Cultured Crime of Obedience and Fraudulent Financial Reporting in the Time of Crisis

Abstract

Motivated by "inability thesis," this chapter examines the role of culture and human behavior in the context of Fraudulent financial reporting. Our study shows how the culture was used and abused in an environment where ethical decisions were replaced with the need to portray "business as usual" when in fact, the corporation was collapsing. In Toshiba's case, the top management institutionalized various inappropriate accounting treatments directly and indirectly through their subordinates' understanding (and/or misunderstanding) of what was expected of them, the crime of obedience. The findings suggest that the unspoken language of group mode behavior expedites the instinct for survival. Though cultural limitation and cultural upbringing do not exempt individuals from their responsibilities, the understanding of how the "local" managers place cultural importance in decision-making could offer the "international" managers culturally attuned strategies in managing global corporations, especially in the time of crisis.