User:MainlyTwelve/Criticism of McKinsey & Company

• Criticism of McKinsey & Company
• Criticism and scandals involving McKinsey & Company

Scandals and criticism

McKinsey's fingerprints can be found at the scene of some of the most spectacular corporate and financial debacles of recent decades.

— Ben Chu, The Independent (2014)

Defenders of McKinsey claim that the firm merely advises, and is not a decision-maker.

Nevertheless, since the end of the 20th century, McKinsey has been either directly involved in, or closely associated with, a number of notable scandals. Reuters describes these incidents as indicating "not bad apples, [but] a culture of corruption".

Role in corporate accounting scandals

Enron

Main article: Enron scandal

Enron was the creation of Jeff Skilling, a McKinsey consultant of 21 years, who was jailed after the company collapsed. McKinsey reportedly "fully endorsed the dubious accounting methods that caused the company to implode in 2001." Enron reportedly used McKinsey on 20 different projects, and McKinsey consultants had "used Enron as their sandbox."

McKinsey denied giving Enron advice on financing issues or having suspicions that Enron was using improper accounting methods.

Valeant

The most recent case of indirect involvement concerns Valeant, a Canadian pharmaceutical company investigated by the SEC. Valeant has been alleged of improper accounting, and that it used predatory price hikes to boost growth. The Financial Times states that 'Valeant's downfall is not exactly McKinsey's fault but its fingerprints are everywhere.' Three out of six senior executives were recent ex-McKinsey employees, as well as the chair of the 'talent and compensation' committee.

Controversial clients and association with authoritarian regimes

Role in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

McKinsey stopped working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after it was disclosed that the firm had done more than $20 million in consulting work for the agency. A managing partner said the contract, not widely known within the company until The New York Times reported it, had "rightly raised" concerns.

Role in Saudi clampdown on dissidents

In October 2018, in the wake of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and journalist, The New York Times reported that McKinsey had identified the most prominent Saudi dissidents on Twitter and that the Saudi government subsequently repressed the dissidents and their families. One of the dissidents was arrested. Another dissident's family members were arrested, and the cell phone of the dissident was hacked. McKinsey issued a statement, saying "We are horrified by the possibility, however remote, that [the report] could have been misused. We have seen no evidence to suggest that it was misused, but we are urgently investigating how and with whom the document was shared." In December 2018, The New York Times reported that "the kingdom is a such a vital client for the firm — the source of nearly 600 projects from 2011 to 2016 alone — that McKinsey chose to participate in a major Saudi investment conference in October 2018 even after the killing and dismemberment of a Washington Post columnist by Saudi agents."

Support of authoritarian regimes

McKinsey's business and policy support for authoritarian regimes came under scrutiny in December 2018, in the wake of a lavish company retreat in China held adjacent to Chinese government internment camps where thousands of Uyghurs were being detained without cause. In the preceding few years, McKinsey's clients included Saudi Arabia's absolute monarchy, Turkey's autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ousted former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, and several Chinese and Russian companies under sanctions.

Conflicts of interest and insider trading

Conflicts of interest between McKinsey and MIO partners

In February 2019, the New York Times ran a series of articles about McKinsey and the in-house hedge fund it operates - McKinsey Investment Office, or MIO Partners. The articles claimed that there was "potential for undisclosed conflicts of interest between the fund’s investments and the advice the firm sells to clients", since the hedge fund could benefit from the inside knowledge obtained through management consulting services.

The company responded that "MIO and McKinsey employ separate staffs. MIO staff have no nonpublic knowledge of McKinsey clients. For the vast majority of assets under management, decisions about specific investments are made by third-party managers".

Galleon insider trading scandal

See also: Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar

Former McKinsey senior executives, Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar, were among those convicted in a government investigation into insider trading for sharing inside information with Galleon Group hedge fund owner Raj Rajaratnam. Though McKinsey was not accused of any wrongdoing, the convictions were embarrassing for the firm, since it prides itself for integrity and client confidentiality. Following the initial allegations McKinsey no longer maintains a relationship with either senior partner, though the manner in which it severed ties attracted controversy.

