Comments on: One Bite of the Apple http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2007/01/06/one-bite-of-the-apple/ Sponsored by the HLS Corporate Governance Program Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:10:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.1 By: J. Richard Finlay http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2007/01/06/one-bite-of-the-apple/#comment-14 J. Richard Finlay Sun, 07 Jan 2007 06:15:11 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2007/01/06/one-bite-of-the-apple/#comment-14 I, too, am of the view that the company’s independent directors took an overly narrow approach to their mandate. They should have probed further into what was done, why it was done and the implications for the company’s reputation and culture. It is not enough to say that CEO Steve Jobs did not make unlawful or improper gains from options manipulation. Improprieties occurred on his watch. He permitted or encouraged backdating in his capacity as the most senior executive of the organization. He is the one who sets the moral tone for the rest of the company. I am unaware in either the pre or post Enron era where it was acceptable that there could be the slightest doubt in the word or integrity of the company’s CEO. Concerns must, therefore, also focus on specifically how Jobs assisted in the backdating, what his precise role was and whether he misled investors as to the disclosures that were made at the time and have subsequently been proven false to the tune of $84 million. The report also asserts that Mr. Jobs was unaware of the “accounting” implications involved. He has been CEO of the company for a considerable period and is widely reputed to be a “hands-on” manager. A Ken Lay type excuse that Mr. Jobs was not aware of what was happening around him or did not understand even the ethical implications of what he was doing, and was not bright enough even to seek counsel about any uncertainty, not only is not plausible, but even if it were would still raise serious questions about the standards of competency in the company’s top management. Inasmuch as CEOs have been recently fired for making false statements on their resumes and have had their bonuses reduced because of plagiarism, it appears that Apple’s board has not adequately considered the full implications, including far-reaching ethical implications, of what has occurred. What failures in governance oversight, along with the size and functioning of the board, that may have contributed to the fiasco, and what needs to be done to address these shortcomings, also appear to have escaped the board’s gaze. It’s clear from the actions of all the players involved that there should be more fallout from Apple’s revelations. The failure of the board to probe deeper and give Jobs a pass for this kind of conduct is bad enough. I have already talked with a number of CEOs and directors who are astonished at the board’s obvious and ill-advised attempts to sweep Jobs’ role under the carpet. But the failure of the SEC and the media to prevent that from occurring carries profound implications for the governance and leadership of corporate America and the confidence of the investors who rely upon it. You are doing a very important job of raising awareness of these issues, and of the consequences of the current dysfunctional state of CEO compensation and the disengaged boards that contribute to it. I, too, am of the view that the company’s independent directors took an overly narrow approach to their mandate. They should have probed further into what was done, why it was done and the implications for the company’s reputation and culture. It is not enough to say that CEO Steve Jobs did not make unlawful or improper gains from options manipulation. Improprieties occurred on his watch. He permitted or encouraged backdating in his capacity as the most senior executive of the organization. He is the one who sets the moral tone for the rest of the company.

I am unaware in either the pre or post Enron era where it was acceptable that there could be the slightest doubt in the word or integrity of the company’s CEO. Concerns must, therefore, also focus on specifically how Jobs assisted in the backdating, what his precise role was and whether he misled investors as to the disclosures that were made at the time and have subsequently been proven false to the tune of $84 million.

The report also asserts that Mr. Jobs was unaware of the “accounting” implications involved. He has been CEO of the company for a considerable period and is widely reputed to be a “hands-on” manager. A Ken Lay type excuse that Mr. Jobs was not aware of what was happening around him or did not understand even the ethical implications of what he was doing, and was not bright enough even to seek counsel about any uncertainty, not only is not plausible, but even if it were would still raise serious questions about the standards of competency in the company’s top management.

Inasmuch as CEOs have been recently fired for making false statements on their resumes and have had their bonuses reduced because of plagiarism, it appears that Apple’s board has not adequately considered the full implications, including far-reaching ethical implications, of what has occurred. What failures in governance oversight, along with the size and functioning of the board, that may have contributed to the fiasco, and what needs to be done to address these shortcomings, also appear to have escaped the board’s gaze.

It’s clear from the actions of all the players involved that there should be more fallout from Apple’s revelations. The failure of the board to probe deeper and give Jobs a pass for this kind of conduct is bad enough. I have already talked with a number of CEOs and directors who are astonished at the board’s obvious and ill-advised attempts to sweep Jobs’ role under the carpet. But the failure of the SEC and the media to prevent that from occurring carries profound implications for the governance and leadership of corporate America and the confidence of the investors who rely upon it.

You are doing a very important job of raising awareness of these issues, and of the consequences of the current dysfunctional state of CEO compensation and the disengaged boards that contribute to it.

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