The Black Knight

Sir Larceny-A-Lot

Sir Allen Stanford turns out to be no knight in shining armor. He's just another greedy creep who thought he was entitled to other peoples money. Sir Allen might just be another garden variety Ponzi Schemer; but compared to Madoff this guy is a piker. The theft of $8bn is petty larceny compared to Madoff's massive $50bn swindle.

It is becoming startling clear that we can no longer view these types of events as isolated incidents. Sir Allen may be this weeks poster child for capitalists gone wild; but the shock and awe of audacious financial crime is becoming a consistent lead story on the nightly news. Public trust in the financial markets is at stake. If people cannot trust their financial fiduciary the whole system goes down.

The SEC's reluctance to act on information concerning Madoff irregularities and the announcement that over 500 public firms are being reviewed for possible fraudulent business practices are raising a public outcry for more vigorous oversight and protection. The swirling rumors of bank insolvencies, nationalizations and news of their egregious failure to adhere to basic risk management precepts are turning the skeptical taxpayers into vocal opponents of the TARP program and any future bank bailouts.

The allegations that UBS marketed a tax evasion scheme to attract over 50,000 US clients to their private banking business with the promise that it would shield them from onerous tax liabilities may be the straw that breaks the camels back. US taxpayers are struggling from the burdensome pain of high taxes they dutifully pay. They are confused and frightened by the orgy of government spending and how the financial industry bailouts will effect them. The credit crisis and the stunning losses people incurred in their retirement and investment portfolios is casting widening doubt about the trustworthiness of the banking system. Citizens are urging their elected representatives that all financial service providers must come under a microscope of scrutiny and oversight. Consumers want assurances that all fiduciaries are sound. Taxpayers are demanding that regulators insist that financial institutions provide a level of transparency to assure consumers that they are in compliance with all regulatory mandates, have a program of risk management controls and offer proof of an ethical corporate governance program.

The US tax payer has made it clear that they can no longer shoulder an egregious tax burden that continues to finance insolvent financial institutions that failed miserably to manage risk or comply with the barest minimum standards of proper corporate governance.

The allegations that surfaced suggesting that Stanford Financial may be linked to money laundering for Latin American drug cartels through The Bank of Antigua and related banking enterprises in Venezuela and Ecuador is sure to usher in a new era of aggressive enforcement initiatives by regulators. The practice of selling worthless CDs to retail investors that promised high rates of interest is the tip of the spear in a sophisticated money laundering scheme. This will create some added urgency for regulators to conduct an in depth reviews of financial institutions AML compliance programs. Examiners will aggressively pursue fund managers to determine that Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Identification Procedures (CIP), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Politically Exposed People (PEP) programs are meeting acceptable standards to detect and deter money laundering. Of particular concern will be hedge fund complexes with incorporated off shore structures. To be sure, examiners will liberally interpret and claim jurisdictional nexus on all offshore structures linked to US domiciled funds. The US Treasury coffers are bare and it will look to collect taxes on any revenue sources it deems as taxable.

Financial institutions need to demonstrate to counter parties, regulators, SROs and most importantly investors; that they have a sound risk management program in place that protects the funds investors against all classes of operational risk. Sum2 offers an AML audit program fund managers use to maintain compliance standards that demonstrate program excellence to regulators and investors.

You can believe the examiners are sharpening their spears. Looking to bag a kill and make an example of wayward managers with lax compliance controls. Be ready, be vigilant and be prepared.

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Risk: money laundering, regulatory, operations, reputation

PCA Goes To The Lonesome Valley

On Monday came the not surprising news that Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) has filed for bankruptcy.

The practice of selling food additives laced with salmonella bacteria makes it difficult to win back the trust of customers that had been so grievously violated.

PCA knowingly shipped contaminated products that has caused nine deaths and has sickened 637 people in 44 states. PCA's salmonella laced peanut paste has contaminated 2,226 processed food products. A full list of recalled products can be found on the FDA website. These potentially criminal acts by PCA's management has demolished the PCA corporate brand making it impossible to continue as a going concern.

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing will liquidate the company. This strategy will protect the PCA shareholders in the privately held firm from the significant legal liability that this event has created. It does not however protect PCA's company management and accomplices that knowingly shipped contaminated products from potential criminal prosecution. Criminal persecution of those involved should be pursued and if anyone is found guilty punishment must be severe.

