Payroll professionals gathering at the PayrollOrg Leaders Conference in Las Vegas were treated to a compelling keynote by Garth Sheriff, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois), CIA, CGMA, MAcc, Founder of Sheriff Consulting. Sheriff’s presentation, “Professional Ethics for Payroll: A Boeing Story,” drew on Boeing’s recent controversies to highlight the critical role payroll professionals play in upholding organizational ethics and culture.
From Blue Chip to Cautionary Tale
Sheriff opened with a personal anecdote, recalling his college days when Boeing was “just a blue-chip company. They were innovators and no drama, a really great company.” He noted how the company’s reputation for safety and quality was once “organically associated with the company,” and that “they walk the walk.” But, as Sheriff explained, Boeing’s culture underwent a dramatic shift after its merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late 1990s.
Sheriff quoted former CEO Harry Stonecipher, who said, “I changed the culture of Boeing so that it’s run like a business rather than a great engineering firm.” Sheriff warned that this shift from “engineering first” to “profits first” had far-reaching consequences, especially for those on the factory floor and in support roles like payroll.
Payroll’s Ethical Responsibility
While payroll professionals “don’t design aircrafts,” Sheriff emphasized their unique vantage point within organizations. “You are everywhere. You are doing one of the most important things inside the organization, you are giving people validation.” He explained that payroll sees both the good and the bad, and can be an early warning system for cultural problems.
Sheriff urged attendees to recognize their leadership potential: “When we work inside an organization, we play a corporate role. We get information to understand where things are maybe not going, the way the organization, the values of the organization, the values of the department, are going.” He stressed that payroll professionals are often among the first to notice when morale is low or when organizational values are being compromised.
The Cost of Silence
Sheriff’s analysis of Boeing’s 737 MAX disasters centered on the breakdown of psychological safety and open communication. He cited Harvard professor and author Dr. Amy Edmondson’s concept of psychological safety: “The ability to give our value, to share our thoughts, without specifically in our role, without feeling that we’re going to face consequences for that.”
He described how, post-merger, “engineers and the factory floor could [not] do their jobs anymore,” and that “psychological safety eroded on the inside.” Sheriff quoted congressional testimony from Boeing whistleblowers, noting, “They felt a tremendous amount of fear to bring it up about what was happening on the manufacturing floor, which is, they were taking shortcuts. They were not accepting the planes. They were moving things through production. They would never have done that pre-merger.”
Sheriff challenged payroll professionals to foster environments where “bad news travels fast,” rather than being hidden: “See it, say it, fix it. That’s the best culture to be in.”
Whistleblowing and Integrity
Sheriff addressed the importance of internal reporting systems and whistleblowers, where he highlighted the importance of psychological safety—the ability for employees to speak up about concerns without fear. Despite internal reporting systems, Sheriff said that Boeing’s culture often dismissed whistleblowers, viewing them as problematic rather than essential to accountability. Ultimately, Sheriff views whistleblowing as a sign of a healthy culture where leadership encourages openness and values truth.
Culture by Design, Not Drift
Sheriff concluded with a call to action for payroll professionals: “Culture by drift equals risk. Culture by design, however, equals trust, and to speak of culture equals health. These are critical things that you as payroll leaders in your organization bring us because ultimately you can’t out-execute a broken culture.”
He encouraged attendees to lead with integrity and promote open dialogue, reminding them, “Actions speak louder than words. You really need to make sure that integrity and values are spoken and maintained.”
Industry Insights
Sheriff’s keynote comes at a time when Boeing continues to grapple with the fallout from its 737 MAX crisis and ongoing production issues, including recent scrutiny over the safety of its 787 Dreamliner and Starliner spacecraft. The company has pledged to rebuild trust and restore its “engineering first” culture under new leadership, but as Sheriff warned, “It’s going to take a long time.”
For payroll professionals, the message was clear: ethical vigilance, psychological safety, and a willingness to speak up are essential—not just for payroll, but for the health of the entire organization.
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