Hello I need your help on a research project. Everything you need is in the word document & powerpoint slides. I am attaching two sample projects AS A REFERENCE!

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Looking Ahead, and Zoom Meeting Agenda

1. Let’s schedule an optional zoom session for next Friday, June 3rd 2022 at 5:30pm to review for mid-term and answer any questions you may have – I will circulate the Session ID by next Thursday, June 2nd, afternoon.

2. Review guidelines for your research analyses – Final research analyses due June 27th 2022. See the following slides for details.

3. Review for Mid-term exam: Four questions (one from each chapter 1-4) will be assigned by Next Monday, June. 6th Midnight for which answers must be submitted on blackboard by Sunday, June 12th 2022.

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Ethics Research Analyses – Due June 27th 2022

PWC publishes the CFO direct call “In the loop.” Below is an excerpt from a recent issue of In The Loop,

dated Apr 29, 2021

“The SEC introduced new disclosure requirements in August 2020 designed to provide stakeholders

insight into human capital—from the operating model, to talent planning, learning and innovation,

employee experience, and work environment. The disclosures may help stakeholders evaluate whether

a business has the right workforce to meet immediate and emerging business challenges and the

nature and magnitude of the related investments. However, there are questions as to what is required

to comply with the principles-based rules.

In certain SEC filings, a public company is now required to disclose:

• the number of employees and a description of its human capital resources, if material to the business

as a whole; and if material to a particular segment, that segment should be identified

• any human capital measures or objectives, if material, that the registrant focuses on in managing its

business, such as those related to the development, attraction, safety, engagement, and retention of

employees

Contd…

Research Topic Introduction – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

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Ethics Research Paper – June 27th 2022

The rules do not include a definition of “human capital” or a list of required measures to disclose. The

principles-based approach (1) reflects an expectation that disclosures will be tailored to a company’s

own business or industry using management’s judgment and (2) allows for the disclosures to evolve in

response to changes in a company’s environment. The new rules, which are part of the SEC’s broader

project to modernize Regulation S-K, became effective November 9, 2020. As a result, 2020 Form 10-Ks

and other filings subject to Regulation S-K filed on or after this date need to include the new

disclosures……”

Additionally, in another article from. CFO Dive brief, the Senior Editor, Robert Freedman wrote that “The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took 697 enforcement actions against companies in fiscal year 2021, the

agency announced. As a result of the actions, companies paid just under $2.4 billion in disgorgement and a record $1.4

billion in penalties. Many of the cases were aided by the agency’s whistleblower program, which paid out $564 million in

rewards to 108 insiders.

“As these results show, we go after misconduct wherever we find it in the financial system,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

”[We’re] holding individuals and companies accountable, without fear or favor, across the $100-plus trillion capital

markets we oversee.” https://www.cfodive.com/news/697-companies-hit-with-sec-violations-in-fy-21/610576/

End of Articles

Research Topic Introduction

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Ethics Research Analyses – June 27th 2022

In this course, ACCT 510 – Business Ethics, we explore ethics, moral, and legal obligations.

Based on the new SEC’s diversity disclosure requirement you have just read, how are companies complying, or not

complying? Are companies’ ethical violations correlates to their propensity for other violations? Specifically, select any

4 publicly traded companies and review their most recent 10k for YE 2020 and 2021. Select the company’s diversity

disclosure languages. Then, compare and contrast the the four selected companies’ diversity narratives by answering

the following questions; 1. On one – two slides, first, in a few bullet points clarify your understanding of the SEC requirement. Then, two bullet

points to clarify if the SEC requirement represents an ethical, a moral, legal obligation or combination of these variables. Refer to Chapter 2, pp80, that describes the link between moral intensity and ethical decision making – Thomas Jones’ moral intensity model: Of Jones’ six dimensions or moral intensity which is most applicable to this SEC’s disclosure requirement of Public Companies. Provide a brief reason for your selected dimension(s).

2. On two slides, outline if any correlations exist between these companies’ levels of diversity disclosure (use the companies’ employees gender distribution, or other similar diversity index, as proxy for diversity); and their respective profitability- (Use Revenues, ROE, EPS, or Profit Margin Ratio as proxies for profitability) – That is, do you see any correlation between your selected companies’ diversity disclosure, and their respective profitability ?

3. On two slides, state if you think each company’s narrative on diversity disclosures (the language, its accuracy, the forthrightness and the details provided) are compliant?

