Setting the tone at the top: Financial Executives International features book by Jan Pfister
Published 3 February 2012
Dr Jan Pfister, of Lancaster's Department of Accounting and Finance, has had his book Managing Organizational Culture for Effective Internal Control featured in an issue alert by the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), the research arm of Financial Executives International (FEI).
FERF's issue alert contains an executive summary of Pfister's book, together with a summary of lessons to be learnt from it.
Dr Pfister's interdisciplinary study addresses the question of how senior executives and managers at all levels can actively create and shape a culture that is supportive to effective controls.
Pfister's book is grounded in field research with companies in the US and Switzerland. It is based on interviews with senior-level executives and managers from Credit Suisse, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Levi Strauss & Co, Microsoft, Novartis and several other organisations.
Marie N Hollein, President and CEO of FEI and FERF, said: “We are pleased to publish this issue alert reflecting FEI’s commitment to supporting integrity and ethics in financial management. The role of the ‘Tone at the Top’, as emphasised in the COSO framework and elsewhere, is key in establishing and maintaining a strong control environment and effective internal control. Dr Pfister accurately notes the critical role of senior management in setting a culture that is supportive of this. His extensive work in this area can help the C-Suite ‘walk the talk’ through reviewing and discussing the ‘roots of control weaknesses’ and suggested ‘drivers for control effectiveness’ as it relates to managerial culture and ethics. I encourage all financial professionals to look at this important publication, which makes actionable recommendations in this area.”
The issue alert will be featured in two email announcements to the members of FEI this month and will also be made available on Amazon and to subscribers of Bloomberg Professional Services. FEI counts 15,000 members and is recognised as the leading organisation for senior financial executives. Members cover all major sectors and represent companies such as Apple, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, The Boing Company, Wal-Mart Stores and Wells Fargo & Company.
Dr Jan Pfister joined LUMS in 2009. His research and teaching interests focus on management control, performance measurement and organisational culture in services-driven economies. His book is one of the outcomes of his PhD research at the University of Zurich which was conducted in association with a two-year stay as Visiting Scholar at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
