Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Group of top CEOs says maximizing shareholder profits no longer can be the primary goal of corporations

"Small gestures cannot save the planet, says the author Lionel Shriver "Through my taxes on cigarettes I've built three hospitals single-handedly.
Coral Button of North Epping says: "Since the EU is being so picky about use of its product names, I trust it will not be tempted to illegally use the names of our Anzac biscuits and Vegemite." And hands off that Polly Waffle!
 

A group representing the nation’s most powerful chief executives on Monday abandoned the idea that companies must maximize profits for shareholders above all else, a long-held belief that advocates said boosted the returns of capitalism but detractors blamed for rising inequality and other social ills.
In a new statement about the purpose of the corporation, the Business Roundtable, which represents the chief executives of 192 large companies, said business leaders should commit to balancing the needs of shareholders with customers, employees, suppliers and local communities.
“Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity,” said the statement from the organization, which is chaired by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. “We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.”

Lobbying Group of top CEOs says maximizing shareholder profits no longer can be the primary goal of corporations

A former school teacher from Copacabana Beach has just locked horns with the four most powerful private institutions on the planet. And they don’t like it. The shoddy audit standards, massive government consulting business and global tax avoidance operations of the Big Four accounting firms, EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC, now finally face government scrutiny. Michael West reports.
On a crisp Thursday morning early this month, Deborah O’Neill walked into the Senate with a good idea. The Senator from the Central Coast of NSW had watched events unfold in London, the retinue of scandals which had enveloped the Big Four; and their intimate connections to a raft of corporate collapses and their attendant, gargantuan, conflicts of interest.
Who Guards the Guards? Big Four prepare for war as beach-side senator brings corporate inquiry