Speakers discuss ethics, concerns in Enron’s wake

  CHRIS BACKLEY/ Daily Bruin Corporate business leaders
spoke about the effects of the Enron scandal and Sept. 11 at the
fifth annual Galef Symposium.

By Teri H.P. Nguyen
Daily Bruin Contributor

While the fate of Enron floats in the air, corporate executives
and investors came together to discuss the fragility of corporate
integrity in the world’s market.

At the Anderson School, 20 business executives attended
UCLA’s fifth-annual Galef Symposium on corporate governance
and equity offerings, interjected with insights on business ethics
during Tuesday’s “networking” dinner followed by
a daylong series of speakers and panel discussions.

With the recent Enron scandal, the concept of corporate
leadership, ethics and responsibility has raised significant
concerns as to the direction of businesses in the future.

Wearing rather uncoordinated business attire at Tuesday’s
dinner, keynote speaker, John Wall, president of Nasdaq
International referred to this time “”mdash; the wake of Enron
“”mdash; as a “time of reflection” for business
executives to “be more active board members, taking
responsibility of their share-holders,” Wall said.

Enron Corporations recently filed bankruptcy and is under severe
scrutiny for allegedly reporting false financial statements which
resulted in substantial losses for Enron shareholders.

Harvard Business School professor, Jay Lorsch, said
“corporate governance is a huge hot topic primarily because
of Enron.”

“I expect there to be much debate about what needs to
change and how to oversee overall economy,” Lorsch added in
expectation of the daylong event Wednesday.

There seemed to be two prominent sides that aroused the most
discussion in terms of reparations. Lorsch anticipates that one
side of the debate will be the formation of new accounting rules
and regulations; the other, a closer watch of the executive
boards.

“This issue has been around, but now there’s a new
urgency,” Lorsch said. “I side with
vigilance.”

Wall noted that new regulations and possibly some legislation
may result to ensure greater shareholder protection, influenced no
doubt by the Enron case.

Businesses have a responsibility to their shareholder, Wall
said, addressing the concerns of shareholder and consumer
protection.

Hoping to see find out about these concerns were Harold Howell
and Angela Duffy, representatives of the Nasdaq Insurance Agency,
an organization that provides coverage for the individual against a
company’s misleading policies, among other services, Duffy
said.

Duffy and Howell were present to observe the types of concerns
that may arise for shareholders.

“We are a services and solutions provider,” Howell
said. “”˜Protection of personal assets.’
That’s what we do.”

With so many business executives all in one room, each was able
to dirty up, lather up and then clean up their perspectives on the
economy with insights from peers.

This present downturn in the marketplace leaves some uncertain
dirt stains in the future for the U.S. as well as the world
economy.

As a response to the growing concern about markets, Wall
presented Nasdaq’s role in uplifting the world market by
providing better services and enhancing market quality, primarily
in making information more available and company profiles more
transparent.

“I’m a consumer,” Wall said. “If a
company doesn’t provide information, I vote with my feet and
walk away.”

Wall reaffirmed the role of markets, specifically the Nasdaq
Stock Market as an “information provider and capital
distributor.”

“There was an irrational exuberance in the markets,”
Wall said referring to last year’s gross market growth.
“It lasted roughly 36 hours, and if anything this is a bubble
that has popped.”

Even Clinton Wall, of RS Investments and son of Nasdaq
International president, said that there will be more eyes on
corporate boards.

“Corporate governance is very pertinent especially to the
Enron accounting debacle,” Clinton said. However, this may
result in better protections for the individual.

“There will be short-term pain,” Clinton said.
“But long-term gain.”