Thursday, October 8, 2015

Volkswagen U.S. CEO: 3 suspended over emissions scandal

Volkswagen's top U.S. executive apologized Thursday as the emissions-rigging scandal enveloping the world's largest automaker deepened and U.S. lawmakers said the company violated the public's trust. (Oct. 8) AP

Executive tells Congress automaker will accept 'full responsibility' for emissions cheating scandal

Volkswagen U.S. CEO Michael Horn on Thursday apologized for the company's emissions scandal in testimony before a Congressional committee, pledged to fix cars and said three people in Germany have been suspended.
He said he believes the company's American workers did not know about the matter, saying "rogue" German software engineers were likely to blame. Their motivation may have been an effort to meet cost measures, he said.
Horn said for the first time that the automaker would fix the 482,000 U.S. diesel cars involved in the scandal, not buy them back from consumers, though he indicated the company is weighing compensating owners in some capacity.

But Horn could not give a timeline for repairs of 325,000 of those vehicles — the oldest models dating back to 2009 that will require hardware changes. The company is still developing a fix for those cars, but it could take years to repair them all due to the complex hardware and software changes that will be required, he said.


Fixes for the rest of the vehicles involved in the scandal could start as soon as early 2016 or mid 2016, Horn said. (Horn initially said the largest group of vehicles numbered 430,000 but the company has said he misspoke and the correct number is 325,000.)
Appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Horn testified under oath that the company would accept "full responsibility" for fitting software on diesel cars that fooled regulators into believing the vehicles were compliant with emissions regulations.
Volkswagen has acknowledged that about 11 million diesel cars worldwide — including 482,000 in the U.S. — were rigged with the so-called defeat device.
He called the situation "deeply troubling" but pushed back against accusations that Volkswagen has a pervasive culture of corruption, saying it does "not reflect the company that I know."
The cheating has exposed the German automaker to Environmental Protection Agency fines of up to $18 billion, a U.S. Justice Department criminal probe, consumer lawsuits and investigations in Europe. The cars are emitting harmful pollutants at rates of up to 40 times acceptable U.S. standards.
Several members of the committee said the violations reflect a broader problem with the auto industry in the wake of scandals at Toyota, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and supplier Takata.
"The American public are not crash-test dummies and should not be treated as such," U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, said, adding that he believes there's a "pervasive culture of corruption" in the auto industry.
Horn is facing questions from members of Congress for about two hours on Thursday morning. Two EPA officials are expected to testify in the afternoon on the agency's emissions standards and enforcement role.
Fixes to the vehicles involved in the scandal will likely preserve fuel economy ratings but "there might be a slight impact on performance," Horn said.
The automaker is temporarily banned from selling diesel cars fitted with the manipulative software until it can deliver a fix. On Thursday, the company confirmed that it will not sell 2016 diesel cars in the U.S.
Volkswagen is now subsidizing U.S. dealers to help them navigate the crisis, Horn said, calling dealer profitability his top priority.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Volkswagen must "pay a steep price" for a culture of "cheating and betrayal."
"I don't know what the penalty should be, but it should be more than a slap on the wrist," U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., ranking member of the subcommittee, pressed Horn to deliver answers.
"You haven't revealed who is responsible for this scheme," she said.
Horn, who has not been implicated in the scandal, said the company's internal investigation is ongoing. Horn said he believes no American employees knew about the matter until recently, confirming statements by Volkswagen global CEO Matthias Mueller earlier this week that the cheating originated from Germany.
"My understanding is this was not a corporate decision," Horn said. "This was something individuals did."
Horn, who has been in his current job since early 2014, is known within the auto industry for his candor and his popularity among dealers. He told the committee that he learned about a "possible emissions non-compliance" issue in spring 2014.
But he said he did not know about the manipulative software until Sept. 3, 2015, about two weeks before the EPA disclosed the matter.

