Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 13: The Failed Promise of a “Good Governance” Guru…

Series index:

  1. The EPO Bundestagate -- Part 1: How the Bundestag Was (and Continues to be) Misled About EPO Affairs
  2. The EPO Bundestagate -- Part 2: Lack of Parliamentary Oversight, Many Questions and Few Answers…
  3. The EPO Bundestagate -- Part 3: A “Minor Interpellation” in the German Bundestag
  4. The EPO Bundestagate -- Part 4: Parroting the GDPR-Compliance Myth
  5. The EPO Bundestagate -- Part 5: The Federal Eagle's Disconcerting Metamorphosis
  6. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 6: Dr Petri Starts the Ball Rolling…
  7. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 7: Ms Voßhoff Alerts the Bundestag…
  8. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 8: The EPO's Tweedledum, Raimund Lutz
  9. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 9: A Veritable Virtuoso of Legal Sophistry
  10. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 10: A Faithful Lapdog Despised and Reviled by EPO Staff
  11. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag — Appendix (Benoît Battistelli's Vichy Syndrome): Georges Henri Léon Battistelli and Charles Robert Battistelli
  12. EPOLeaks on Misleading the Bundestag -- Part 11: The BMJV's Tweedledee: Dr Christoph Ernst
  13. the last part
  14. You are here ☞ The Failed Promise of a “Good Governance” Guru…


The compliance masters Ernst was billed as one of the top speakers at a "Compliance Masters" conference in Berlin (2008). Original: Compliance Masters [PDF]



Summary: Before becoming an absent-minded Vice-President of António Campinos Christoph Ernst was posing as the very opposite of what he would become (see "Anti-Kurruption" above)

As we saw in the last part, Christoph Ernst's career in the Justice Ministry started to gain traction following his appointment as head of a legislative reform project in the area of German accounting law, the Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz or BilMoG.



It is worth noting here that - in addition to accounting regulations – the BilMoG also contains a series of provisions aimed at improving "corporate governance".

"Because of his leading role in the BilMoG project, Ernst soon found himself in great demand as a guest speaker at various business networking events and as a guest contributor to corporate accountancy journals."In particular, the BilMoG prescribes that the Supervisory Board of a company has to guarantee the effectiveness of the company's internal control systems, check the internal audit function and evaluate the risk management system. To assist the Supervisory Board in this regard, an Audit Committee which reports to the Board is foreseen.

Because of his leading role in the BilMoG project, Ernst soon found himself in great demand as a guest speaker at various business networking events and as a guest contributor to corporate accountancy journals.

For example, at the end of 2007 he contributed an article [PDF] to the "Audit Committee Quarterly", a newsletter published by the German branch of KMPG's Audit Committee Institute. In this article he expounded on the topic of "BilMoG - a milestone for the strengthening and efficiency of German accounting law".

Audit Committee Dr Christoph Ernst, the "corporate governance" guru: Passionate about Audit Committees – as long as they remain outside the EPO!



In September 2008, he was billed as one of the top speakers at a "Compliance Masters" conference which took place in Berlin. On that occasion he was lined-up to speak on the topic of "The Challenge of the EU Audit Directive" in a presentation focused on "New Corporate Governance Requirements".

"If Ernst had pressed for badly needed reforms and improvements to the governance and oversight structures of the EPO he could have made a valuable contribution in this area. Unfortunately his track record over the last decade shows that he failed to live up to that particular promise."It would appear that back in those days Ernst greatly enjoyed basking in his public image as a "good governance" guru. He seems to have been keen to present himself at every available opportunity as an "audit committee expert" and "compliance master".

Because of this it is reasonable to suppose that he could have put his knowledge of such matters to good use in the context of the EPO.

If Ernst had pressed for badly needed reforms and improvements to the governance and oversight structures of the EPO he could have made a valuable contribution in this area. Unfortunately his track record over the last decade shows that he failed to live up to that particular promise.

Amongst other things, he failed to bring any detectable level of passion and commitment to the EPO Audit Committee debate. This is in stark contrast to his apparent enthusiasm for the subject when dealing with accounting standards bodies such as KMPG's Audit Committee Institute.

In the end it would appear that the only real talent which Ernst showed as a "compliance master" during his tenure as Chair of the Administrative Council was his ability to masterfully comply with the whims and vagaries of "Il Capo" Benoît Battistelli - the very person that he was supposed to supervise!

In this way Ernst effectively made himself an accessory to the vicious and cynical excesses of Battistelli's managerialist "reign of terror" à la France Telecom.

"...the Council - under Ernst's stewardship - was too timid and supine to enforce its authority over the rogue President (who had formerly been Chairman of the Council)."Ernst's inability to face up to his own responsibility in this regard was revealed in an interview which he gave to the German law magazine JUVE in November 2017. (Local copy [PDF])

Referring between the lines to the intense social conflict inside the EPO, Ernst openly admitted that the verdict on the reforms which had been implemented during the preceding years would "certainly be clouded by the fact that President Battistelli has overseen a very rigid regime with a heavy-handed approach."

He then went on to state that he "would have occasionally liked to see more compromise and more understanding for differing interests."

EPO worship Under Ernst's stewardship the Council was too timid and supine to rein in the rogue President Battistelli.



"In the next part we shall look at how the notorious revolving door arrangement between the Administrative Council and the senior management of the European Patent Office may have contributed to this unfortunate state of affairs."This is a piece of mealy-mouthed prevarication which deliberately glosses over the relevant facts. Namely, that Battistelli - in his capacity as EPO President - was subject to the authority of the Administrative Council which he apparently refused to obey. And that the Council - under Ernst's stewardship - was too timid and supine to enforce its authority over the rogue President (who had formerly been Chairman of the Council).