Senior partner Anil Kumar, described as Gupta's protégé, left the firm after the allegations in 2009 and pleaded guilty in January 2010. While he and other partners had been pitching McKinsey's consulting services to the Galleon Group, Kumar and Rajaratnam reached a private consulting agreement, violating McKinsey's policies on confidentiality. Gupta was convicted in June 2012 of four counts of conspiracy and securities fraud, and acquitted on two counts. In October 2011, he was arrested by the FBI on criminal charges of sharing insider information from these confidential board meetings with Rajaratnam. At least twice, Gupta used a McKinsey phone to call Rajaratnam and retained other perks — an office, assistant, and $6 million retirement salary that year — as a senior partner emeritus.

After the scandal McKinsey instituted new policies and procedures to discourage future indiscretions from consultants, including investigating other partners' ties to Gupta.

Other scandals

Ongoing South African corruption scandal

The Gupta family (no relation to Rajat Gupta) had strategically placed corrupted individuals in various South African government, utilities and infrastructure sectors. It is alleged that McKinsey was complicit in this corruption by using the Guptas to obtain consulting contracts from certain state-owned enterprises, including Eskom and Transnet. Working with Trillian Capital Partners (a consultancy which was owned by a Gupta associate), they provided services to the value of R1 billion ($75 million) annually. Trillian was paid a commission for facilitating the business for McKinsey. McKinsey hired law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to carry out an internal investigation over the allegations.

McKinsey's then Managing Partner, Dominic Barton issued a statement, following an internal investigation, in which the firm "admitted that it found violations of its professional standards but denied any acts of bribery, corruption, and payments to Trillian."

In September 2017, the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition political party, laid charges (Case Number: CAS 1156/9/2017) of fraud, racketeering and collusion against McKinsey in terms of Section 21 of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (Act 12 of 2004). The party alleged that McKinsey ignored red flags from senior South African staff members that deals between Trillian, Eskom and other Gupta-linked companies were not above board. The party said that McKinsey seems to have ignored these warnings as the profits were far too lucrative for McKinsey to pass up. Corruption Watch, a South African non-governmental organisation, also filed a complaint about the controversial contract to the US Department of Justice, alleging that there was a criminal conspiracy between McKinsey, Trillian and Eskom in contravention of US and South African law. It was revealed in January 2018 that criminal complaints were filed against McKinsey & Company by the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. South African prosecutors confirmed that they would enforce the seizing of assets from McKinsey.

South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority concluded in early 2018 that the payments to McKinsey and its local business partner, Trillian, were illegal, involving crimes such as fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering. McKinsey had subsequently been in discussion with Eskom and the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit to agree on a transparent, legally appropriate process for returning the R1-billion (US$74m) it had been paid - it was confirmed on 6 July 2018 that this had been concluded. Eskom confirmed it received R99.5 million in interest from McKinsey on July 23, 2018. The interest payment covers the two years since McKinsey was paid almost R1-billion in 2016.

The repayment of the near R1-billion illegal fee was not universally well received by South Africans. McKinsey continued to receive negative coverage in South Africa's business press with Sikonathi Mantshantsha, deputy editor of South Africa's Financial Mail magazine writing in an open letter to Mckinsey that "...I find it rich — too rich, in fact — for McKinsey to lecture anyone about the truth, principles and fairness. Let me tell you that the highest standards of ethics, truth and fairness begin with never taking that which does not belong to you in the first place. The second is to not pretend you are helping a client when you clearly are not. The third point is to acknowledge, however hard that may be, when you have done all and any of the above." This was in response to an unpublished email from Mckinsey which Mantshantsha described as making the "baseless and arrogant claim about there being no evidence presented to support the accusations of unethical conduct — possibly also thieving and corruption — that has financially crippled not only SA's electricity provider Eskom, but also the rail and pipeline firm Transnet. And possibly others." Mantshantsha went on to say "as is now common cause, McKinsey has readily admitted that there is no legal basis on which to hold on to the funds."

