Keywords: corporate governance; code of conduct; corporate culture; corporate ethics; corporate fraud; ethical business practices; Sarbanes-Oxley; values; values assessment; values alignment; auditing standards; white-collar crime.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2004.005255

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2004 Vol.1 No.2/3, pp.192 - 209

Published online: 16 Sep 2004 *

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