CEOs and Trump
Yesterday, I wrote about Mark Weinberger, EY’s Global CEO, and that he should resign from President Trump’s Strategic and Advisory Council. Since I wrote that post, two more CEOs — Under Armour’s Kevin Plank and Intel’s Brian Krzanich — resigned from the manufacturing council, the same one that Merck’s Ken Frazier left in the wake of the president’s timid condemnation of the white supremacists’ march in Charlottesville, Va.
But most CEOs on both of the advisory councils are staying quiet, and DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote about why that is:
Mr. Trump’s vitriol against Mr. Frazier and Merck — a company that depends on the government as a buyer for many of its drugs — will perhaps have an even greater chilling effect on other C.E.O.s who may consider speaking out. (The potential for economic retribution against Merck also demonstrates just how brave Mr. Frazier was in taking a stand.)
When I asked one chief executive Monday morning why he had remained publicly silent, he told me: “Just look at what he did to Ken. I’m not sticking my head up.” Which, of course, is the reason he said I could not quote him by name.
Other CEOs feel that they can have a positive impact on Trump by remaining on these councils. I expressed my doubt about this because POTUS isn’t interested in listening to other people’s ideas if they don’t benefit him. He loves having these powerful business leaders near him, but he couldn’t care less what they have to say because his whole philosophy for governing is “I’m the President and you’re not.”
Most business leaders are willing to accept that, Sorkin writes, because “they’re desperate to keep a line open to the president even if it is only one-way.”
A font only an accountant could love
Some Going Concern readers may remember a spirited discussion a few years back about which font to use for workpapers. With that in mind, this recent Journal of Accountancy column discusses a topic that will be near and dear to some of you:
A reader responding to the April 2017 Technology Q&A item “What Fonts Work Best in Excel?,” suggested that I should have recommended a skinnier font than Calibri to save ink and money. As the reader points out, Microsoft also offers a skinnier version of Calibri called Calibri Light that can save money.
The author even cites a 2010 study from the University of Wisconsin — Green Bay that found the school could save $30k “by switching from the Arial font to the Century Gothic font to meet its printing needs.” In some firms, this kind of information could be enough to get you promoted.
Previously, on Going Concern…
Weinberger, supra. We also welcomed the new Grant Thornton partners. In Open Items: “Does anyone have any advice for breaking into a manager role?”
In other news:
- Wells Fargo Shows Erosion of Corporate Accountability Under Trump
- Costco made $3.7 million selling ‘Tiffany’ rings. Now it must pay $19 million to the real Tiffany.
- Microsoft ordered to let third parties scrape LinkedIn data
- Drink to your health? It depends on how much drinking you do, study shows
- “Town officials, however, say mixing livestock and meditative exercise is not allowed and have ordered farm owners to stop the sessions. “
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