????高盛（Goldman Sachs）上周宣布更換CFO，而即將卸任的CFO戴維?維尼亞將加入董事會。

????如此一來，高盛董事會中的高管成員將上升至3人，這對于一家大型上市公司來說實屬罕見。現今大多數上市公司的董事會都只有一位高管，那就是CEO，而剩余的董事應該獨立于管理層。

????高盛這種情況應該拉響警鐘了。管理層掌握了三個投票權，董事會原本就已經很虛弱的監督職能是否會積重難返？

????但這已經不再重要。宣布哈維?施瓦茨升任CFO的電話會議上，根本就沒人擔憂董事會的構成情況。分析人士沒有質問董事會中管理層比例過高的現象，即使公司宣稱要改組董事會，也沒有誰去過問。

????實際上在分析師提問時，人們甚至可以感覺到溫和、贊揚（乃至）奉承的基調。當然，里昂證券（CSLA）分析師邁克?梅奧提到高盛股價低迷，同時還質疑了施瓦茨的銷售背景和處理風險的能力；而桑德勒?奧尼爾投資銀行（Sandler O'Neill）的杰弗里?哈特認為施瓦茨缺乏傳統的CFO技能。但除了這些評論之外，分析師們普遍表現出來的溫和友好恰恰證明了他們自身缺乏獨立性。野村證券（Normura）分析師格倫?肖爾的開場白居然是感謝維尼亞“對我們的不吝教誨”。

????盡管分析師們絕口不提董事會的未來，但今年前些時候，高盛董事會的獨立性成為眾矢之的，焦點集中在是否應該將董事長與CEO職位分離的問題上。從分析師電話會議中，我們仍然很難看出高盛董事會在選擇施瓦茨擔任CFO的決定中參與了多少，而他們的盡職調查又進行到了什么種程度。高盛對尋求置評的電話和電郵沒有作出任何回應。所有董事會成員，包括CEO勞埃德?布蘭克費恩，沒有一個人站出來回答關于電話會議的問題。

????作為高盛公司的顧問，前任美國證券交易委員會（Securities and Exchange Commission ）主席亞瑟?萊維特自稱認識這位新任CFO，曾與他一起在委員會制定過高盛的企業標準。他覺得施瓦茨“在透明度方面總能站對立場，采取正確的行動。”“我十分尊重他……哈維是一位出色的演說家，從不怯場，但也不自吹自擂，多管閑事，”萊維特說。他認為向員工提供跨專業領域的工作機會也有益于高盛和彭博（Bloomberg，萊維特也與該公司有聯系）這類公司的形象。【據《紐約時報》(New York Times)報道，前高盛員工格里格?史密斯將會在下個月出版的《我為什么離開高盛》（Why I Left Goldman Sachs）一書中披露高盛文化的弊端。】

????此外，《紐約時報》指出，有兩位女性高管在CFO職位的競爭中輸給了施瓦茨。“一位是司庫伊麗莎白?貝希爾?羅賓森，另一位是首席會計師莎拉?史密斯。”這在高盛毀譽參半的女性升職記錄上又添上一個敗筆。由于在創造女性職業機會方面的努力，公司曾在2007年榮獲非盈利組織Catalyst 頒發的獎項。但2010年，三名女員工起訴公司在“工資和工作方面的歧視”，還提出明確的性騷擾指控。根據高盛官網的數據，目前公司主管中女性的比例不到10%。

????這兩位頗有希望的女性高管看起來都能勝任CFO。對于史密斯，萊維特評價道：“她很優秀，若是做CFO，不會比公司任何同事差。”

????When Goldman Sachs announced that it was changing CFOs last week, it also announced that it would be adding yet another insider to its board, soon-to-be-former CFO David Viniar.

????Including another management member on Goldman's (GS) board, bringing the total to three, is unusual for the board of a large public company. Today, most large public companies have only one manager on their board, the CEO, and the rest of the directors are at least deemed to be independent of management.

????A chorus of three management voices on the Goldman board is a red flag. With three management votes, will oversight ratchet down even further at a board that's already viewed as weak?

????But no matter. Board concerns were absent from the conference call announcing Harvey Schwartz's ascension to the CFO position. No analysts offered scrutiny of the board's heavily weighted management representation, nor did analysts ask about the further changes Goldman says it intends to make to its board.

????In fact, mild, complimentary and (almost) obsequious was the general tenor of the analyst Q and A. True, CSLA analyst Mike Mayo mentioned the low stock price and asked about Schwartz's sales background and ability to focus on risk – and Sandler O'Neill analyst Jeff Harte's questioned Schwarz's lack of traditional CFO skills. But those comments aside, analysts exhibited a coziness that suggested their own lack of independence. Normura's Glenn Schorr kicked off the analyst comments, thanking Viniar for "everything you taught us."

????Despite the analysts' silence on the future of the board, earlier this year, the board's independence came under fire in a public way over the separation of the chair and CEO positions. From the analyst call, it remains unclear how much the board was even involved in Schwartz's selection as CFO and how much due diligence they undertook. Goldman Sachs did not respond to a call and emails seeking comment for this story. No one from the board, including CEO Lloyd Blankfein, was available for questions on the analyst call.

????Arthur Levitt, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and an advisor to Goldman Sachs, says he knows the new CFO, having worked with Schwartz on the committee putting together Goldman's business standards. He found Schwartz "stood almost invariably on the right side of transparency and doing things the right way." I have a "high degree of respect for him...Harvey is a good presenter and good on his feet, not pompous or officious," Levitt told me. Levitt believes it shows well for Goldman and other companies, like Bloomberg (with whom Levitt is also associated), when they create career opportunities for individuals outside their domains of expertise. (The New York Times reported that next month Why I Left Goldman Sachs, a book by former Goldman employee Greg Smith will spell out Smith's less flattering views of the culture of the firm.)

????Separately, the New York Times noted that two women were passed over for the CFO spot Schwartz ultimately received, "the treasurer, Elizabeth Beshel Robinson, and the chief accounting officer, Sarah Smith." That's too bad because the firm has a decidedly mixed record on advancing women. The bank won an award from the nonprofit Catalyst in 2007 for its efforts to expand opportunities for women. But in 2010, the firm was sued by three women alleging "pay and job bias" as well as specific charges of harassment. And today, less than 10% of its current executive officers are women, according to Goldman's own website.

????It would seem the women in the running were qualified. Regarding Smith, Levitt said, "She's terrific and could have done the job as well as anyone in the firm."