PCA released its contaminated product into a large and extensive supply chain. Many leading brand food processing manufacturers that use PCA's peanut paste as an ingredient in their packaged goods products have suffered severe reputational damage to their product and company brands. Though PCA's corporate liability may be mitigated with the bankruptcy filing, aggrieved consumers will continue to have have legal recource by filing suits against the major consumer product companies that are still in business. This could make for a record breaking class action product liability suit.

Unfortunately this tragic occurrence could have been prevented. PCA's actions demonstrate a disturbing ambivalence toward effective sound corporate governance practices. Companies that willingly sacrifice risk management and ethical business practices for the sake of short term profits consistently undermine corporate sustainability. All may not result in a dramatic corporate implosion like PCA. But ultimately the song of corporate liquidations remains the same. Unemployment for workers, aggrieved consumers, community desertion, tortured consciences and and in some instances criminal prosecution.

RIP PCA.

You Tube Video: Fairfield Four, Lonesome Valley

Risk: corporate goverance, ethics, risk management, legal

A Borrower and Lender Be: SME Lending

Shylock

Bankers are catching some major heat. Senators are screaming at the money lenders in an effort to have them explain what the banks did with the $350bn they gave them in the first round of TARP funding. Now that the second $350bn tranche of TARP funds is about to be dispersed, the politicians want assurances that a good portion of the money will find its way into the economy in loans to small & mid-sized enterprises (SME). All believe that this is critical to halt the specter of the deepening recession.

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. Banks are getting yelled at by the politicians for not lending. Angry constituents are beating up the politicians for giving the banks the bailout money in the the first place. They complain that the Treasury Department is giving banks taxpayer funds at a 1% interest rate that banks in turn lend back to taxpayers at interests rates that are considerably higher. To close this circle of pain, consumers are getting nasty calls from their bankers and debt collection agencies, threatening them with punitive actions if they don't pay their mortgages and outstanding credit card balances. Everyone is a debtor in this comedic cycle of pain.

Now that banks are flush with cash from the second round of TARP funding they must start lending and SMEs need to start borrowing. Its that simple. What is not simple is breaking the stalemate of confidence that exists between lenders and borrowers. Risk aversion is extremely high. Banks are very concerned about adding credit risk exposures to commercial loan portfolios. A recession creates enormous market challenges for SMEs. Bankers need to develop an enhanced sense of confidence in the management and business prospects of an SME before it will extend credit.

Both lenders and borrowers can come together in a shared understanding if they are willing to engage in the deeper work that is required by the new business realities. SME managers must be aware of the business and risk management practices that bankers generally look for when assessing credit worthiness. SMEs must be able to demonstrate to lenders that they are committed to sound risk management and corporate governance practices. SMEs must also be prepared to meet transparency requirements of banks with honest and timely disclosures.

Bankers actively seek SMEs that are run by focused and capable managers. SMEs that can demonstrate effective risk management skills and an awareness of the challenges and opportunities present in their market will find that bankers are more then willing to extend new credit facilities to them. Bankers will have greater confidence in these SMEs if they understand and believe in the SME business model. Bankers lend with confidence when they understand how businesses can generate sufficient cash flow and profits to pay back loans. Bankers need confidence that credit risk is being mitigated. SMEs enhance banker confidence that they are credit worthy by demonstrating a strong risk management and corporate governance culture.

Fortunately there is tool that bankers and SMEs use to build mutual understanding and trust. The Profit|Optimizer helps to generate the confidence needed to help banks lend capital and SME to effectively deploy it.

Get the Profit|Optimizer and confidently be a lender, be a borrower and break the cycle of pain to get our economy going again.

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Risk: credit, market, small business

For the Want of a Nail: Lennar Homes

Community developer Lennar Homes lawsuit against drywall manufacturers reminds me of the old Mother Goose nursery rhyme, "for the want of a nail." The rhyme begins with a nail that was not available to affix a shoe to the hoof of a horse. The loss of the nail loses the shoe, which loses the horse, which loses the rider, which loses the battle, which loses the war, which loses the king which loses the kingdom. For the want of a nail is an instructive tale of how seemingly insignificant or minute events can create consequences that escalate into a catastrophic incident that impacts and endangers many.

