Ethics and Compliance Paper
FIN/370
June 18, 2012

Introduction
Ethics and compliance play an important role in a company’s financial environment. In large corporations, such as Wal-Mart, who employ 2.1 million employees worldwide and 9029 retail units fewer than 60 different banners in 15 different countries is a prime example of how ethics and compliance practices are used effectively (Walmartstores.com) (2011). An assessment of the role ethics and compliance plays in Wal-Mart's financial environment along with procedures Wal-Mart has in place to ensure ethical behavior will be examined and discussed in this paper. Also covered in this paper: An explanation of how financial markets work in the United States and identifying the processes Wal-Mart uses to comply with SEC regulations, and an evaluation of Wal-Mart’s financial performance during the past two years using financial ratios and the trend each ratio tells about the financial health of the company.
Assess the role of ethics and compliance in your organization’s financial environment The role of ethics and compliance in Wal-Mart’s financial environment is founded on the three Basic Beliefs set forth by Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart). The three Basic Beliefs as stated in Wal-Mart’s ethics statement are: Respect for the individual, Service to our customers and striving for excellence (Wal-Mart, n.d.). The open door communications process is another role of ethics and compliance in Wal-Mart’s financial environment. The open door communications process according to "Wal-Mart-Statement of Ethics", (n.d.) the open door communication process “is the most direct way to voice any concern to a manager”. For example, if an employee’s immediate supervisor or manager is involved in an ethical or compliance issue, that employee can discuss the issue with the next level of management who is not involved.