Business leaders form ethics organization. (Up front: news, trends & analysis).

In light of recent scandals that have plagued corporate America and revelations about morally repugnant business leaders who have laid off employees even while they have charged thousand-dollar shower curtains to the company expense account, perhaps some ethics guidelines are in order. In fact, most organizations could probably use an enterprise-wide roadmap that addresses ethics and corporate governance issues.

At least that's the thinking behind the Open Compliance & Ethics Group Project (OCEG), a newly formed coalition of some of the United States' most-recognized business and thought leaders. OCEG is comprised of industry leaders representing various corporate disciplines and intends to publish recommended standards and best practices to help U.S. businesses reduce corporate and investor risk. According to the coalition, such a universal framework to address company-wide issues, such as ethics training and financial assistance, is necessary to help businesses reduce corporate and investor risk. The foundation for this framework will address important issues such as business ethics, financial assurance, and employment practices, and has been supplied by Corpedia Education, a Web-based legal compliance training organization.

"In light of increased regulation, heightened investor scrutiny, and the changing landscape of risk, many corporations are seeking to implement ethics and compliance education programs to achieve effective corporate governance," said Ray J. Groves, co-chairman of OCEG and chief operating officer of Marsh Inc., a major risk and insurance services firm. "Yet, currently there is no universal framework that can guide organizations on how to implement such programs nor are there metrics to measure their efficacy."

The OCEG's executive advisory panel represents a cross-section of various organizations. Members include Alfred Berkeley, NASDAQ vice chairman; Richard Braddock, Priceline.com chairman; and Richard Steinberg, PricewaterhouseCoopers managing partner for corporate governance practice.

"With incidents of claims skyrocketing and management liability insurance rates doubling or tripling, compliance and ethics programs are critical and can go a long way to reduce impropriety, litigation, and future claims," said Bob Felton, managing partner for Corporate Governance Practice, McKinsey & Co.

The coalition's goals are to

* codify and standardize the way organizations approach ethics, conduct, and compliance training

* map standards to job functions and risk management tools, such as insurance products

* educate the business community about those guidelines and the benefits that flow from embracing them

* to provide a benchmark so that organizations can measure the effectiveness of compliance programs

Inside and outside counsels, compliance officers, ethics directors, training directors, vendors, and members of the risk and insurance community who are interested in participating are encouraged to contact OCEG directly to get involved. For more information, go to www.oceg.org.