The Lennar lawsuit is yet another egregious example of supply chain contamination that has recently come to light. The discovery of toxic substances within drywall manufactured in China and used in the construction of Florida homes has prompted the lawsuit against manufacturers and a number of installation subcontractors that purchased the contaminated drywall on behalf of Lennar.

Lennar's lawsuit alleges that subcontractors it employed to install dry wall, substituted high quality domestic brands with the less expensive contaminated drywall. The subcontractors imported the contaminated drywall from China to save on costs of materials in an attempt to boost profits for their contracted work. The drywall was discovered to contain toxic substances after a number of homeowners began to complain of foul odors, product deterioration and in some cases sickness due to exposure to the contaminated product.

It is believed that the Chinese drywall was found to contain a quantity of dry ash which was used as a filler substance in the manufacturing process. Dry ash is a waste by product of coal fired power plants that are so prevalent in China. The dry ash is known to contain concentrations of heavy metals that are considered dangerous to humans.

This event is certainly unwelcome news for the beleaguered construction and real estate industries. Particularly so in deeply distressed markets like southern Florida. It has heightened the risk profile of all parties involved and could spell catastrophic consequences for some of the involved manufacturers, homeowners, and contractors. This event can also impact the profitability of banks that may be forced to write off non-performing mortgages and construction loans sold to affected homeowners and contractors. Insurance companies may be required to pay off clams for product liability and homeowner policies. Municipalities are also at risk due to this event. Tax ratables and property values are threatened due to property abandonment and the suspicion that toxins have been introduced into the community.

This risk event will require the drywall manufacturers to face severe legal liability. It will impact profitability due to the financial stress of remediation expenses. Most significantly these types of events do severe damage to the company brand and reputation. A great deal of company and product branding is about trust. This types of events compromise the trust of brand consumers. Once that trust is violated it is very difficult to win it back.

Lennar violated its customers trust by allowing its supply chain to be contaminated. This violation of trust will result in financial loss and may create a long term health risk for Lennars customers and their families.

The municipalities that welcomed Lennar with the anticipation that development will serve the citizens of their communities have now been scarred by an ecological hazard. This will continue to haunt the reputation of these towns for many years because it threatens the value of both contaminated and non contaminated homes.

The drywall installation contractors face a high probability of bankruptcy and potential criminal prosecution. This event will fire a deepening distrust of Chinese manufactured products. It will certainly add stress to the delicate political balance of the highly codependent China USA trade relationship. Instigating calls for more protectionism and "Buy America" mantra by American based manufacturers. The prospect of added strain with China is particularly delicate due to China's important roll in financing government spending through its large purchases of US government bonds. All because some subcontractors wanted to realize a little more profit margin. For the want of a nail indeed.

The unfortunate realization is that this risk could have been prevented. Master contractors need to put in place service and supply level agreements that prohibit the use of substituted materials. Master contractors need to manage supply chains by insisting that all materials used by subcontractors meet quality specifications and are sourced from trusted and thoroughly vetted providers. Adherence to international product quality and testing standards must be ascertained before those are accepted into the supply chain. This is just one aspect of ascertaining weather a supplier meets acceptance criteria into a company supply chain.

The Profit|Optimizer helps manufacturers, developers, contractors and lenders conduct a risk assessment of their supply chain. It is something that many businesses often take for granted yet holds the potential to become one of the most dangerous risks to the financial health and stability of the business enterprise.

Sum2 sells nails. The Profit|Optimizer helps business nail down risks that can deconstruct your business. It is a great set of tools to build profits and construct a healthy sustainable business.

Next time you read Mother Goose "for the want of a nail" to a child remind them to pay particular attention to its sage advise. It may be the first lesson in effective risk management that they will receive.

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Publish Post

Risk: supply chain, product liability, reputation risk, ecological

Kashi's Kismet

Salmonella

Last night as I was researching the Peanut Corporation of America's (PCA) peanut paste recall, my wife received an urgent telephone call from our local supermarket. The caller informed us that the Kashi products we purchased were subject to recall. I was a bit astonished by the call for several reasons. The first being notified of the unhappy news that a premium brand product that I so enjoy has the potential to kill me or make me very ill due to Salmonella bacteria. It goes without saying that it was a most bracing experience. I was also a bit bemused about the ability of my local supermarket to track me down to inform me that my favorite breakfast cereal might endanger me. At the very least letting me know that this is no breakfast for champions.

