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Trust isn't some vague concept or quaint notion. If fully embraced, it can enhance an organization's credibility and bring real results to the bottom line.
Curtis C. Verschoor, a respected champion in the field of ethics, often wrote about the alarming trend of declining trust that institutions are experiencing in many parts of the world. In the United States, for example, the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed some shocking data on changes in perceptions of trust. For example, in the U.S. between November 2016 and November 2017, the composite global trust index-a combination of trust in business, government, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and media-dropped from 68 (among the very best in the world) to 45 (last in the world). The decline of 23 points in one year was the largest single-year change in trust for any country in the history of the Edelman Trust Barometer by a factor of two times.
Undoubtedly, this precipitous decline is related to such matters as seemingly endless reports of corporate fraud, political scandal, and what some have coined "fake news." As Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, noted, "The United States is enduring an unprecedented crisis of trust....The root cause of this fall is the lack of objective facts and rational discourse."
The problem is thus much more than just an interesting subject of conversation-for Americans, it has indeed become something of a crisis of faith.
To get a clearer understanding of the trust deficit and to identify appropriate remedies for management accountants and other financial professionals, we surveyed and interviewed a number of notable and highly respected "trust" experts. We asked them about the kinds of trust issues that accounting and finance professionals will likely need to consider when managing their careers, the practical implications of these issues, and how individuals and organizations can assess and improve their own trust-building skills.
The Importance and Benefits of Trust
Research clearly indicates that trust is, in fact, inherently and absolutely essential to the proper functioning and sustainability of an organization and to individual career success. For example, Bart DeJong, Kurt Dirks, and Nicole Gillespie analyzed the findings from 112 independent studies and concluded that there's a positive relationship between the achievement of trust and high performance. (For more, see...