The University of West Florida College of Business Executive Mentor Program will host guest speaker Aaron Beam from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 in the College of Business, Building 76A, Room 101. Beam will discuss the dangers of unethical business practices and the ethical challenges students and others could one day face in his presentation, “Fraud, Lies, and Hermes Ties.â€
The pressure put on Beam as an accounting executive to raise the bar put him behind bars after he took part in one of the largest corporate fraud schemes in the U.S. From 1984 to 1996, Beam, the co-founder and first chief financial officer of HealthSouth, helped land his company on the Fortune500 list. In 1996, earnings declined and the former CFO took part in an $2.5 billion accounting fraud scandal. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to the crime and spent a short time in federal prison for approving fraudulent quarterly numbers in the scandal. In his recently published book, “Ethics Playbook: Winning Ethically in Business,†Beam helps others understand the importance recognizing ethical boundaries in business and the value of doing the right thing.
The presentation is free and open to the public. A drawing will be held to win a copy of Beam’s “Ethics Playbook.†The winner must be present. Free lunch is provided to those who RSVP to the event online.
To RSVP or for more information, visit uwf.edu/executivementor or contact the Executive Mentor Program at executivementor@uwf.edu or 850.474.3239.