David Callahan explained the forces that drive business people to take advantage of ""the land of opportunity"" by committing money fraud at an ethics symposium hosted by the Department of Accounting Tuesday.
Callahan, co-founder of the public policy center Demos said people in every environment are susceptible to fraud, but especially those in business.
""[Business people] are ordinary people exposed to extraordinary temptation,"" he said.
UW-Madison Accounting Professor Larry Rittenberg disagreed, saying fast-paced environments such as New York City create increased temptation for people to commit money fraud as opposed to the slower environment of Madison.
Callahan said another reason top CEOs and CFOs act unethically is because of the high payoff money fraud often brings.
The threat of outsourcing often motivates employees to strive for a higher level of performance so that their job will be safe, but this can sometimes result in unethical behavior.When given the choice between financial security and moral values, Callahan said most people would choose security.
However, certain people to practice ethical business, making Callahan optimistic that more companies will regulate immoral conduct in the future.
""This is America,"" he said. ""We are fantastic at reform when we set our mind to it.""
At the event was Vice President of Human Resources at American Family Insurance Dan Kelly, who explained his workplace was leading the way to ethical norms. The company takes into consideration customer satisfaction ratings when giving bonuses and promotions instead of just relying on an employee's potentially fabricated account of how he does his job.
—Kelly Kallien