Information relating to allegedly corrupt practices by McKinsey at Transnet in 2011 and 2012 came to light in late July 2018. The weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper reported that a "...new forensic treasury report shows how controversial former Transnet and Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh enjoyed overseas trips at the expense of international consulting firm McKinsey, which scored multi-billion rand contracts at the state owned entities." The "...report reiterates treasury's recommendations that Singh's conduct with regards to McKinsey should be referred to the elite crime-fighting unit, the Hawks, for investigations under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca). Under Precca, Singh would be investigated for allegations of corruption as the overseas trips alone constitute a form of gratification, which is illegal." The Sunday City Press reported that the forensic report in turn reported that "multinational advisory firm McKinsey paid for Singh to go on lavish international trips to Dubai, Russia, Germany and the UK, after which their contract with Transnet was massively extended.". Mckinsey issued a statement that the allegations were incorrect. Mckinsey stated that "based on an extensive review encompassing interviews, email records and expense documents, our understanding is that McKinsey did not pay for Mr. Singh's airfare and hotel lodgings in connection with the CFO Forum and the meetings that took place around the CFO Forum in London and elsewhere in 2012 and 2013."

In early August 2018 McKinsey admitted to helping Transnet Group Chief Executive Siyabonga Gama prepare a part of his thesis to obtain an MBA degree from TRIUM, a collaborative MBA programme jointly run by the NYU Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and Political Science and HEC School of Management. Several researchers at McKinsey's Johannesburg office were assigned to help outline and prepare Gama's submission to a joint thesis to which he had to contribute at least two chapters. Despite multiple earlier denials that any corrupt activities had been discovered, a McKinsey's spokesperson said "... we believe this matter passed the threshold of reasonable suspicion that an offence may have occurred under South African law. As such, we reported it last year to relevant authorities under Section 34(1) of Precca.". The TRIUM Global EMBA official twitter account was reported to have tweeted that "We have been made aware of recent allegations about academic integrity involving a TRIUM alumnus. TRIUM and its three Alliance Schools ... take academic integrity issues very seriously."

2018 Racketeering Lawsuit

As of May 2018, the restructuring practice of McKinsey is being sued by a competitor claiming the company knowingly mislead courts in order to land clients. The company indeed disclose an average of only five potential conflicts per case, whereas other professional-services firms divulged, on average, 171 connections. In most cases it disclosed no conflicts at all.

Role in Trinidad and Tobago-Petrotrin

Reports presented in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament indicated McKinsey provided consulting recommendations to the amount of 66 million dollars in total. The Petrotrin Refinery is set to close on November 30th 2018. (Reference: TT Parliament Hansard).

Environmental consulting

Marginal abatement cost curves attempt to compare the financial costs of different options for reducing pollution in a region and are used in emissions trading, policy discussions and incentive programs. McKinsey & Company released its first marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve for greenhouse gas emissions in February 2007, which was updated to version two in January 2009. McKinsey & Company's MAC curve has become the most widely used and is the basis for McKinsey's consulting on climate change and sustainability.

McKinsey's curve predicts negative cost abatement strategies, which has been controversial among economists. The International Association for Energy Economics said in The Energy Journal that McKinsey's cost-curve was popular among policymakers, because it suggests they can take "bold action towards improving energy efficiency without imposing costs on society."

In a 2010 report, the Rainforest Foundation UK said McKinsey's cost curve methodology was misleading for policy decisions regarding the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program. The report argued that McKinsey's calculations exclude certain implementation and governance costs, which makes it favor industrial uses of forests while discouraging subsistence projects. Greenpeace said the curve has allowed Indonesia and Guyana to win financial incentives from the United Nations by creating inflated estimates of current deforestation so they could demonstrate reductions in comparison. McKinsey said they had made it clear in the cost-curve publications that cost curves do not translate "mechanically" into policy implications and that policymakers should consider "many other factors" before introducing new laws.

2008 financial crisis

Main article: Financial crisis of 2007–2008

McKinsey is said to have played a significant role in the 2008 financial crisis by promoting the securitization of mortgage assets and encouraged the banks to fund their balance sheets with debt, driving up risk, which 'poisoned the global financial system and precipitated the 2008 credit meltdown'. Furthermore, McKinsey advised Allstate Insurance to purposefully give low offers to claimants. The Huffington Post revealed that the strategy was to make claims "so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients." Next to this, 2016 McKinsey partner Navdeep Arora was convicted for illegally depleting State Farm of over $500,000 over a period of 8 years, in collaboration with a State Farm employee.

