Contact:
Cedric L. Bess
212-460-1495
cedric.bess@prsa.org

NEW YORK (October 26, 2004) – What's the future of responsible corporate and government management and how can we as communicators support it? Since Alan Hevesi was elected New York State Comptroller in 2002, and trustee for more than $115 billion in employee retirement plans, he has been a vocal advocate of reform and accountability in government. In addition, he has been a leader in calling for corporate transparency, most recently by joining with the California Public Employee Retirement System and other major pension funds in pressuring corporations, including Safeway, Walt Disney and Citicorp, to install more responsible boards of directors.

In a Special Issues Session on Tuesday, Oct. 26, during the PRSA 2004 International Conference, Hevesi outlined the recent corporate debacles, from Enron to WorldCom, and offered advice to the PR professionals who may have to help manage a possible financial crisis.

"The world is complex. People's impressions are sometimes false - you have to make them correct," said Hevesi. "If you are representing a company that is under assault, the best thing to do is to get out ahead of the reform. Tell your companies what they have to do, how they can minimize damage. Cut out the people or the processes that are under assault if it's wrong. If [these people or processes] are not guilty, that's a different story. But if you know there's guilt, cut it out right away, bring in people of reputation and make what you are doing clear to the world."

Hevesi, a self-admitted capitalist, "by profession and by point-of-view," decried the extent of borrowing by local, state and national government. "The biggest problem we face is debt," he said. The way out of debt is to stimulate investment.

"Every American should be involved in the market," he said, but it is crucial to guarantee that the market is kept honest with a thorough application of Sarbanes-Oxley and the tightening of SEC rules and regulations. Hevesi, following his insightful 30-minute talk, was asked his opinion of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the corporate reform bill that was passed into law on July 30, 2002. "It has a few holes in it. But it has been very effective," Hevesi said. "Generally speaking, it's an A. It has done wonders to clean up the industry."

The Session was sponsored by Ketchum. Hevesi was introduced by John Paluszek, APR, Fellow PRSA, senior counsel, Ketchum.