Unless companies move away from a slavish devotion to the pursuit of profit and learn to act in the interests of the communities that sustain them, the Steinhoff collapse won’t be the last corporate disaster. Investors are still reeling from the dramatic decline of Steinhoff International, which by December 9 had lost 90% of its value as a result of concerns over accounting irregularities and possible fraud at the furniture and household goods retailer. The Steinhoff story is yet another in a string of corporate meltdowns caused by unethical — or even downright criminal — behaviour, locally and abroad. Whether it is questionable contracts, lack of due diligence in the detection of fraud, inflated payments to individuals or failing to publicise that their customers’ data has been hacked, it appears there is no shortage of companies doing whatever they can to serve their profit-driven interests, no matter how much damage it does to society. According to Charles Wookey, CEO and co-foun...
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