4. On two slides, opine on the respective company’s degree of ethical practices (standards) relative to required diversity disclosure or lack thereof. Provide an example of how your conclusion was drawn – substantiate your position.

5. On two slides, (a) Provide summary points that rank order your choice of companies by ethical standards – Emphasize the reason(s) for the rank you assigned. (b)Can your findings predict a company’s propensity for ethical violation? Why? Or Why not?

6. On one slide, if you were hired as a consultant for the company with your worst assigned ranking above, what questions (provide at least two) would you have for the company’s management regarding ethical standards as it relates to the SEC’s diversity disclosure requirement.

Research Questions – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

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Step 1. Select any four publicly traded companies – Submit the companies’ name for approval in the discussion forum labeled Public Companies – Students cannot select the same four companies, so verify the companies already selected by your cohorts before June 6th. 2022.

Once approved, by June 6th, obtain the most recent 10k (financial data and disclosures) for each company you have selected.

Step 2. Part- 1 Prepare Slides to Reflect the Company’s Background Information (2 points)

This section should include the following slides: I. Prepare two slides summarizing the companies’ profile (years in business, IPO date,

current chairman of the board, CEO, current CFO, total number of employees, and current external auditor(s))

I. Provide one slide of executive summary statistics reflecting the companies’ last two years of performances; show Gross Revenues and, net operating income from operations, ROE, and EPS – See sample slide next for example how to present

II. Step 3. Part- 2: Answer the questions 2- 5 on the previous slide. Overall, the final analyses should consist of 12 -16 slides only.

Ethics Research Analyses – June 27th 2022 Steps to complete the Research Analyses

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Example of How to Present Your Findings Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4

Evaluation Criteria YE- 2020

Y-E 2021 YE- 2020 Y-E 2021 YE- 2020 Y-E 2021 YE- 2020 Y-E 2021

Background Information : i. CEO – Highest Level of

education i. CFO – Highest Level of

education ii. Number of SEC Violations

Diversity analyses as follows: i. Total number of Employees ii. Number of female employees iii. Number of male employees iv. Diversity or EDI Index

Profitability analyses as follows: I. Gross Revenues II. Return on Equity (ROE) III. EPS IV. Profit Margin Ratio

Business Ethics Research Analysis

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

by

Student T K

Company’s background

u Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company that was

founded in 1852 (Wells Fargo & Company). The company offers banking, investment and

mortgage products and services. Charlie Scharf is the company’s CEO while Mike

Santomassimo is the CFO. The company has an approximately 270,000 employees in 2020

(Wells Fargo & Company, 2020).

u Sony Group Corporation is a Japanese multinational that was founded in 1946 (Sony, 2020).

The company offers a variety of products such as electronics , video game console company

among others. Kenichiro Yoshida is the Company’s CEO while Philip Rowley is the CFO The

company has an approximately 180,000 employees.

Continuation………..

u Comcast Corporation is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate that

was founded in 1963 (Comcast, 2020). The company offers global media and technology

services such as high-speed Internet among others . In 2020, the company had an

approximately 190,000 employees (Comcast, 2020). Brian Roberts is the Company’s CEO

while Michael J. Cavanagh is the CFO(Comcast, 2020).

u Shopify Inc. is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company founded in 2006 (Shopify,

2020). The company operates as an e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-

of-sale system. Shopify has employed only 7000 employees (Shopify, 2020).Tobias "Tobi"

Lütke is the CEO while Amy E. Shapero is the CFO.

New SEC Diversity Disclosure Requirements u Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Requirements are regulatory documents required of all public

companies to give information to the potential investors. The information includes financial statements, cash

flow, compliance reports among others.

u SEC Requires public companies to file a periodic financial statements and other disclosures. Investors usually

uses and relies on the filled information for them to make informed decision on whether to invest on

companies.

u Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Requirements represents a combination of ethical, a moral and

legal obligation as it ensures that all organizations are treated with due care and engage only in fair and open

competition.

u Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Requirements also mandates public companies to disclose in the

Forms 10-K whether it adhere to code of ethics for its principal accounting officer or controller, principal

financial officer as well as principal executive officer. This ensures organizations are legally obliged.

