Editorial
I have made many mistakes over the years. I am very human.
But the one that I consider my greatest was at Solectron, where the situation as I joined was far more fluid than I had been told.
During the interview process for the vice president of internal audit, I met with many people. They included the CFO, Corporate Controller, VP Tax, VP Treasurer, and the CEO as well as the chair of the audit committee. I liked them all and the interviews were excellent.
The CEO, Ko, was very welcoming and we had a wide-ranging conversation — it was less an interview than a discussion of many topics. He told me stories, and I listened and learned from this dynamic individual who had taken the company to great heights. It not only dominated the industry (contract electronics manufacturing) but had won two Malcolm Baldrige awards for quality.
Ko told me that I could stop by anytime and lent me a book to read.
As you might expect, the position was to report functionally to the chair of the audit committee and administratively to the CFO — a woman I liked and respected.
But things changed even as the interviews were proceeding.
The day that I joined, I found out that the CFO had delegated my reporting to one of his direct reports. Within a week, during which I saw neither the CFO nor her delegate, I heard that the CFO had been moved into a new role overseeing mergers and acquisitions. A new CFO was to be appointed.
I met him the next week and received a shock. He instructed me that I did not report to the audit committee, but to him alone. Later, the audit committee chair told me he was not going to dispute that change.
I stayed with the job, although I did start looking without success.
The next shoe to drop was the termination of the CEO.
My boss, the new CFO, told me that I was forbidden to talk to the new CEO. and could only talk to him. He would discuss anything with the CEO.
That is when I made my mistake. I should have insisted on access to the CEO. I have no idea whether he would have tried to fire me (probably), but I should not have given in so easily. (Again, the audit committee chair was of no use.)
Did it hurt? Probably, as I never had a good relationship with the CFO. He never interfered with my audit process or reporting, but when I had a serious issue to discuss with the board he refused to allow me to meet first with the CEO.
I can only speculate that if I had met with the CEO (apart from the few times I ran into him and exchanged a few words), things might have changed.
In my other positions, I not only had free access to the CEO but built a solid relationship with him – to the point that I maintained contact with them after I left those companies.
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Why am I sharing this story? It’s to make sure others don’t repeat my mistake.
Get to know the CEO. They can be a great source of insight that will help you in audit planning and reporting. They can also help you in other situations within the enterprise.
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