Corporate Conflicts of Interest

摘要

Aconflict of interest arises when an executive, an officeholder or even an organization encounters a situation where official action or influence has the potential to benefit private interest. Examples include the physician who has a financial interest in a diagnostic laboratory, a congressman whose spouse is a lobbyist or corporate director, or a professor with a financial interest in a particular textbook. Empire building, nepotism and all manner of influence activities offer other illustrations. Such conflict is as old as history itself, and as an historical matter, it is important to acknowledge that conflicts of interest can and do morph into financial fraud. Consider a few examples from the fairly rich gallery of rogues and abuses over recent decades.