INTHEBLACK September 2024 special edition - Flipbook - Page 44
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F I N A N C I A L R E P O RT I NG
speaking out and not being dismissed. I think
that comes back to the chair’s role of creating that
safe space.
“We talk about it among the executive ranks
– creating that safe space for feedback.”
Increased transparency should not be seen
as a proxy for ethics or trust, Payne adds.
“Companies can be transparent and have
numbers that are not particularly good, or they
can ‘cherry pick’ numbers, so that people do not
really understand what is going on,” she says.
“There are other factors that matter in
addition to greater transparency.
“For example, when companies have an AGM,
how do they respond to questions? How do they
speak to their financial reports? Are they honest?”
HEROES AND VILLAINS?
For Stokes, ethics comes down to doing
the right thing at both an organisational
and an individual level.
“You are always going to get the ‘rogues’ and the
‘heroes’ at either end of the spectrum,” he says.
44 INTHEBLACK September 2024 SPECIAL EDITION
“You are always going to get the
‘rogues’ and the ‘heroes’ at either
end of the spectrum. We really
need to focus on the 95 per cent
in the middle, where there is a
‘grey area’ for people who are
either misaligned or pressured
into doing the wrong thing.”
WAYNE STOKES FCPA, CITY WEST HOUSING
“We really need to focus on the 95 per cent
in the middle, where there is a ‘grey area’ for
people who are either misaligned or pressured
into doing the wrong thing.
“I think that when your team sees you take
the highroad and a more conservative approach
– rather than being a ‘cowboy’ when it comes to
the finances – they take comfort in that,” adds Stokes.
“You have to sit back and simply ask yourself – is
this right or wrong? We all know the answer.” ●
