Ethics and Compliance Paper

Introduction

Team A has obtained a copy of the annual report and SEC filings of the last two years for the company Starbucks. In the following paper we will discuss the role of ethics and compliance within the company, the procedures Starbucks has set to ensure their employees exhibit ethical behavior. We will identify how Starbucks complies with SEC regulations and their performance over the past two years.

Ethics and Compliance

Ethics, ethical behavior, and ethical practices are a cornerstone of the health and welfare of business and finance. These types of beliefs and behaviors must be established and advocated by organizational executives, in order for employees to embrace and buy into their worth. WorldCom and Enron are two of the more well-known financial scandals, where unethical practices had a catastrophic effect on multiple layers of the economic environment. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 set new or enhanced standards for all United States public company boards, management and public accounting firms. Starbucks is one of the more popular and well-known organizations, most notably known for its extraordinary customer service and high desirable work-place atmosphere. These types of organizational successes have helped Starbucks achieve large scale financial gains, with net revenues of $9.8 and $10.7 billion in 2009 and 2010 respectively (Corporation, 2011). Starbucks is committed to maintaining their uncompromising principles, so in this regard; the organization places a strict emphasis on ethical financial practices and compliance to governmental regulations. The company’s Board of Directors is comprised of eleven individuals, whom meet all of the independence requirements of NASDAQ and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The organization distributes a Standards of Business Conduct booklet to all partners to assist them in making appropriate decisions at work. This booklet details brief statements of several of the company’s...