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Are auditors worth it?

Talking about enforcing the system, I’m reading the Financial Reporting Council’s annual report about auditors of banks. Yes, I am that sad. The report notes that, across the UK’s seven biggest auditing firms, almost 30% of all bookkeeping was below par. It makes you wonder how they get away with it. What interests me here…

Imagine if business was driven by ESG

I’ve written so much that you would think there was nothing more to write. But there always is. One thing about all I’ve written that is consistent is leadership. What seems to be annoying me the most is a lack of leadership or, rather, a lack of the right leadership. Usually my conversation about leadership…

HSBC? Helping Suckers Become Castaways?

I love the Darwin Awards. For those who are unfamiliar – is anyone not aware of these awards? – they are given to those who remove themselves from the gene pool in the funniest or stupidest manner. My faves include the guy who launched himself in a chair attached to a host of helium balloons,…

Rebel with a cause

I’ve grown up angry. Angry with the system, angry with the world, angry with the way things work, angry with me. Not great, huh? I need some anger management. I meet people who are laid back, who are relaxed, who are chilled. That’s not me. I’m a troublemaker. A fire starter. Thing is that I…

If you woke up without a goal, go back to sleep

When I was growing up, my parents drilled into me a number of key reasons to live: get a good job, build wealth, buy a house, get married and have kids. They also made it clear I should not cheat – should not cheat on my partner or employer; should not steal or back-stab; should…

With Great Power Comes Great Wealth

I grew up as a fan-boy of all things Marvel, and have been delighted with the way the Marvel Universe has panned out for next generations. In particular, Spider-Man has always been a highlight, and I regularly use one of the lines from these comic books: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. Attributed as a…

Greenwashing the system: which banks are worst?

Worried I’m becoming a tree-hugger as this blog seems to return to how banks put profits before people more and more often. Nevertheless, here are the facts: Banks have invested $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November 2016  … Which banks? JP Morgan Chase & Co Worst…

Today is Money Rebellion Day

The climate activists of Extinction Rebellion expanded recently into a Money Rebellion, as I blogged about last Friday. Targetting the banks that pollute the planet – specifically Barclays and HSBC in the UK – they will hold a range of protests today, gluing themselves with locks to the entrance to bank branches and disrupting the…

Are most ESG efforts just PR stunts?

I wrote two years ago about the BS that Blackrock talk about the climate. I mentioned this issue again in my update on the Money Rebellion last week and what really makes me angry is that  financial firms like Blackrock sign up to global agreements to protect the environment, and create a load of PR…

Rebel, Rebel, you tore your notes; hot world, I need your votes

Money Rebellion I’m finding the world a bit surreal – is it just me? Locked down for a year; totalitarian states; governments attacking people; governments killing people; black lives matter; wars rising; tensions rising; demonstrations on the streets; no concerts, entertainment or hospitality … the list goes on. Meantime, there are basic issues that still…

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