Though this is a positive example of how consumer product data mining and customer tracking business intelligence is employed; the realization that your breakfast eating habits are tucked away in some giant relational database remains a bit unnerving. But that is a different subject for another day.

After checking with the Kashi website the cereal products I purchased were not listed on the recall list. Kashi website lists granola bars and cookies as its only products that are subject to recall. As a committed consumer of the brand I remember when I purchased the cereal a free granola bar was included in the package for product promotional purposes. When I returned home I eagerly consumed the free granola bars. I am happy to report that I have not fallen ill. I'll have to go back to the supermarket and ask if the non contaminated cereal I still have in my cupboard remains subject to the recall. An interesting product bundling dilemma.

The mechanics and execution of the product recall seems to be effective. The sophisticated use of data mining technologies and the ability of the manufacturer to contact a retail consumer through a digital trail that includes customer loyalty cards, credit card, and product bar codes is pretty impressive.

What is of concern about Kashi and other processed food manufacturers that are dependent on an expanded and complex supply chain is their failure to uncover the risk associated with the supplier. In this case PCA. It is alleged that PCA had a leaky roof that played a role in contaminating the peanut paste. A simple walk through of the facility may have uncovered this risk factor. Certainly if a company fails to perform the most basic facilities maintenance functions (like a leaky roof) odds are that the company has other issues and businesses functions that it is not addressing. This is the cockroach theory. Where you see one there are usually many others. A simple walk through may have revealed that all was not kosher at PCA.

Supply chain risk is becoming more prominent as manufacturers and service providers aggregate components and ingredients from numerous providers to deliver a finished product or service to end user consumers. The implementation of a sound practice program that addresses risk associated with supply chains is a key ingredient for a sustainable business enterprise.

The Profit|Optimizer devotes a section to supply chain risk. All process manufacturers must require suppliers to conduct a thorough risk assessment of processes and functions as outlined in the Profit|Optimizer. The Profit|Optimizer also includes a section on facilities risk. The risk assessment tools offered by the Profit|Optimizer would have uncovered the dangerous risk factors at PCA and may have prevented the fatal and costly release of contaminated products.

The kismet of commercial enterprises like Kashi will continue to be bright so long as the mantra of sound risk management is practiced with more vigilance. In doing so the health and well being of its loyal customers will flower as will the value of its product brands and the sustainability of the business.

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Risk: reputation, brand, product liability

Honda Motors Practices Enlightened Capitalism

Amidst all the layoffs, business closures and shutdowns the hard edge of capitalism is a painful experience far too many people are forced to endure. During times of plenty, the relationship of labor and capital is harmonious and symbiotic. Both parties recognize the value that each bring to the corporate community and each parties enrichment and well being is served by the degree of harmony present in that relationship. During down business cycles management may resort to layoffs to preserve the enterprise. Unfortunately this often causes resentments and hard feelings on the part of workers who have lost the means of earning a living. When workers return to their jobs this can cause problems and hurt an affirmative corporate culture that is critical to maintaining a sustainable business enterprise.

In the face of the meltdown in the automobile manufacturing sector, Honda Motors is one of a very select few that is not resorting to layoffs. Honda Motors known for product quality and leadership in product innovation and business processes is also highly respected for its treatment of employees. Honda Motors places great emphasis on the creation and maintenance of an affirmative corporate culture to sustain profitability and market leadership.

Honda Motors decision to restructure the work force, and give workers a period of paid leave until business conditions improve speaks volumes about how management respects and values the contribution labor makes to the long term sustainability of the enterprise. Any remuneration workers receive during the leave will be paid back to the company with unpaid overtime when the workers return to the production line.

The value of good will on the Honda Motor balance sheet has increased exponentially. The sustainability of an affirmative corporate culture will drive profitability, product innovation and market leadership for the many years to come.

We applaud Honda Motors for this innovative and enlightened response to the current market challenges.

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Risk: sustainability, labor relations, corporate culture