Veritas indeed. Made up credential topples executive.

The CFO of Veritas is gone because he made up a Stanford MBA. I guess his mail was returned unclaimed from MIGS.

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-960619.html

 

I don't know much about how hirin at the CFO level occurs. Based on media reports, he seemed to be doing a good job and had previous experience. Would a Stanford MBA (real or otherwise) really be needed to gain the position?

http://www.cfo.com/Article?article=5213

 

It is about credibility, not credentials. Lying about having a Stanford MBA is not the same as not having one.

If an otherwise perfectly qualified candidate for a job presents an educational background that includes a degree from a diploma mill, he/she doesn't get hired. That also goes for someone making a false claim about a degree. Why would anyone hire or retain someone willing to lie like that? And can you imagine the liability incurred if that person--who never should've been hired in the first place--commits a tortious act? Woulda shoulda, coulda....

 

Does this mean that one who does not hold a Stanford MBA is prone to commit tortuous acts?

 

I think did not express myself clearly. I'll see if I can restate my question better.

Kenneth Lonchar appears to have the background and experience to have been appointed to the position of CFO even without having a Stanford MBA.

Do CFO positions typically require an MBA? He had held the CFO post at other places prior to Veritas.

I snagged the following out of the Google cache since Veritas has already removed the bio from their site.

 

Without having statistics readily available, I would offer that it is quite common for a CFO to hold an MBA or other advanced degree in that or a related area. And I would suspect that an MBA from Stanford would go a long way in securing positions in one's career, including the one he held when he was caught.

Still, whether or not the degree is required for the position, that kind of dishonesty is not consistent with holding any job, much less one of fiduciary trust.

 

According to the thread on Off-topic dicussions he also lied about his BA degree from Arizona State.

 

It would be interesting to see if any of the rst is true also. A quick search of the California & Arizona Accountancy boards did not come up with any CPA's with a last name of Lonchar. Of course he could have taken the test and passed it in some other state.

 

Apparently his undergraduate degree is from Idaho State, not Arizona State. See Veritas CFO got degree from Idaho State University.

Why pretend to have a degree from Arizona State rather than Idaho State? I think it's obvious: he was embarrassed when Kennedy-Western claimed to operate out of Idaho, and so edited his resume.

 

Actually, it's very common for CFOs to have MBA
degrees. Think about it. Their job mix includes finance, general accounting, cost accounting, controllership, credit and collections, cash management, investments, fiduciary responsibility, interface with the board's finance committee, A/P, payroll, fixed assets, internal and external audits, banking relations, treasury, regulatory compliance, and reporting. With the complexities involved within that wide scope, why wouldn't a competitive candidate aspiring to CFO positions equip himself with an MBA? I also believe that if you were to examine the CFO job specifications at most larger companies, you would find at least an explicit preference, if not an outright requirement for, the MBA or MS in Finance. You can also observe that fact by reading want ads for those positions.