Imagine working at a large company like Exxon Mobil and being told that an audit was underway. Managers would be busy justifying spending and personnel and how they were enabling the company to prosper.

If the auditor found that someone had deliberately hidden or misclassified expenditures for personal gain or ideological reasons, company lawyers would not call it merely “waste” or “mismanagement.”

They would call it “theft” or perhaps “embezzlement,” and they would call the authorities.… Continue Reading