July 1, 2021
On May 26, 2021, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Mustafa Üç hosted for a second time an online discussion with students of “Auditing” master class about Ethics and Fraud at HealthSouth, featuring Aaron Beam. Mr. Beam was the first CFO at Healthsouth Corp., and as a co-founder witnessed first-hand the series of accounting, stock manipulation and leadership failures that led Healthsouth to the $2B securities fraud scandal and ultimate prosecutions of Richard Scrushy. He relates to students and professionals the heights of success, followed by the unethical and illegal mistakes that led to his professional downfall.
Serving three months in federal prison for his role in approving fraudulent quarterly numbers in 1996 and losing his CPA credentials, led Mr. Beam to his current speaking career, trying to make a positive difference by educating others about the pitfalls of unethical business practices. Through his Ethics First message he identifies early warning signs, influences and the bad choices he and others made at Healthsouth, allowing the audience to apply what they learn to their business practices and the organization’s culture and environment. Students were encouraged to never fall for the idea that the behavior will only happen once.
It was a valuable experience for all our Master students. Mr. Beam openly and honestly answered all the questions that they had. He expressed and showed them the importance of putting business ethics first and knowing how to deal with ethical dangers in the workplace.
We thank him for the time and the valuable lessons that he shared with us, and we look forward to meeting him in person next year in the premises of our university.
"We have an easier time being ethical when we are given frequent reminders to do so.”
“Being ethical builds trust.”
-- Aaron Beam, former HealthSouth CFO