In the next part we shall look at how the notorious revolving door arrangement between the Administrative Council and the senior management of the European Patent Office may have contributed to this unfortunate state of affairs.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Media Operatives and Bill Epsteingate-Funded Sites Said Microsoft Lays Off 9,000, But Other Sites Say More (Including 2,300 in Redmond Alone)
We might never know the real number/s (Microsoft will keep the cards close to its chest) until there are leakers or unless there are whistleblowers with hard proof
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States of America
Windows is trending down
 
Microsoft Staff Harassing Women, Strangling Women, Telling Women to Kill Themselves and Worse? Not a Problem!
Two women have left Brett Wilson LLP
The Slopfarms Are Losing the Plot (and Google is Propping Up Rogue Sites)
Google is part of the attack on the Web, on information, and on technology
New BetaNews Realises There's No Potential or Future in Slopfarms, Prior Editor Wayne Williams is Back
They realise that slop (so-called "AI") cannot replace humans
Claims That Microsoft Looks for Staff That Works More and Gets Paid Less (or Can Only Code by Grabbing Other People's Code, Under the Guise of "AI")
People can form their own opinion
Richard Stallman Was Right About Reasons Not to Use Microsoft
last updated 2017
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 02, 2025
Gemini Links 03/07/2025: No to Cloudflare and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 02/07/2025: Deep Microsoft Cuts, Macron Speaks to Putin
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Shutdowns Today, Not Only Mass Layoffs
"The Initiative is the only studio closure planned today, although some other teams have seen cuts of varying degrees."
GNU/Linux is Replacing Microsoft Windows. But We Need to Eradicate Microsoft, It's a Hub of Crime.
I have been writing about Microsoft since the 1990s when I was in school
Microsoft Windows Nosedives in Switzerland While GNU/Linux Leaps Above 6%
sooner or later they might have to make the move anyway
Anxiety at Microsoft: Many Workers (Maybe Over 10,000) Still Don't Know They're Being Laid Off Just Before US Independence Day
"Has anyone gotten the notification yet?"
Microsoft "Declined to Say How Many People Would be Laid Off," According to Associated Press
Some other prominent publications said they reached out for comment from Microsoft and received none
The X War is Over and the "Wayland People" Lost
People will gravitate towards what works for them
20 Years Since My Thesis
It's still online
GNU/Linux is Replacing Windows in Laptops/Desktops
The world will move on while Windows and Microsoft shrink
Now Comes the Expected Webspam, Framing Microsoft Layoffs as "Hey Hi" Success Story (False Marketing That's Piggybacking the Layoffs)
falsely marketed as "intelligence"
Hungary: Microsoft Windows Sinks to 17% "Market Share"
In many nations in Europe it seems like the era of Windows is coming to an end
Microsoft Layoffs in Spain, Portugal Record for GNU/Linux
in Portugal we see GNU/Linux at record levels
Yes, Microsoft is Again Using Its Favourite Liars (Stenographers) to Seed Fake Layoff Numbers, Much Lower Than What's Really Happening
It is Jordan Novet again, just as we predicted
Will Microsoft Once Again Choose Its Favourite Liar to Spread Lies About Today's Layoffs, Quickly to be Replicated and Spread by Slopfarms?
What lies is Microsoft briefing its media moles to tell today?
"OSS Fetishism" Wins After Ferenc Zsolt Szabó Ousted (Microsoft Mole From Capgemini)
Many people said 2025 would be the "year of Linux on the desktop"
There is Nothing That LLMs Can Offer Honest People
LLMs are a passing fad; they're expensive and offer poor "value" for energy; they usually offer no value at all unless you are a cheater, spammer, and liar
What statCounter Shows Today Helps Explain Microsoft's Helplessness, Mass Layoffs
Since many US journalists are already away on holiday almost nobody will dare ask the difficult questions or give a voice to whistleblowers
Microsoft Gets the Chop in South America
The notion of digital sovereignty gained a lot of popularity
Europe Has an 'Exit'
Let's see what happens the rest of this year
El Presidente Talks, Canada Walks (Away From Windows)
GNU/Linux rising
Cities in France and Germany Move to GNU/Linux and statCounter Detects Big Differences
Will governments lead by example?
Microsoft Lost Its Foothold in Africa
How many of these are "old" Windows machines converted to GNU/Linux? Probably a lot.
Led by Europe, GNU/Linux Makes Big Gains This Month
statCounter started showing new/fresh stats
Links 02/07/2025: Massive Microsoft Layoffs About to Commence, "Tesla's Robotaxi Program Is Failing"
Links for the day
Why the Microsoft People Who Started SLAPPs Against Techrights Could Very Well be Sent Back to Prison
White-collar crime is also a crime
The Company Run by Former (and Last Proper) Red Hat CEO, Promoting Microsoft Mono, Faces Shock as Senior Partner Jailed for 33 Sexual Offenses Including Pedophilia
"As reported by The Oxford Mail in April 2025, the offenses include rape, sexual assault, engaging in non-penetrative activity with a child, and more."
Microsoft Lost 29% of Windows Users, Based on Microsoft, Now Come Massive Layoffs
Microsoft collapse is today
Slopwatch: Google Serves to People Linux Slop and Linux FUD (Made by Bots)
"Slopwatch" finds it difficult to ignore Google's role in encouraging LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
"Wayland People" Behave Like the Googles and Microsofts of This World
Published yesterday by Igor Ljubuncic
Gemini Links 02/07/2025: Arch Linux and Fulfillment in Gemini
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day