Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Ethics In The Age Of Digital Trading: Rethinking Responsibility In Modern Investing, Kennedy Solomon, Melissa Fitzpatrick

Honors Thesis

The rise of digital trading platforms such as Robinhood has transformed retail investing into an accessible activity for the general public. While these platforms claim to democratize investing through commission-free trading and intuitive interfaces, their gamified designs and aggressive marketing raise significant ethical concerns. This paper explores how such apps target inexperienced users, encouraging potentially reckless financial behavior under the guise of empowerment.

Corporate Crisis Management: A Contemporary Best Practices Template, Vivek Narayan

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to re-envision the crisis management framework used by organizations in their day-to-day activities. In the modern world, with exponential technological advancements, the social media age, and the 24/7 news cycle, crises have worsened in severity. Despite this, most literature on the subject is more than a decade old.

Incorporating past literature, this thesis demonstrates that society is in an “era of crises,” then defines and discusses the types and origins of these crises. It compares the topics of issues and crisis management before commentating on corporate and academic literature and ultimately previous 3-stage models for crisis management. …

Small And Mighty: An Analysis Of Foundational Aspects Of Small Family Firms And Their Corporate Social Responsibility, Ashlyn Crosby

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the foundational aspects of small family firms to understand how their unique characteristics create differences among various types of firms. This review examines five key business components: operations, longevity, innovation, succession, and decision-making within these firms. The analysis in this report focuses on businesses that operate within the United States. When considering the American economic model, it is also vital to consider the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of small businesses and, due to its emergence as an integral aspect of contemporary business practices, the impact on society, the environment, and stakeholders. While CSR is frequently associated with …

The Hidden Scams In Business & Finance, Jake Patten, Carter Harrell, Claude Auguste, Sheldon Jerome Downing Ii

ENGL 1102 Showcase

For our research papers, we chose to look into different kinds of scams lurking in the business world, and how they can affect businesses and society as a whole. There are hundreds of different scams at any given time, but we decided to focus on lesser-known scams that the majority of people don't even think about. These scams include rigged casinos, charity fraud, business email compromise, and embezzlement within smaller businesses.

We chose this topic in an attempt to bring more attention to the criminal side of the business world that people otherwise see as harmless. Especially with the recent …

Expanding Mfw: Delaware Law Should Offer A Business Judgment Rule Safe Harbor For All Conflicted Controller Transactions, Alex Lindsey

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

While courts usually defer to a board’s business decisions under the business judgment rule, courts will apply a much less deferential standard of review due to loyalty concerns if a conflicted controller is involved in a business decision such as a merger. However, in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide (“MFW”) when a squeeze out merger was challenged by a minority stockholder, the Delaware Supreme Court reviewed the transaction under the deferential business judgment rule standard because the Court found that the structure of the transaction neutralized the controller loyalty concerns. Building on this reasoning, the Court developed a checklist …

Loophole Entrepreneurship, Brian M. Sirman

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

All entrepreneurs seek favorable legal or regulatory treatment for their businesses. Sometimes this leads an entrepreneur to build a business within a gap in the law—a loophole. In so doing, these “loophole entrepreneurs” may avoid steep regulatory compliance costs that otherwise would beset (or perhaps prohibit) their businesses, thereby gaining advantages over competitors. Despite these benefits, loophole entrepreneurship is fraught with risks. Loopholes, by nature, are fragile, and their contours are often uncertain. Moreover, the stigma of “exploiting a loophole” (which connotes unfairness or deception) can provoke ill will among competitors, policymakers, and the public.

The ranks of loophole entrepreneurs …

Billion Dollar Whale, David Mcclough

The Journal of Economics and Politics

No abstract provided.

Finchain: Adaptation Of Blockchain Technology In Finance And Business - An Ethical Analysis Of Applications, Challenges, Issues And Solutions, Naresh Kshetri, Keith Miller, Gaurango Banerjee, Bikesh Raj Upreti

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

Blockchain Technology is a distributed database technology that has emerged as a ground-breaking technology with several possible solutions to critical applications, say from supply chain management, agribusiness, marketing to healthcare industry including internet of medical things. Although it started as a digital coin (popularly known as bitcoin), it is slowly influencing business, marketing policy and society. We have presented an in-depth study and ethical analysis of how blockchain is applied over the economic and financial sector including banks, credit unions and other retail giants. During our research, we have also investigated how blockchain technology can affect financial institutions around the …

A Walk-Through Corruption On Wall Street, Allison Ciocan

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Wall Street is viewed as the center of global finance. Although surrounded by a vast amount of popularity, Wall Street has had its fair share of unethical scandals. Despite numerous rules and regulations existing with the hopes of suppressing unethical behavior, multiple infamous individuals and companies have discovered ways around these rules which have led to detrimental effects on consumers, employees, companies, and the economy as a whole. Often, corruption can be traced back to one of three reasons. First, the individuals that are employed at big firms could lack morals and good character, which affects overall company culture. Second, …

Ownership Of Esg Characteristics, Mark E. Bateman, Lisa R. Goldberg

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

A portfolio can be viewed as the collection of the businesses, policies and practices of constituent companies. We measure investors' Ownership of this collection. Ownership metrics aggregate an assortment of company specific Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) characteristics to the portfolio level, and they can inform investment and engagement decisions. Relative to a benchmark, investor Ownership is active and satisfies a zero-sum property, which underscores the distinction between Ownership and impact. Ownership of ESG characteristics may be interpreted as ascribing ethical responsibility, but that conclusion and any decisions that result from it belong to the investor.

