An enjoyable article at BusinessWeekOnline--"This SEC Cop Means Business"--gives the inside story on William H. Donaldson, SEC Chairman, who took over on February 18th of this year. Another article at BusinessWeekOnline--"A Conversation with Bill Donaldson"--reports him as stating the following in regards to why he took the job at age 71:
"I ask myself why I took this job at this stage in my life. It's because we're at a pivotal point in the reestablishment of faith in the business and financial communities. I would like to be remembered for having an effect on that, for bringing everybody back to a sense of business integrity. There are alot of people out there, not just business people but also some of the gatekeepers -- accountants, lawyers -- where there has been a shift in ethics and morality, [thinking] that cutting corners a little bit is justified because "everybody else is doing it." I hope [to] have an impact in righting that."Posted by B. Janell Grenier at June 16, 2003 09:51 PM