New SEC Diversity Disclosure Requirements

u SEC now requires details of human capital that are material to the business be disclosed in a companies 10-K

u The SEC has chosen to leave the requirements vague, allowing companies to choose what is important

u The SEC requirements represents a new ethical and moral obligation for companies, but not a legal one

u Disclosure requirements have been introduced for the benefit of stakeholders, who companies have an ethical and moral obligation to be honest with

u “The amendment requires new descriptions, where material to an understanding of the business, of (1) a company’s “human capital resources” and (2) “any human capital measures or objectives that the registrant focuses on in managing the business (such as, depending on the nature of the registrant’s business and workforce, measures or objectives that address the development, attraction and retention of personnel).” https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/10/14/the-new-sec-regulation-s-k-rules/

Jones’ model of moral intensity

u The SEC disclosure requirements are most applicable to what Jones describes as “Social Consensus”

u The requirements push companies to address topics that society views as relevant, such as workplace diversity, safety, employee benefits, and COVID-19 impact

u The SEC hopes that revealing these details will force companies to make decisions that align with the interests and values of society without legal enforcement

u Companies that also choose to not reveal these details will also be revealing in itself

Correlation that exist between the companies u All the company have tried to maintain diversity, equity and inclusion in their organization and adhered to

discrimination acts during recruitment and selection processes.

u Wells Fargo & Company has 25% of nominated directors being women (Wells Fargo & Company 2020).

The 25% of the directors are further racially diverse. 3 out of 12 Director Nominees are Women, 2 out of

Director Nominees are African-American while 1 of 12 Director Nominees is are Hispanic (Wells Fargo &

Company 2020). Generally, 42% of the company’s director nominees are Gender and/or Racially/Ethnically

Diverse (Wells Fargo & Company 2020).

u In correlation, Sony corporation has strongly encouraged women in leadership with women in leadership

from the company roles increased Return on Equity (ROE) by 35% and Total Return to Shareholders (TRS)

by 34% (Sony, 2020).

u In Spotify, females in the leadership position occupies 38% of the positions (Spotify, 2020).

u In Comcast corporation, women in leadership occupies 37% while males occupies 67% (Comcast, 2020).

Continuation……………..

Correlation Evaluation

(diversity disclosure analysis

Wells Fargo & Company

Sony Comcast Corporation

Spotify

2020 2020 2020 2020

Number of employees 270,000 180,000 190,000 7000

Number of female employees 56% 41% 35% 44%

Number of male employees 44% 58% 65% 55%

Diversity or EDI Index

Profit margin ratio 19.79% 12.41% 13.09% 25.6%

Return on investment (ROI)

Year (%)

Diversity and Earnings Company:

% of non-white employees

% of female employees ROE EPS

Company-1 33% 32% 61.06% 4.37

Company-2 44% 55% 13.97% 3.77

Company-3 42% 30% 160.09% 4.67

Company-4 31% 62% 7.04% 5.81

u With a sample size of four companies, its challenging to draw any conclusions between a company’s level of diversity and its effects on profitability

u Other factors such as the industry and the economy play a much more obvious role

u For example: Company#1 is a software company, an industry that skews male and has seen a huge surge in growth and profitability

u Studies do indicate that a more diverse workforce of employees is more productive and successful, but this was not shown in the four companies due to other factors.

Diversity and Earnings

Whether the companies narrative on diversity disclosure are compliant

u Wells Fargo & Company is ethically compliant based on the available information shared on its annual

meeting report. The company has not been involved in green washing but remained compliant to

policies related to the diversity, equity and inclusivity such as discrimination and labour acts. Besides,

the DE&I actions and commitments of the company shows Wells Fargo & Company have developed a

diverse and inclusive culture that award all the employees in the organization equal opportunity

regardless of ethnicity. This is evident by ability of the company to recruit employees from different

areas of world in both low and upper leadership positions.

u Sony is ethically compliant with consideration of the R10 reports of 2019 and 2020 on the diversity

disclosure. It is clear that the high rates of innovations experienced by the company have resulted

from workforce that Possesses different personalities, racial backgrounds, nationalities, religions and

beliefs, disabilities, sexual orientations, values and work styles, our diverse human resources.

Continuation……………………………..

u Spotify is somehow ethically compliant with consideration that its 10-K reports listed in

the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) somehow differs with other publication

from secondary sources. The company has a lot of work to be done with consideration of

its huge gaps in workforce between men and women. Besides, the Corporate Social

Responsibility of the company indicates that the company is doing a lot to disclose positive

data in the year 2021’s annual meeting.

u Comcast Corporation is ethically compliant according to its R10 reports of 2019 and 2020.

