London, UK - 17 July 2002, 17:00 GMT - mi2g will be holding a major event tomorrow evening at The Athenaeum, London, to debate the issue of trust and its importance at a personal and business level in our interconnected world in the light of the recent Enron and WorldCom scandals.
The main purpose of the evening is to reach an understanding of the causes of the practices underlying the major frauds, the implications of loss of trust for stakeholders, the analogies of trust and security in the physical and digital worlds and the trust engendering possibilities offered by modern information and communication technologies.
The keynote speaker, Charles Tilley, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), will be speaking on the concept of capitalism in a post-Enron world.
DK Matai, Chairman and CEO of mi2g, will be speaking on the issue of trust in computing platforms.
Dr Brian Collins, Visiting Professor at Southampton University, will be speaking on the subject of trust as the 'flip side' of risk.
Over 80 senior executives from banking, insurance, law firms, government and computing houses will be attending.
Unless companies can demonstrate ethical behaviour that governs and informs everyday business decisions, the trust of employees, customers, business partners and investors will be eroded. This is the warning that Charles Tilley, chief executive of CIMA will give senior bankers, insurers, lawyers and Government officials at the mi2g Intelligence Unit meeting on 'The Question of Trust' at the Athenaeum in Pall Mall on 18 July.
"Trust depends on transparency and transparency is becoming a matter of survival rather than choice," Mr Tilley will argue. Without a culture of transparency in reporting by public companies, investor confidence in management capability will remain deflated and inconsistent. While CIMA fully supports and is contributing to the development of the mandatory Operating and Financial Review (OFR) proposed by the Company Law Review as the new reporting model, transparency has to be underpinned by accountability and integrity.
In conclusion he will argue: "It is now a time for all companies to enhance their reporting on the business risks and intangible assets that drive corporate value creation. It is not enough to discuss simply the systems of internal control and risk management in your business. Any statements that fall short of disclosing and discussing actual risks can be meaningless. This is an opportunity for directors to demonstrate their understanding of the business and where it differentiates itself from competitors and adds value to customers".
1. As one of the world's leading accounting bodies CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) has 10 offices worldwide and supports over 133,000 members and students in 150 countries. CIMA is the only institute whose sole focus is on the training and qualifying of accountants in business, across public and private sectors. Founded on the collective knowledge and experience of a professional body entirely focused on management accounting, the CIMA perspective is directed towards all the key issues faced by Finance Directors and their staff across all business sectors and sizes. This strong business focus is grounded in the CIMA syllabus.