Weston Smith often speaks, challenges and motivates groups “to simply do the right thing.”
Smith, former CFO of HealthSouth, will be presenting “Crossing the Line – An Insider’s Perspective of the HealthSouth Fraud” at East Central University’s 26th Annual Parker Ethics Lecture Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in ECU Foundation Hall at the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center.
The public is invited to the dinner and lecture at $15 per seat. Those interested may register at 580-559-5274 by Friday, Oct. 9
A renowned speaker on ethics and integrity within business, Smith is passionate about teaching others the fruits of living and working responsibly and the consequences of unethical conduct. He was once CFO of the Fortune 500 Company HealthSouth Corporation, which over a dozen years became a Wall Street darling as it grew from one location to over 2,000 in all 50 states.
However, underneath the glimmering corporate office, fleet of corporate jets and “consistent” earnings reports was a multi-year, multi-million dollar financial statement fraud. Weston voluntarily came forward and exposed the fraud and accepted responsibility for his own actions.
Weston speaks frequently to universities and professional groups, describing the culture of the company and the mechanics of the fraud and how detection was avoided. More importantly, Weston challenges and motivates the groups through his speeches “to simply do the right thing.”
He is a regular contributor to researchers of corporate fraud and has been featured on CNBC and Fox Business Network with Neil Cavuto.
Smith’s lecture is being provided by the NASBA Center for Public Trust (CPT), which exists to provide a platform for corporate America and the accounting professions to explore, promote and advance ethical practices in organization. The CPT also acts as mechanism to link the theoretical aspect of ethics to the practical aspect in professional activities.
The Oscar L. Parker Center for the Advancement of Ethical Standards in Business and Society was established in late 1988 as a fitting and lasting memorial to Parker, a highly-respected educator, businessman, college administrator and civic leader in Ada as well as being an active supporter and longtime employee of ECU.
The mission of the Parker Center is to be an accessible resource on ethics for business and society, promote ethics education and ethical behavior and foster discussion on ethics and ethical issue. The vision of the center is a world where sound ethical principles guide the decisions and actions of people in business, government and society.
NASBA, an organization dedicated to the enhancement of the regulation of accountancy, is uniquely qualified to house such an ethics center. Many state boards of accountancy require the passing of an ethics examination or the completion of ethics courses prior to licensure. The CPT takes the next step in the process, linking of the theoretical to practical.
ECU’s Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business has over 500 students majoring in accounting and business administration. The school provides a high-quality student-focused learning environment delivered to students by a dedicated team of well-qualified faculty members. The mission of the Stonecipher School of Business is to deliver a quality business education focused on a student-centered learning environment to develop business professionals in the state of Oklahoma and beyond.
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