The Business Ethics Program at University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business Administration hosted its inaugural “Beyond the Bottom Line” Luncheon with more than 90 guests from the business community on February 19 in the Wick Alumni Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Mark Whitacre, Fortune 500 executive turned FBI informant in the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) price-fixing scandal.

Whitacre’s story was the inspiration for the film “The Informant” with his role played by Matt Damon.  His talk, entitled “When Good Leaders Lose their Way,” was followed by a lively question and answer session.

Janice Lawrence, professor of ethics and director of the business ethics program, said, “These luncheons are planned to provide interaction among the business community, the faculty and CBA student leaders on ethical issues relevant to the workplace.These luncheons also provide free ethics Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for CPAs.”

Whitacre spoke in the afternoon to an audience of approximately 2,000 CBA students at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on the importance of making the right decisions. The afternoon presentation was part of the annual CBA Business Ethics Program’s Spring Ethics Day Lecture. The speaker for both events was sponsored by the Lincoln CBMC.

The second “Beyond the Bottom Line” Luncheon will be held on April 25 at the Embassy Suites. The speaker will be former Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant James L. Kroeker. His talk will be entitled “The Role of Transparency in Allocation of Capital.”  Published: April 19, 2013