Esg Investing: From Fad To Force, Erin Cullen

Senior Theses

ESG Investing is the application of environmental, social, and governance factors to identify material investment risks and growth opportunities. Though traditionally viewed as non-financial factors, this paper asserts that ESG factors are indeed financially material. This work first surveys the current state of ESG Investing, its shortcomings, and its success despite these inherent issues. Section II adds a new perspective to ESG research by examining the applications of ESG scores in portfolio management. The study conducts t-tests to answer whether the typical holdings of an ESG mutual fund are more sustainable than those of traditional funds. The paper then focuses …

Insider Trading As A Precursor To Modern Business Ethics, Robyn Coleman

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

There has been a recent change in business that there is more focus on the “stakeholder approach” than shareholder primacy. This can be attributed to the early actions and illegality of insider trading that expected a step beyond a solely economic approach. This attitude was then replicated to become what we see as the modern business approach. Business now includes ethical investing, environmental focus, corporate citizenship, and emphasis on multiple stakeholders that was not always there. Companies have embraced this position while others have been criticized for not doing so. As this approach develops and changes, it will be enlightening …

The Segregation Of Markets, Christian Turner

Texas A&M Law Review

Campaign-finance reformers fear that rich donors’ money can be used disproportionately to influence the content of campaign advertising and thus, perhaps, the results of elections. In European football, UEFA has attempted to ban “financial doping”—rich owners’ use of money earned in sectors other than football to pay large sums for the best football players. Campaign-finance reform efforts and “financial fair play” rules in sport may seem like bespoke solutions to different problems. In fact, they are the same solution to the same problem. Both are attempts to ensure that power accumulated in one market is not brought into another market …

The Layers Of Digital Financial Innovation: Charting A Regulatory Response, Teresa Rodriguez De Las Heras Ballell

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

The increasing penetration of digital technologies in financial markets is evidenced by promising adoption rates among users, expanding presence of fintech firms and bigtech providing techfin services, and the growing use of fintech solutions by incumbents. The increasingly popular term "fintech" captures the accelerated transformation of contemporary financial markets driven and enabled by technology, and encapsulates its multifarious potential impact on services, market structures, and business models. This Article first aims to devise and propose an analytical framework to understand the digital challenges to financial regulation based on the "layers of digital financial innovation" theory. Accordingly, digital innovation (fintech) is …

How Access To Finances Affects Gender Inequality Across Cultures, Allison Muntin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

While many studies of financial inclusion have been undertaken, very few discuss the inclusion of women. Financial inclusion plays a large role in unlocking resources for the disadvantaged, resulting in higher economic growth and development. The economic opportunity allows individuals and businesses to have a greater contribution to society as a whole, enhancing all aspects of the economy. This paper furthers the conversation of women’s access to financial institution accounts across cultures and what underlying factors play a key role. The results indicate that the female demographic has fewer financial institution accounts in comparison to men when: (i) a country’s …

Clarity For Due Diligence In 401(K) Qualified Retirement Plans, Erin O'Reilly

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My focus for this project is to educate myself and my peers on the process of analyzing a 401(k) plan, specifically the due diligence that should be performed when analyzing a retirement plan. Specific aspects of this project will involve: (1) explaining the different roles needed to administer a 401(k) plan; (2) discussing an advisor's role in a 401(k) plan; (3) analyzing fiduciary duty levels; (4) reviewing the appropriate types of investments to include in a 401(k) plan; (5) providing suggestions for financial wellness programs; and (6) discerning the appropriate level of fees for each service. I seek to provide …

Unexpected Connections: Full Issue Of Volume 1, Issue 3, Marianna E. Richardson

Marriott Student Review

Unexpected Connections is the Fall 2017 Issue of Marriott Student Review.

Oral History Conversation With Evan Malter, Tyler J. Hodges, Mary Ann Lee, Max Opperman, Salvador Llamas

Philosophy: All Student Work

An oral history interview with Evan Malter. Evan walks through his life story, personal experiences, and how they have led to the creation of Count Loyalty, a small business that identifies loyalty capital for businesses looking to obtain a bank loan.

