In its study of private U.S. companies, the Ethics Resource Center identified the following basic elements of comprehensive ethics programs—though only three (*) are mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:

1. Written standards for ethical conduct*
   
2. Training on company standards of ethical workplace conduct
   
3. Provision of a mechanism for seeking ethics-related information or advice
   
4. Provision of a mechanism for anonymously reporting misconduct*
   
5. Disciplining of employees who violate the standards or the law*
   
6. Assessment of ethical conduct as part of performance evaluations

The study found less than 40% of companies have put these elements in place. For more information on reducing ethical risk and misconduct, see the National Business Ethics Survey at www.ethics.org .

Source: National Business Ethics Survey , 2007, www.ethics.org/research/nbes.asp .

Employers are reporting the lowest interview-to-hire ratio in 17 years, with 3.9 new college graduates interviewed for every hire they make.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, increased efficiency in the screening process allows employers to concentrate on a select few candidates at the interview stage.

In the competitive market for college hires, there’s now a premium on entering the next stage of recruiting—extending offers—earlier in the school year.

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2007 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey, www.naceweb.org.

The 2008 Salary Guide from Robert Half International predicts a 4.3% increase in starting salaries for accounting and finance professionals this year, with public accountants, financial analysts and internal auditors seeing the largest gains.

In corporate accounting and finance departments of large companies, business expansion and ongoing corporate governance initiatives are driving hiring and increasing salaries, with average starting salaries for entry-level budget, treasury and cost analysts expected to rise 6.9% over 2007’s predictions to between $38,250 and $47,500. Newly hired internal audit managers can expect a 6.7% increase in starting compensation to between $81,500 and $109,500 annually.

In public accounting, average starting salaries for directors and senior managers of medium-size firms are projected to rise 7.7% in the year ahead, to between $88,250 and $129,250, as these firms increase hiring to deliver more services to clients. At small firms, professionals with one to three years of experience can expect the same increase in salary as firms relieve heavy workloads and potentially hire future leaders.

These projections exceed those for the banking and financial services sectors, where starting salary increases for commercial lenders and hedge fund accountants may see gains of 4.7% and 6.5%, respectively.

Source: Robert Half International’s 2008 Salary Guide, www.rhi.com .

Employees surveyed were nearly unanimous in their support of being automatically enrolled—98% were happy their employer offered the savings vehicle. Most respondents felt the programs made saving for retirement easier (95%), and 85% thought it helped them start saving for retirement earlier than they originally planned.

Of those automatically enrolled, only 7% opted out of the plan.

According to RSP, companies using automatic 401(k)s typically see participation rates between 85% and 95%, in addition to increased participation among young, minority and lower-income workers.

Source: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, www.finra.org .

With respect to accountants in business and industry, respondents to IFAC’s first annual Global Leadership Survey labeled several issues as “very important” over the next year, including:

Applying new accounting standards (56%)

Adopting good practice in internal control and risk management (50%)

Perceptions of accountants’ integrity by the public and regulators (47%)

Increasing complexity of financial reporting (46%)

Adopting good practice in corporate governance (43%)

“Investor confidence in the profession is vital to the profession’s ability to contribute to the optimal functioning of capital markets and, consequently, to economic development,” said IFAC President Fermín del Valle.

A total of 143 presidents and chief executives of 115 IFAC member bodies and associates in 91 countries, as well as six regional accountancy bodies, participated in the survey, which is available at www.ifac.org.

Source: IFAC’s 2007 Global Leadership Survey.

Percentage of workday spent managing e-mail in 2006. For corporate users, this is projected to increase to 41% in 2009.

Source: The Radicati Group Inc., www.radicati.com .

One-third of participants serving a core business function—legal, CFO, CEO or corporate board member—considered ERM to be of critical importance to their business.

But efforts to implement ERM programs are still in early stages, such as creating a risk inventory and the assessment process. ERM maturity is the greatest in select industries, including financial services, energy and utilities, but the health care sector has seen rapid growth in ERM in recent years.

The report, sponsored by Oliver Wyman, a global management consultancy, is based on a survey of executives of 200 companies and is available at www.conference-board.org . For more information on the standards and responsibilities associated with ERM, see “Enterprising Views of Risk Management,” JofA , June 04, page 65.

Source: Risky Business: Is Enterprise Risk Management Losing Ground? , The Conference Board, www.conference-board.org , and Oliver Wyman, www.oliverwyman.com.