The Securities Exchange Commission recently levied a $100 million fine against the public accounting firm Ernst and Young. EY employees were found to be cheating on ethics exams and EY reportedly deceived the SEC about the cheating.
"It's simply outrageous that the very professionals responsible for catching cheating by clients cheated on ethics exams," the SEC said in a statement. "It's equally shocking that Ernst & Young hindered our investigation of this misconduct."
If EY's senior leadership had admitted guilt, their fine would have been far less and their credibility enhanced rather than diminished.
Proverbs 10:9 teaches, "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out."
To maintain corporate integrity, our business leaders need to admit their mistakes rather than covering them up.
