Unethical conduct by corporate executives and employees -- ranging from outright fraud to excessive salaries and perks for CEOs -- can inflict much greater financial damage than deadly terrorist acts, visiting American experts warned in a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Over the past several years, both the United States and Japan have witnessed a series of corporate scandals that eroded investor confidence and resulted in massive losses for shareholders -- including the recent case involving Japanese Internet firm Livedoor Co.
In both countries, a major corporate fraud typically develops in a similar fashion, said W. Steve Albrecht, associate dean of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.