Last night I had the esteemed honor be the guest lecturer at the Pepperdine School of Law. The subject of my presentation was “Understanding company valuations” and “How to read financial statements”. As is customary with my lecture on basic finance, I began by defining GAAP, its purpose in financial reporting and how it allows us to have trust in our companies and institutions. In this, I explained the purpose of specific accounts, such as “other income” which includes any revenue that is not part of the daily operations of the company, as this provides transparency so investors can identify gains that are not directly related to the core competencies of the business.

As I proceeded with my lecture, with every word spoken out loud I heard my own voice internally, sarcastically asking, “If what you say is true than why is our economy in the shape that it is now?” I suddenly felt like a hypocrite reciting text book knowledge for use in a world that follows different rules.

Now I understand the current crisis. I know how we got here and I realize that there is not a direct correlation between my lecture, the voice in my head and what has happened in the markets. However, that is not what I am trying to express; it is my own emotional sentiment that I found disturbing.

For the first time in my business and speaking career, I spoke about an industry with governing rules and bodies and I could not honestly express pride or comfort. I left the lecture hall sobered by my thoughts, with hope that someday America can once again, respectfully, represent hard work, ingenuity and integrity. The very values that I learned from my parents, who told stories about how their parents survived the depression.