It  doesn't matter if your company isn't in imminent danger of collapsing  under the weight of scandal.

Ethics and corporate responsibility are now integral parts of what shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, government and society perceives to be acceptable business practice.

Matthew Boyle summed it up nicely in Fortune, analyzing the   magazine's Most Admired Companies for 2002:

 "What qualities  will  we admire most in the years ahead? That's an easy one -- in the near term, at least.  Thanks to the Enron implosion and the subsequent rash of accounting and corporate- governance scandals, the credibility of any corporation is no longer assumed. It  must be earned. If you don't lay all your cards on the table, we'll assume you're a cheat.

 "It's not enough to have a great brand, dazzling returns, and a charming CEO. Now, more  than ever, trust is the sine qua non of reputation."