Business Insights From Driehaus Faculty Research

Curtis Verschoor’s background is as impressive as it is extensive. At DePaul, he is the Emeritus Ledger & Quill Research Professor in the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems and honorary Senior Wicklander Research Fellow at the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. He is a researcher, consultant, speaker and author of more than a dozen books. He has served as a senior corporate finance officer for several international public companies and accounting firms. But above all, Verschoor is a passionate advocate for business ethics.

At an age when most people are enjoying retirement, he is still on top of his game after being named a thought leader on trustworthy business practices by Trust Across America. His latest book, “Curt Verschoor on Ethics,” compiles some of his most important and relevant articles about management accounting and finance best practices from his monthly column in Strategic Finance Magazine. DePaul Accountancy Professor Belverd Needles, one of the foremost experts in international financial reporting and auditing, served as the editor, helping to select articles for inclusion from hundreds that Verschoor has penned.

Ethics is universally important to everybody,” says Verschoor.

“That is why I started this column. It benefits organizations, as well as individuals.”

Verschoor has been writing an ethics column for Strategic Finance since 1999. Topics range from whistle-blowing, executive compensation and sustainability to ethical case studies involving companies such as Volkswagen, Uber and Toshiba. His focus remains topical; he recently explored how millennials’ approaches to ethics differ from those of other generations. While Strategic Finance targets financial professionals, employees in any industry can find value in ethics, Verschoor believes.

“In all my research, I’ve found that organizations with a strong ethical culture are more successful than those that have a weak organizational culture,” says Verschoor. “Companies with ethical cultures avoid reputational damage that comes from unethical practices and are usually better off financially. A strong ethical culture is a keystone or underlying core value of a well-managed, well-organized entity.”

Verschoor also hopes that students and academics will be able to use his collection of articles as a resource. “There is something that happens in everybody’s life every day that has ethical implications,” says Verschoor. “That’s why ethics is so important.”

By Andrew Zamorski