“Corporate culture starts with an explicit statement of values, beliefs,
and customs from top management…It clarifies an organization’s
mission, values, and principles, linking them with standards of
professional conduct.” (Mintz & Morris, 2020) I work with a state
company. The company as a whole is vast and covers many different
moving parts. I have to say that I just met the current CEO 2 weeks
ago and it was a company event. As a CEO she did not just show up
say a speech and then just leave, she literally walked around saying
hello to everyone and asking for their names. Since it was the first
time I had seen her in person (I have seen her through Zoom), I did not
realized who we were talking to. We had a conversation, she asked
what the department I was from, how I like it, how long I have been
there. As soon as she walked away, I asked our director who were we
speaking with. I was shocked at the answer. I have met CEO’s before
and none of them were that pleasant. I have worked with politicians
and seen the behind the scenes, so I think I am able to pick up on
some personal cues, but I would never have guessed that she was our
CEO. It was such a pleasant experience. That is the woman right
below the top tier, and I think that can tell a lot about her
management, and values. She is still new, and so am I so I hope the
she has the chance to leave her mark here. The CEO position is a
political position, in which they are easily switched out once the
elections come about.
A separation of duties in the workplace is a large part of corporate
governance. Internal mechanisms and controls are also parts of
governance. (University of Florida) The way the company is owned
and controlled makes up the foundation for a company. Everything
else fills in the space. At my work place there are internal procedures
that must be followed by the employees. As a loan and grant auditor
we definitely see a separation of duties all throughout the company.
The manage has to sign off on the project, and if it is over 100,000
the Director of the department signs off along with the manager, and
if the grant amount is over 1 million there is an additional signature
from the CFO. This is just the sign offs, within this there are levels,
and duties among them where it is more separated. So, there is not
just one party in charge of everything. Within the treasury
department there are at least four tiers in their hierarchy. In the
Contracts department, we are the auditors, we have approval of
projects $50,000 and under. Our Director can approve all other
amounts. We are delegated which projects are for us to review, and
the project managers are delegated which projects become theirs.
Each department and team within are accountable for their share of
the work. What we see a lot is because our audit it the last part of the
process before the grants/loans are paid, many point their fingers in
our direction. My teams director does her best to keep track and
proof of when we receive the projects, and what the status is of our
review. The projects pass through a lot of hands and teams before we
initially receive it, but the project managers were never told when we
received it. So, they are now being added to the emails to minimize
our risk. Our director finds this to be the best thing for us right now.
I know that this happens in AP and AR but I can’t explain how it works
in those departments. Computer systems (software, and online
platforms) have different people keeping track of everything. From
access, to passwords they have separation of power there as well.
“Organizational ethical climate refers to the moral atmosphere of the
work environment and the level of ethics practiced within a
company.” (Mintz & Morris, 2020) I have not yet gone to the Board of
Director’s meeting so I cannot speak much about the board, there is
one coming up though! From what I understand they are willing to
work with the project managers to try and fix things to allow for more
of a streamlined process. The legal department as well does the same
thing. I have learned that before anyone would just print and copy
whatever and there was no log, but now we have to scan our IDs at
the printer/scanner/fax machine, and it keeps a log of everything that
we do. For our department we print A LOT, easily 100-500 pages per
project. So we do use the machines a lot, but a coworker told me that
an employee (long ago) would bring in personal things to print and
scan. From an accounting POV it costs the company more on
ink/toner/ paper, but tax wise that is a write-off anyway. The card
reader id a way to minimize costs, but it is helpful to have access to
our own accounts instead of everything just printing all together.
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