Speaker Series
Each year, McCombs students enrich their classroom experience by hearing from business executives, authors and thought-leaders who visit the school. The VIP and MPA Distinguished Speaker Series draw exemplar individuals from myriad fields to connect with students.
During fall 2008, ethics was a central theme expressed by many speakers.
“We clearly want to make ethics not an addition to the program but integral to our program in general,” said Steve Limberg, director of the Master in Professional Accounting program, which last fall hosted more than a dozen high-profile speakers.
Texas compiled highlights from four talks to showcase how these professionals have weighed in on the recent financial crisis, taxation policies and high-profile corporate scandals.
Liam McGee president of global consumer and small-business banking for Bank of America, spoke to students at the VIP Distinguished Speaker Series Sept. 23 in the midst of what he called a historic restructuring of the American economy. He told students that the collapse of the country’s largest and most venerated financial institutions can be traced directly to a breach of fundamental ethics and values.
“Ethics and values really are the foundation of business. We need to trust one another for business and commerce to even exist,” McGee said.
“In all the turmoil and chaos and questions and anxiety, do something that you love doing, and be confident that success will follow…. Don’t go to work every morning—go do something you’re passionate about,” he said. “Ask yourself, ‘Can I build a foundation? Am I going to be associating with people that I am proud of?’ Individuals and institutions that never lose sight of the highest level of ethics will have a greater chance of survival and prospering.”
David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of “Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill),” challenged students to understand the link between taxation and a democratic government at the MPA Distinguished Speaker Series Sept. 24. Johnston said the recent economic turmoil in the country is a result of deregulation of financial institutions and questionable accounting practices. He urged students to use ethics as a guiding principle in their careers.
“When you go out in the world, every one of you is going to be confronted by people that want you to behave unethically,” Johnston said. “Decide you are going to sleep well at night. There is no job, no promotion, no paycheck that is worth your integrity.”
Harvin C. Moore, who served two years in prison for fraud at a real estate and homebuilding company he helmed, imparted ethical lessons to students Oct. 8, as part of the MPA speaker series. He recounted the story about his own rise and fall as a case study for students to remember when faced with professional, personal and industry pressures.
“When you look at your moral compass and you follow in the direction that it points, there may very well be a short-time cost. But if you don’t pay that price, your alternative potentially is a long-term liability,” Moore said. “That felony will be on my résumé until the day I die, and I have a son with my name, and I have a grandson with my name. That’s a pretty bad legacy.”
Cynthia Cooper, best known as the internal auditor-turnedwhistleblower who exposed a massive accounting fraud at World- Com in 2002, spoke about ethics to students at the VIP Distinguished Speaker Series Oct. 16. She stressed the pressures many individuals in business face from supervisors and urged students to use the golden rule as a guiding principle in how they act.
“We are all faced with ethical decisions every day. Character is built brick by brick, decision by decision throughout our life,” she said. “When someone is acting out of character or acting hostile, as an auditor, you should step back. Use your instincts when something seems wrong.”
—Behnaz Abolmaali
