Corporate Governance – An Often Overlooked Weakness Over the years, I have had numerous conversations with colleagues and industry insiders about why some organizations fail, and others do not. I have also attended and spoken at many conferences involving trust and ethics. In my view, here are a few key reasons why some organizations fail,…
My Ukraine Story – Part 9 As most of the civilized world knows, February 24th marked four years since Russia launched its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, we have seen the nature of modern warfare rewritten, the map of European security redrawn, and the lives of the average Ukrainian profoundly transformed; however, all is…
The Digitization of Fraud Detection Mykhailo Fedorov was recently appointed as Ukraine’s new Defense Minister. There are a couple of interesting aspects of this appointment, including his background and age. In 2019, he was appointed Minister of Digital Transformation at the age of 28. He is currently 35, a generation younger than most NATO Defense…
Can Fraud Ever Be Totally Eliminated A few weeks ago, I was talking with a potential client who had been experiencing unusual issues with their business. They suspected that certain employees were not being totally honest and forthright. We were having discussions to determine better where the problems started and how they were allowed to…
Over the past several weeks, we have been inundated with stories concerning government waste and fraud. You could not escape this unless you have been living in an isolated part of the world, i.e., hiking in the rainforests of Brazil or the outback in Australia. From now on, the entire narrative of fraud will change,…
Over the past several years, I have noticed a trend that is very concerning to me and to certain people in other parts of the world who value success and determination. It seems that a particular segment of our population has learned to fear, or even work against, success and achievement. They almost seem to…
It seems as if every day we are witnessing massive fraud in corporate America and across various branches of our government at both the national and state levels. The latest example is the alleged fraud in Minnesota. The preliminary findings indicate this involves billions of dollars. The question at hand is how this fraud occurred…
As a former banking regulator and current financial sector consultant, I have been following with increased interest the issues involving credit quality in two recent bankruptcy filings. The high-profile collapses of First Brands Group (a global auto-parts supplier) and Tricolor Holdings (a subprime auto lender) have sparked alarm about the elevated risk of loan portfolios.…
In October 2024, I wrote an article detailing my thoughts on financial literacy. I included the following paragraph as an illustration: Let’s say someone was never taught about things like loan agreements, compounding interests, or return on investment. So, without that knowledge, they might, hypothetically, sign up for a loan they don’t understand and can’t…
In 1994, Ukraine signed the now-infamous Budapest Memorandum – a document which formalized Kyiv’s abandonment of nuclear weapons in exchange for Kremlin promises to respect Ukrainian national sovereignty. Included in these promises was not to use force against Ukraine and to respect Ukraine’s borders. There were two other parties to this agreement—namely, the US and…