There is a corporate entity out there, vast and powerful, big enough to dictate the terms of any contract it enters into, it spends money like water yet it provides lavish perks for its executives and its board while, at the same time, being underfunded to the extent that it has been running so deeply in the red for so long that it has been essentially bankrupt for ages. The only reason it has survived this long is that its influence with consumers is very great, and it has its hands in so many aspects of business and personal life that it is, essentially, too big to fail.

However, even with that its days seem more and more to be numbered. You see, while the uneducated consumer is this outfit’s best friend, especially in their support for the new CEO, many of the dirty tricks that have kept its consumer base strong over the last thirty years are now being noticed. Here are some highlights:

·        Payroll data to the shareholders have been manipulated to look better than they actually are.
Production figures are doctored to provide statistics helpful to the executives.

·        Operating shortfalls are mitigated or hidden altogether by cleaver accounting gimmicks.

·        Dishonest price policies to make consumers believe that products are not nearly as expensive as they really are.
Data regarding layoffs are manipulated for the benefit of the executives.

·        Data regarding pensions and healthcare spending are not reported on the general budget to improve the figures.

·        It pays current dividends to eligible shareholders with current revenues, which it has traditionally been forbidden to do.

As of right now, this organization has obligations that exceed five times the amount that it produces and it is about to launch a major expansion against the will of the majority of the shareholders, a move being pushed through by the new CEO and his executive board even though the theory it is based on is questionable and flies in the face of experience. More than that, a major portion of its business appears to be, in all but name, a Madoff-style pyramid scheme.

You are a business owner. What would you do to clean up this mess? What is the bottom line here?