Is shorting this a no brainer?, page-15

From a PR perspective CBA are handling this very badly. Going stum is the first and worst instinct. Like hunkering down in an ambush. They're probably listening to the C Suite and the lawyers, both of whom have vested self-interests at stake that will conflict with the best actions to take. The lawyers want to have 100% control over news issuance because that's how they get paid, citing the need to avoid saying anything that might be used against CBA later. And the execs are motivated by a desire to avoid personal embarrassment and/or career damaging output. So the order is, "Say NOTHING!"

Action no.1 is to throw Narev under the bus. Hard. Pile as much blame on his head as possible and then cut the lifeline allowing him to drift off into the vacuum. His refusal to take one for the team is understandable from his personal perspective but the Board refusing to liquidate him immediately will be cited as "an example of the sense of impunity in CBA" (or some such grandstanding statement) that will come out later when the penalties are considered.

CBA has already demonstrated delay and obfuscation with matters as shown by their non-disclosure of the violations. Stalling on addressing the issue ongoing now starts to give a set of data points indicating a pattern of reluctance to address non-compliance. I suspect a lot of the board are just rubber stampers who show up 2-3 times a year to collect a fat check for voting for whatever they're told to vote for. That's sadly a common situation in corporate board rooms. Instead of a CEO serving at the board's pleasure, companies become a cult of personality headed by their own Li'l Kim. Uber is the most recent example that springs to mind. American Apparel is another. There's dozens of cases.

PR is often sneered at in the corporate world as the paper shufflers of the advertising department and yes, most days it's just the odd press release but in a crisis they can be the most important office in the building. If they're allowed to be. Anyone interested further could look at the Johnson and Johnson Tylenol Crisis as a case study in what to do.

(I used to be a corporate PR-flack in Japan but this is not advice)