Autor: Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey
Fecha: 8 de Octubre 2015




Friday, September 11, 2015

Hay más casos de fraude en las empresas y los montos cada vez son mayores




Los casos de fraude dentro de las compañías vienen en aumento. Según una encuesta realizada por la consultora BDO Argentina, casi un 79,1% de las firmas detectó algún caso. Los fraudes se incrementaron un 17,9%. Además, para este año, los ejecutivos locales esperan un aumento aún mayor, del 24,6%, motivado por las presiones financieras de quienes los cometen.
En el estudio, que se realizó este año, pero teniendo en cuenta las denuncias de 2014, participaron 402 ejecutivos de empresas y organizaciones radicadas en Argentina, con cargos de dirección, CEO, directores de auditoría, Compliance Officers y gerentes de Recursos Humanos, entre otros. La encuesta abarcó todas las industrias, pero respondieron mayormente (42%) empresas grandes (el 38% cuenta con más de mil empleados y el 16.8% factura más de 50 millones).
"En todas las empresas está ocurriendo un hecho de fraude en este momento, aunque tal vez no lo sepamos ahora o nunca lo sepamos", sintetiza Carlos Rozen, socio de BDO Argentina, a cargo del área de Fraudes, Investigaciones y Disputas, que se ocupó del relevamiento. Y enumeró los principales delitos cometidos en las empresas: malversación de fondos –efectivo y cheques- (44%), conflicto de interés (20,2%) y sobornos (7,3%). Además, entre los fraudes electrónicos el desvío de fondos fue el que más afectó a las empresas (57.1%), seguido por suplantación de identidad (19%) y acceso a información confidencial y robo de contraseñas (9,5%). Un dato significativo es que un 33,9% de los encuestados registró hasta dos casos en el año y un 13,4% detectó más de diez anuales.
La encuesta revela también que los montos de fraude fueron mayores esta vez: el 54% (contra un 17,8% de la encuesta anterior) correspondió a valores que oscilaron entre los US$ 50.000 y US$ 100.000. En cuanto a la franja mayor de US$ 500.000 presentó un alto nivel de incidentes (15%). "Resulta un dato relevante si consideramos que para fraudes por montos tan significativos, los responsables requieren atribuciones financieras amplias, compatibles con funciones de director o alta gerencia", revela Rozen.
Buenos Aires lidera el ranking, con un 42,2% de los casos, repartidos entre Capital Federal y Gran Buenos Aires, mayormente. Le siguen Tucumán (8,2%), Neuquén (7,7%) y San Luis (7,2%), seguidos por Santa Fe y Córdoba (5,2% y 4,6%, respectivamente).
En cuanto a la resolución de los conflictos, la mayoría de las organizaciones prefieren resolver los casos en forma interna, sin verse involucrada en los costos asociados a una instancia judicial o por temas reputacionales: en el 86,7% de los casos, las organizaciones decidieron no llevar el caso a la Justicia.
De los casos de fraudes realizadores durante 2014 y reportados en la encuesta, un 64% fueron cometidos por hombres de entre 41 y 50 años (70%) y un 47,6% terminaron en despidos. En cuanto a los cargos que ocupaban, el informe arroja que un 40,2% eran gerentes, seguido por socios y directores (34,8%) y empleados no jerárquicos (26,8%)

Una importante cantidad de consultados respondieron que su empresa u organización carecen de un plan de administración de riesgos de fraudes (38,8%). Sin embargo, el 70% de los encuestados cuenta al menos con los tres canales básicos para denuncias: teléfono, email y plataforma web. El 68,5% de los casos reportados fueron producto de denuncias anónimas, a través de distintas vías. "Algunas empresas han avanzado en planes de este tipo, sin embargo otras solo han implementado medidas parciales, como ser códigos de ética y canales de denuncias. "Estas medidas son necesarias pero no suficientes", subraya el especialista.


Fecha: 10/09/2015
Fuente: Diarios Clarín
Link: http://www.ieco.clarin.com/empresas-y-negocios/casos-fraude-empresas-montos-mayores_0_1428457514.html