The Impact Of Corruption On Firm Tax Compliance In Transition Economies: Whom Do You Trust?, Anna Alon, Amy M. Hageman

Faculty Publications

Tax compliance is an important issue for governments and the public alike. To meet public needs and fund public mandates, firms around the world are expected to comply with tax laws. Factors that are related to organizational (firm) tax compliance have not been sufficiently examined in the literature. Due to the increasing global influence of transition economies, factors associated with firm tax compliance in transition economies are particularly of interest. Based on a sample of over 5,000 firms from 22 former Soviet Bloc transition economies, we find that higher levels of corruption and higher levels of particularized trust (reliance on …

The End Of The Internal Compliance World As We Know It, Or An Enhancement Of The Effectiveness Of Securities Law Enforcement? Bounty Hunting Under The Dodd-Frank Act's Whistleblower Provision, Justin Blount, Spencer Markel

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

In the wake of Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme and the recent economic crisis stemming largely from loosely regulated subprime lending and mortgage-backed securities, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010, signaling loudly and clearly that change is coming to Wall Street. But Wall Street is not the only one receiving a message. Buried deep within the 2,319 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act, companies can find Section 922, the whistleblower provision, which provides a bounty for whistleblowers who report securities violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission.These bounty provisions and …

The Audit Committee Expertise And Financial Reporting Quality., Sherliza Puat Nelson

Student Works (2010-2019)

The objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between audit committee expertise and financial reporting quality. Since Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002, there has been growing interest in the research concerning audit committee expertise. Audit committee plays an important role on the quality and credibility of financial reporting, since they effectively function as a governance mechanism.  Whilst, many studies have examined the attributes of audit committee financial expertise with regard to financial reporting quality, and their composition of expertise on the audit committee board, few have focused on the financial expertise aspect specifically and none have considered extending the …

The Rise Of Private Equity Media Ownership In The United States: A Public Interest Perspective, Matthew Crain

Publications and Research

This article examines the logic, scope, and implications of the influx of private equity takeovers in the United States media sector in the last decade. The strategies and aims of private equity firms are explained in the context of the financial landscape that has allowed them to flourish; their aggressive expansion into media ownership is outlined in detail. Particular attention is paid to the public interest concerns raised by private equity media ownership relating to the frenzied nature of the buyout market, profit maximization strategies, and the heavy debt burdens imposed on acquired firms. The article concludes with discussion of …

Conflicting Paradigms: Alternative Islamic Approaches To Some Business Ethics, Javed A. Ansari, S. Zeeshan Arshad

Business Review

This paper contrasts orthodox and revisionist Islamic approaches to an evaluation of ethical issues related to capitalist marketing, employee management relationships and finance. It argues that while the orthodox Islamic ethical paradigm is fundamentally oppositional to capitalism revisionist discourses provide an Islamic legitimation of capitalist order and can provide an ideological framework for subsuming Islamic economy and society within global capitalism.

The Effectiveness Of Insider Trading Regulation: International Evidence, Art Durnev, Amrita S. Nain

Finance Faculty Publications

There is a long standing debate in the finance and law literatures about the need for insider trading regulation. Some scholars and practitioners argue that insider trading restrictions should be revoked because insider trading allows private information to be quickly incorporated into stock prices, thereby leading to more informationally efficient stock prices (Carlton and Fischel (1983); Dye (1984)). For example, Milton Friedman, laureate of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, said: “You want more insider trading, not less. You want to give the people most likely to have knowledge about deficiencies of the company an incentive to make the public …

Preventing Fraudulent Financial Reporting, Mark S. Beasley, Joseph V. Carcello, Dana R. Hermanson

Faculty Articles

Provides information on a study conducted by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations regarding the detection and prevention of financial fraud. Discussion on the nature of financial frauds; Characteristics of unreliable financial reporting; Views on the role of auditing firms in the prevention of fraud.

Financial Information Resources For Special Librarians, Di Su

Publications and Research

Speed has always been a competitive factor and corporate asset in business world. The growth of the Internet has created an equal opportunity for information service professionals in both big and small companies to improve their efficiency. The prominent advantages of Web source are currency, accessibility, and thus, the speed. You are provided with instant updates on issues like rules, official statements, interpretations, statistics, etc., and these documents can be accessed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There are so many valuable Web sites on the Internet that it is impossible to include them all in this article, …

Just Say 'No', Mark S. Beasley, Joseph V. Carcello, Dana R. Hermanson

Faculty Articles

The article discusses the prevention of financial fraud within corporations and businesses in the United States. The types of individuals named in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) files are examined. Different fraud techniques are looked at, including sham sales, the recording of conditional sales, and unauthorized shipments. The author discusses the status of firms after fraud disclosure and the implications it has for finance professionals.

Local Government Financial Reporting: A Survey Of Western Australian Practice And The Examination Of Some Explanatory Economic And Political Factors, Andrew N. Priest

Theses : Honours

This thesis is an exploratory study that examines a measure of the extent and nature of financial reporting by Western Australian local governments against the requirements and recommendations specified in the legislation, regulations and accounting standards. In addition, several economic and political factors which may provide some explanation for the variation in reporting practices of Western Australian local government councils is examined. Three disclosure measures are reported to provide descriptive information about Western Australian local government councils, compliance with mandatory reporting requirements, their voluntary disclosure of additional financial information and their policy of disseminating their annual financial information to the …