The company has disclosed accurate data. Besides, the availability of women in all

leadership positions indicate that comcast is compliant to laws and regulations governing

issues of diversity and inclusion.

Degree of ethical practices (standards of the companies)

u The degree of compliant for Wells Fargo & Company is very high. The company has a high

number of women in leadership demonstrating adherence to discrimination policies during

recruitment and selection proccess. Besides, the R10 reports have also indicated that Well

Fargo Company has have put in place an effective policies and measures for reporting un

ethical practices.

u The degree of compliant for Sony corporation is also very high with the company remaining

complaint in diverse regions across the world where it operates. The company has effective

strategy for ensuring there is transparency and accountability among its stakeholders.

Continuation……………..

u The degree of compliant for Comcast Corporation is medium. Although the company has

adopted the contemporary measures for ensuring it adheres to its code of conducts, there have

been some complains regarding unethical practices from its stakeholders. For example, in 2016,

the company was finned over $2.3 billion on the case that involved fraud charges on customers

accounts.

u The degree of compliant for Spotify is also very high with the company having faced very few

accusation on different ethical issues such as cyber crimes. Besides, the company ahs also

implemented polices such as “hateful conduct policy “ to ensure its practices aligns effectively

with the code of conduct.

Comparative Analysis of Companies’ DD

Strong Diversity Disclosure Weak Diversity Disclosure

u Sony released a lengthy Diversity and Inclusion report laying out the ways they hope to improve their workforce and setting goals for the future

u Sony’s 10-k includes sections titled “Social Impact and Sustainability” and “Human Capital” that comply with the SEC’s new rules

u Wells Fargo outlines the information on the company’s diversity within their 10-k

u Their Diversity and Inclusion report provides the goals the company hopes to achieve and outlines the process they will take

u Comcast's 10-k and Diversity and Inclusion report provide the bare minimum of information about the employees and the company

u Comcast states that they aspire for a more diverse, engaged, and talented workforce, but no actual goals are set up or provided

u Spotify also does lay out things that they hope to achieve but do not provide any goals or milestones they hope to achieve

u The Diversity and Inclusion report provides some information but is overall not great

Rank of companies by Ethical Standards)

1. Wells Fargo & Company

2. Sony corporation

3. Comcast Corporation

4. Spotify

Existing Violations Ethical Practice Category

Ethical Practices

Questions for company’s management regarding Ethical standards

u What are the management’s views on this new SEC requirement?

u What is the company doing to make sure there is consideration of gender equality in

the strategic management and executive as it is evident that males are dominant?

u Does the company adhere to code of conducts? And if yes, what are the current policies

and measures in place to report the unethical practices?

u What are the company’s current major SEC violation(s).

u What steps are currently in place to resolve these violations?

u Do you think a stronger ethical culture would mitigate some of these violations?

What I Would Change to Improve the Company’s Ethical Standard and Culture?

References

Spotify. (2020). Annual Reports, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging | Life at Spotify. Retrieved 8

October 2021, from https://www.lifeatspotify.com/diversity-equity-impact/diversity-inclusion-

belonging

Sony. (2020). Annual reports, Women in leadership. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from

https://www.sony.com/content/dam/sony/landing-pages/SonyWhitepaperFinal_s.pdf

Wells Fargo & Company 2021. Annual meeting report. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from

https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/assets/pdf/about/investor-relations/annual-

reports/2021-proxy-statement.pdf

Ethics Research Analyses BY E S

A C C T 5 1 0 – B U S I N E S S E T H I C S

COMPANIES’ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Kellogg Company Profile

Years in Business: Founded in 1906, 114 years in business

IPO Date: Incorporated in Delaware in 1922

Current CEO: Amit Banati

Current CFO: Steven A. Cahillane

Total Number of Employees: 31,000

Current External Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Uber Technologies Inc. Profile

Years in Business: Founded in 2009, 12 years in business

IPO Date: March 2009, San Francisco, CA

Current CEO: Dara Khosrowshahi

Current CFO: Nelson Chai

Total Number of Employees: 22,800

Current External Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

TESLA Inc. Profile

Years in Business: Founded in 2003, 18 years in business

IPO Date: July 1, 2003, San Carlos, CA

Current CEO: Elon Musk

Current CFO: Zachary J. Kirkhorn

Total Number of Employees: 70,757

Current External Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

CVS Health Corporation Profile

Years in Business: Founded in 1963, 57 years in business

IPO Date: May 8, 1963, Lowell, MA

Current CEO: Karen S. Lynch

Current CFO: Shawn Guertin

Total Number of Employees: 256,500

Current External Auditor: Ernst & Young LLP

Executive Summary Statistics Performance

SEC’S DIVERSITY DISCLOSURE UNDERSTANDING

•The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rule amendments last August 26th, 2020, to modernize disclosures of business, legal proceedings, and risk factors under Regulation S-K.

