Articles - Org Development

The corporate scandals of the 21^st century have led individuals to speculate as to how so many disturbing financial crises could occur in the past decade. One perspective taken is the “perfect storm” theory that examines the unique historical circumstances of the 1990’s, in which no cyclical explanation could have ever determined the outcome.

Could there be an explanation as to how “we” enabled rogue managers and companies to take financial matters literally in their own hands enabling them to commit fraud on the most grandeur of scales?

Some of the factors that assisted in the creation of the “perfect storm” theory are the adoption of new financial strategies and instruments, a booming technology sector, baby boomers change in lifestyle in the process of saving for retirement, auditor/client relationships, and a stock market that was driven by Greenspan’s “irrational exuberance” statement.

The U.S. economy was placed with an unusual group of situations that led to fraudulent activities beyond normal circumstances.

Fraud has a tendency to rise when stock market prices increase, however one would question if the blunders could have been avoided with all the intricacies involved.

Under normal circumstances we can determine accountability by tracking events by finding a person/company or cause that created the effect. Under the perfect “storm theory” this becomes a less predictable and far more difficult task. Accusations have been imposed on Congress, lackadaisical oversight on the securities exchanges, accounting firms, auditors, and varying reporting standards.

If the series of events that allowed the downfall of many top publicly traded companies arose from the “perfect storm” theory, which was caused by a series of unique irrelevant events, one could conclude that the new restraints implemented recently should prevent acts of fraudulent activity in normal circumstances. However, others believe corporate fraud is cyclical in nature, and will arise once the stock market climbs, and arguably can be seen through historical models for hundreds of years past.

If the cyclical theory is correct, Acts of Congress will do little in the reduction of fraudulent activity and the dynamics that appeared before will appear once again.

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BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Melissa Luke is a practitioner in the financial and securities markets, specializing in maintaining positive economic conditions within domestic and international organizations for maximum profitability.

Dr. Luke has directly worked with top agency authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to increase knowledge base for university students and business owners nationwide.

She assists leaders in maintaining corporate vitality and economic growth within an organizations strategic structure and shareholder realm.

Melissa was a professional guest speaker, conducting seminars nationwide and in Canada on market makers, electronic control networks, arbitrage, Level II systems, technical approaches, and crisis prevention methods for corporate securities and welfare, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

She has published securities educational methods for global distribution, and has worked with several foreign governments on securities issues.

Dr. Luke beta tested the primary software systems used for many of the major brokerage houses and online trading entities prior to the inception and implementation to the general public. She also trains all levels of organizations and corporations on the identification process of corporate malfeasance and fraudulent activity, to protect the corporate executives and public shareholders.

She educates 21st Century organizations, investigates wrongdoing, conducts extensive research on the intricacies of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and recruits knowledgeable professionals on the requirements of compliance of corporate fraud utilizing her prior experience working for the United States Treasury.

Currently, Dr. Luke analyzes corporate legal entities, methods of operation, systems, internal controls, employee management, ownership, and corporate structure to maximize profitability and provide recommendations to improve ease of operation, productivity, and profitability of small to medium sized business in the United States.

She also teaches undergraduates at Boise State University as an adjunct professor in management and doctoral students at North Central University in finance.