What are the main CSR issues/ challenges faced by the company?
Since KPMG is a part of the “BIG FOUR” and participate in many researches and white papers, it has access to much information in various sectors which it can leverage in the consultancy industry towards CSR:
Public policy making: The world is using digital technologies, the Internet and social media at an extensive rate which means citizens and governments leave digital suggestions which can be exploited by these companies, it can contribute to public policy making
Environmental issues and health issues: As they are involved in the middle of the supply chain, they have a huge role to play in integrating environmental and health issues for the supplier and customer and employ policies
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Companies in such an industry can provide access to quality education for deprived students worldwide using the collective power of technology and human collaboration.
The major issue involving KPMG are fines for breaching ethical standards for auditors in two distinct cases of misconduct in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The company had placed “commercial interests ahead of ethical standards and breached conflict-of-interest rules at two separate clients” (www.accountacyage.com)
How is this company engaging in CSR? What CSR activities does it develop (Main engagements or pillars)?
The corporate responsibility commitments are best described through the following engagements which guide their actions which create value for their stake holders i.e. partners, employees, clients, communities, and the capital markets they serve:
a. KPMG SPRING: SPRING is KPMG in the UK’s renewed and self-motivated approach to Corporate Responsibility, designed to bring to life their social mobility and environmental commitments. Their aim is to increase understanding of the issues we support by allocating dedicated office space and increase awareness by engaging people, suppliers and
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Tackling low pay through the Living Wage”
c. Young Leadership: KPMG recognizes the potential of young people in business, political governance and societal leadership. They want to unleash their potential by helping them “build accountability for their communities and future careers”.In tandem with social mobility, Young Leadership workd in close connection to handpick talented young individuals from all strata of the society to help them and contribute towards a better future, a better government and a better world .
d. Environment: The world is largely affected in the environment sector with negligence from all spheres. Hence KPMG has dedicated itself to environment excellence in own procedures and policies plus the consultancy to clients. They strive towards a low carbon business by reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. They also encourage their employees to employ the same principles at home and in their own lives and extensively contribute to environmental needs on the national and international stage. They are reducing on unnecessary travels for meetings and discussions and opting for video conferences or online webex meetings and creating new sustainable offices and in accordance with suppliers and clients striving to a better
The effects of new digital technologies and their policy implications result in a complex issue that is always evolving. The “Change of State: Information, Policy, and Power” by Sandra Braman presents a breakdown of policy development for the constant evolution of the technological world and how it affects the state and society. She theorizes that the ‘information state’ is in the process of replacing the welfare state, to the detriment of the citizen and the democratic process. Braman “looks at the ways in which governments are deliberate, explicit, and consistent in their use of information policy to exercise power, exploring not only such familiar topics as intellectual property rights and privacy but also areas in which policy is highly effective but little understood,” (The MIT Press 2014). She argues that development of information policy causes transformation in the nature of governance, making the state more powerful and the citizens lose their rights, freedom and identity.
An important factor for the successful development of a CSR framework at the corporate level is to ensure that the framework can be easily merged with the daily routines of the store. In the Siemens case that was studied in class, putting the company back in order had to start from the corporate level and with the individual in charge of corporation – the CEO. Therefore, in order to implement CSR at the store, the initiative has to come from the corporate level, however the store here in Nanaimo can assume a key role by developing and testing new CSR practices.
The next part of Audit process is to understand the business environmental aspects of the company. As part of the marketing audit project the author is going to analyze and provide detailed information on the following key environmental aspects
An organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drives them to look out for the different interests of society. Most business corporations undertake responsibility for the impact of their organizational pursuits and various activities on their customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment. With the high volume of general competition between different companies and organizations in varied fields, CSR has become a morally imperative commitment, more than one enforced by the law. Most organizations in the modern world willingly try to improve the general well-being of not only their employees, but also their families and the society as a whole.
The revolution in information and communication technologies has been changing not only the daily lives of people but also the interactions between governments and citizens. The digital government or electronic government (e-government) has started as a new form of public organization that supports and redefines the existing and new information, communication and transaction-related interactions with stakeholders (e.g., citizens and businesses), especially through the Internet and Web technologies, with the purpose of improving government performance and processes (Bekkers & Hornsburg, 2005). Social media has become a central part of how people interact with friends, colleagues and communities.
