Read the case at Answer the following questions:

 https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/video/tesco-cooks-the-books

 

1. The officers of a public company owe a fiduciary duty, a duty of trust and confidence, to the company's shareholders. What was the fiduciary duty of Tesco? How did Tesco officers breach that duty? Why do you think Tesco did this? Explain.

2. Do you think the officers were actually trying to fulfill their fiduciary duty to act in the shareholders' best interests, but doing so in a wrongful (and ultimately self-defeating) way? Why or why not?

3. If the accounting irregularities had been an honest mistake, do you think Tesco would still be liable for breaking their fiduciary duty? Why or why not?

4. As the shareholder of a public company, would you want your company's officers to fudge the numbers in order to avoid damage to the company's share price?

5. If you were one of the accountants who faced pressure by managers to "pull forward" future income, what would you have done and why?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 The fiduciary duty of Tescos officers would be to act in the best interests of the company and its ... View the full answer