•As a result of these amendments, public companies are now required to disclose number of employees and a description of its human capital resources on their Form 10-Ks and other filings subject to Regulation S-K.

•However, the new requirements do not include a clear definition of human capital or specify a list of measures to be disclosed.

SEC’S DIVERSITY DISCLOSURE MORAL INTENSITY

•In my view, the SEC’s new regulation on diversity disclosure for public companies constitutes a combination of an ethical, moral, and legal obligation.

•In Jones' six dimensions or moral intensity, the magnitude of consequences seems to be the most applicable for the SEC's disclosure requirement for public companies. I think the SEC thought about how society will benefit from these new requirements as public companies will be encouraged to have a more diverse workforce and consequently, provide equal opportunities to their employees.

•The moral intensity of the SEC’s new regulation influenced ethical decision making and, in this case, the SEC has gone a step forward by converting it into a mandatory requirement, a legal obligation.

SEC’S DIVERSITY DISCLOSURE CORRELATION WITH PUBLIC COMPANIES’ PROFITABILITY

•Tesla, and CVS Health disclosed number of employees by gender in 2020. 21% of Tesla workforce were women and 79% men. CVS’s gender diversity differ from Tesla’s, whose workforce is 70% women and 30% male. Both companies are doing great financially.

•Uber Technologies also disclosed number of employees by gender in 2020. 59.7% of Uber workforce is male and 40.3% is female. Uber's financial performance declined in 2020, with a negative return on equity, earnings per share, and profit margin ratio. This was due to the Pandemic, in which everyone was adversely affected, and Uber had to reduce its workforce. In 2021 Uber's financials are still negative perhaps as a result of legal actions filed in the UK regarding racial discrimination claims.

•Kellogg Company didn’t disclose number of employees by gender in 2020. It just disclosed that 42% of managers at Kellogg’s are women. Kellogg is doing great financially too.

•I see an obvious correlation between my selected companies' diversity disclosure and their respective profitability, as the companies that are enforcing EDI practices within their organization show excellent financial performance.

COMPANIES’ NARRATIVE ON DIVERSITY DISCLOSURES COMPLIANCE

•Kellogg Company, Uber Technologies, Tesla, and CVS Health disclosed number of total employees and their initiatives to improve Equity, Diversity and Inclusion enforcements in their

10-Ks for year end 2020.

•SEC’s new requirements do not include a clear definition of human capital or which measures must be disclosed in the 10-Ks of public companies; therefore, I believe that the four public

companies’ narrative on diversity disclosures chosen for my research are compliant with SEC’s

new regulations.

COMPANIES’ DEGREE OF ETHICAL STANDARDS RELATIVE TO DIVERSITY DISCLOSURE

•Kellogg Company, Uber Technologies, Tesla, and CVS Health have shown a high degree of ethical standards as they all four have complied with the SEC’s new regulation to disclose number of

employees and a description of its human capital resources on their Form 10-Ks.

•I do believe, however, that the disclosure of their total workforce should also provide how diverse their workforce is. For instance, disclosing the gender, race, and ethnicity of a company's

workforce will provide financial information users with useful data about the diversity of the

company's workforce.

COMPANIES’ DEGREE OF ETHICAL STANDARDS RELATIVE TO DIVERSITY DISCLOSURE

Companies’ Description of their Human Capital Resources

•Kellogg Company has enforced practices of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion since 2005 by establishing an Office of Diversity & Inclusion to focus on recruiting and retaining diverse employees, creating awareness of diversity issues, and fostering a supportive and positive work environment where inclusive behaviors are the norm. Several leading organizations recognized Kellogg for its commitment to building and supporting equity, diversity and inclusion in its workplace. These include Diversity Inc., Social Corporate Equity Index, Diversity Best Practice Index and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Best Places to Work for LG

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