BIG PEOPLE SMALL MINDS
Satyam episode was an eye opener for all of us including corporate watch dog bodies such as SEBI, ICAI etc to warn us of an impending disaster if adequate checks and balances are not installed to prevent corporate frauds. Ramalinga Raju made his confession opening up a can of worms which put even reputed people in to such disrepute that now people hesitate to adorn corporate boards as Independent Non Executive directors.
I happen to work for such an enterprise for more than 2 decades I chose to work for such a smaller company because it gives a wider canvas. In my early adulthood I wanted to be a combatant soldier and I unsuccessfully attended two Service Selection boards. One of the fortunate candidate Ganesh Sirsikar told me that life is full of challenges and in every chosen field one can be a soldier. I remember now how prophetic he was for I always love meeting challenges which the present work environment provides me with albeit not remunerative enough to please my family. This is something different from the topic I have chosen to share my views about.
Many small enterprises are owner driven and are controlled by proprietors and partners who indulge in pecuniary interests for the self and their families ignoring other stakeholders. We can excuse them for they have risked their capital. But some of them wear a corporate mask to plunder public wealth. Most of the managerial decisions will be taken by instinct and they care little for shareholder interests and labor and staff who toil to their dreams work. The so called watch dog bodies such as ICAI, SEBI are of no use since all acts of frauds are done with the connivance of independent Directors and Auditors who have a bounden duty to safeguard the gullible small time investor. These people sell away company assets for personal benefits, run closely held units to do job work for their established unit to rob money, over invoice and under invoice goods to slash away money, live a flamboyant lifestyle, run errands to political bosses to escape criminal punishments, and always there is a veil of criminality behind their corporate masks. They enjoy political patronage and the long arms of law take longer time to reach them and if ever they reach them are hesitant to punish them for fear of retribution by the political bosses. Unless there is greater awareness and transparency in public reports ( corporate governance reports are now a sham) and unless laws are stringent to award even capital punishment for such public frauds besides freezing of personal assets, such crimes will continue to grow
|
|