Failure to give appropriate audit opinions as in the later investigation conducted by ASIC, West point found guilty of breaching a number of accounting standards and policies regarding proper disclosures before investing the money and then paying interests out of capital investments rather than out of profit, KPMG auditors failed to qualify audit opinions on the basis of breaches of Australian accounting standards. Three partners of KPMG namely Brett Charles Fullarton, Robert Charles Kelly and Jonathan Grant Robinson were involved in conducting auditing of West point group of companies who were banned by Corporate watch dog ASIC. Failure to identify solvency of the Company , ASIC took action against KPMG for conducting negligent audit of west point and failing to identify issues related to the solvency st...
Virakul, B., Koonmee, K. and McLean, G., 2009. CSR activities in award-winning Thai companies. Social responsibility journal, 5(2), pp.178--199.
A corporations CSR should be shaped in order to fit the goals of the corporation, although every corporation’s CSR should differ, since most have different goals and different communities behind them. The CSR should be molded into fitting the corporation’s goals in order to make it easier on the corporation in giving back to the community while achieving its goals. For example, a corporation located in a desert wishes to be more efficient, by reducing water usage it is not only creating lower costs, which result in higher revenue, but also helps the community by not taking up so much water. Taking this into consideration, it is critical that the corporation goals and values are established and clear throughout the corporation, they should be developed by the board or directors and CEO, and the highest managerial level should stress their importance to the rest of the corporation. By making the goals and values at the top branch of the corporate hierarchy, it will be simpler for the corporates community to develop in order to nurture those goals and values. Therefore, a corporation can reach the “shared-value,” a value for both its shareholders and community in a simpler manner that can result benefiting the corporation in the end as well. Throughout the article many examples are given of actual corporations that have benefited and changed their CSR in order to fit their goals, therefore, providing solid proof that these methods work. Nevertheless, as acknowledged by the author’s themselves, most of the corporations taken into consideration where one’s that Harvard CSR students were employed
The future of the United States government, policy structure, and elections will evolve around the emerging social media. How well politicians and government officials use the technology could shape the policies of our country.
...t in becoming more socially responsible corporations. For example, Pos Malaysia through their CSR practices, this corporation had focuses on a dual-pronged approach that is aimed at bringing value to the community and nation at large by the means of enhancing education particularly towards the enhancement of human capital development mainly in underprivileged areas and also Enriching Communities in which Pos Malaysia seeks to promote commerce and entrepreneurship within the communities they serve particularly in rural areas. The above CSR themes are aligned with Pos Malaysia mission to constantly strive to be a caring corporate citizen by supporting nation building and community services. This CSR will focused on the meeting the need and interest stakeholder of an organization by becoming more socially responsible and as well as to improve their image and reputation
The complete destruction of companies including Arthur Andersen, HealthSouth, and Enron, revealed a significant weakness in the United States audit system. The significant weakness is the failure to deliver true independence between the auditors and their clients. In each of these companies there was deviation from professional rules of conduct resulting from the pressures of clients placed upon their auditors (Goldman, and Barlev 857-859). Over the years, client and auditor relationships were intertwined tightly putting aside the unbiased function of auditors. Auditor careers depended on the success of their client (Kaplan 363-383). Auditors found themselves in situations that put their profession in a questionable time driving them to compromise their ethics, professionalism, objectivity, and their independence from the company. A vital trust relationship role for independent auditors has been woven in society and this role is essential for the effective functioning of the financial economic system (Guiral, Rogers, Ruiz, and Gonzalo 155-166). However, the financial world has lost confidence in the trustworthiness of auditor firms. There are three potential threats to auditor independence: executives hiring and firing auditors, auditors taking positions the client instead of the unbiased place, and auditors providing non audit services to clients (Moore, Tetlock, Tanlu, and Bazerman 10-29).
Now-a-days it is considered that CSR is one of the major concerns of organization’s business ethics. Companies increasingly increase their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical management accepting the positive impact on the bottom line. The vast bulk of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies publish sustainability reports unfolding their program challenges and achievements. These pre-emptive efforts can pr...
Mr Price Group must also protect the planet by decreasing their carbon footprint even more and start more projects such as the rooftop gardens to lessen their impact on the environment to better publicity. Mr Price Group reduced their carbon footprint by 17% or 29 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions through improved energy usage and lower energy intensive lighting. They can also increase the amount of waste recycled at the head office which is currently only at 50%.
Vora, M,K, (2013) "Business excellence through sustainable change management", The TQM Journal, Vol. 25 Iss: 6, pp.625 – 640, Emerald, [Accessed 31st January 2014]
One of these programmes is Corporate Social Responsibility CSR. This is the programme where our company goes direct into the community and supports those who are really in need.