Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hey Toyota, I hate to say "I told you so..."



Today, a headline screamed -  Toyota reports a 28-percent plunge in profit.

It reminds me of an entry I made to this blog back in February  - Toyota production down - no kidding.

There are far more numbers-oriented analyses available out there that may explain this story with much more detail. But one thing in the recent article that jumps out at me is the following statement: "Koji Endo, auto analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo, said the troubles at Toyota in maintaining profits and vehicle sales were worse than it looked on the surface because of what he characterized as some bookkeeping stunts that were boosting the numbers." Inordinate focusing on sales at the cost of integrity or just plain good-faith business practices is a harbinger of woe - if they cut corners on the reporting or the books, might they also cut corners on quality, fit and finish, value...?