Criticism of practices

Expansion of executive pay

• arch patton

Research

• https://www.wsj.com/articles/mckinsey-is-big-in-bankruptcyand-highly-secretive-1524847720

• Texan suit re: Colorado mining company

• https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/02/mckinsey-company-capitals-willing-executioners

• MCKINSEY & COMPANY: CAPITAL’S WILLING EXECUTIONERS

• https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/05/saudi-arabia-aramco-salman-mckinsey-privatization

• influence in ME/gulf

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2018/12/18/how-mckinsey-co-fails-as-a-global-leader/#69256ae6376d

• How McKinsey & Co. Fails As A Global Leader

• https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/world/africa/mckinsey-south-africa-eskom.html

• How McKinsey Lost Its Way in South Africa

• https://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-global-consulting-giant-mckinsey-evil-2013-09-25

• Is global consulting giant McKinsey evil?

• http://business.time.com/2013/09/10/mass-layoffs-overpaid-ceos-blame-mckinsey/

• Mass Layoffs? Overpaid CEOs? Blame McKinsey!

• https://www.ft.com/content/ecfcaf46-34bc-11e7-99bd-13beb0903fa3

• The curse of the consultants is spreading fast

• https://qz.com/work/1325101/mckinsey-company-employees-forced-the-company-to-stop-working-with-ice/

• McKinsey & Co. will no longer work with ICE

• https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/mckinseys-work-for-saudi-arabia-highlights-its-history-of-unsavory-entanglements

• McKinsey’s Work for Saudi Arabia Highlights its History of Unsavory Entanglements

• https://ahvalnews.com/turkeys-economy/critics-warn-akp-has-handed-turkish-economic-secrets-us-consultancy-firm-mckinsey

• Critics warn AKP has handed Turkish economic secrets to U.S. consultancy firm McKinsey

• https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1dldlnb6wvx7f/The-Man-Who-Would-Take-Down-McKinsey

• The Man Who Would Take Down McKinsey

• https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china-russia.html

• How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments

• https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/in-a-new-book-mckinsey-co-isnt-all-roses/

• McKinsey & Co. Isn’t All Roses in a New Book

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/mckinsey-how-does-it-always-get-away-with-it-9113484.html

• McKinsey: How does it always get away with it?

• warren buffett article (FT?)

• https://ritholtz.com/2011/03/is-mckinsey-co-the-root-of-all-evil/

• this might fail nota

• Book: Dangerous Company: Management Consultants and the Businesses They Save and Ruin

• Book: The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business

• Book: House of Lies
• https://observer.com/2013/08/the-godfather-of-ceo-megapay-mckinsey-consultant-arch-patton-didnt-invent-wealth-inequality/

• arch patton 1

• https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/30/nyregion/arch-patton-88-devised-first-survey-of-top-executives-pay.html

• arch patton 2 [he has expressed contrition]

• https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-and-the-ceo-pay-gap-2013-8

• arch patton 3

With the advice of a major consulting firm, a large metropolitan public television station switched from a functional design to a multidivisional structure. The sta- tions' executives were skeptical that the new structure was more efficient; in fact, some ser- vices were now duplicated across divisions. But they were convinced that the new design would carry a powerful message to the for- profit firms with whom the station regularly dealt. These firms, whether in the role of cor- porate underwriters or as potential partners in joint ventures, would view the reorganization as a sign that "the sleepy nonprofit station was becoming more business-minded" (Powell, forthcoming). The history of management re- form in American government agencies, which are noted for their goal ambiguity, is almost a textbook case of isomorphic model- ing, from the PPPB of the McNamara era to the zero-based budgeting of the Carter administra- tion.

1. . mimetic isomorphism (internationally, and in different fields) (FT article, “curse of consultants”)
2. . Executive pay (under “siding with management”)
3. . Steals all the good kids?? From undergrad??
4. . Puerto Rico (no coverage at the moment??)
5. . McKinsey’s Work for Saudi Arabia Highlights its History of Unsavory Entanglement Sheelah Kolhatkar (TNY)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mckinsey-is-big-in-bankruptcyand-highly-secretive-1524847720 (Paywalled)