Opaque.
Transparency International is an organization that monitors trends in worldwide corruption and corporate transparency. Here is a page describing its findings from a survey of the world's largest multinational corporations. [update note: This is the old ranking posted on the TI website as of today Novemer 3, 2014. Since posting this, I learned that new rankings are due out in two days. I will update or post anew at that time.]
report--shining-a-light-on-the-worlds-biggest-companies
Report findings on Toyota --
How much does it do of what is required of a properly transparent company?
1. Anti-corruption program 46%
2. Organizational transparency - ie disclosures about subsidiaries 33%
3. Disclosures about taxes and profits in other countries 4%
does not disclose revenues, capital expenditures, pre-tax income, or taxes paid. only discloses community contributions.
Overall rankings are listed below. Find Toyota ranked 98 of 106. Press reports about the SUA crisis highlighted Toyota's reputation of opaque corporate culture. These rankings are an objective measure that supports such a view.
Interestingly, Honda, now making the news for exploding air bags and the coverup thereof, is ranked even lower than Toyota. Astoundingly, the murderous organization known as Philip Morris is ranked far higher than Toyota.
One wonders why consumers will trust their lives to people who habitually conceal their business operations. Maybe the "flat world" content marketing "news" teams can take credit for cultivating consumer blind trust in secretive organizations.
| COMPANIES | COUNTRY | INDUSTRY | INDEX |
| Statoil | Norway | Oil & Gas | 8.3 |
| Rio Tinto | United Kingdom/Australia | Basic materials | 7.2 |
| BHP Billiton | Australia/United Kingdom | Basic materials | 7.2 |
| ArcelorMittal | Luxembourg | Basic materials | 6.9 |
| BG Group | United Kingdom | Oil & Gas | 6.7 |
| HSBC Holdings | United Kingdom | Financials | 6.7 |
| BASF | Germany | Basic materials | 6.7 |
| France Telecom | France | Telecommunication | 6.6 |
| BP | United Kingdom | Oil & Gas | 6.6 |
| Allianz | Germany | Financials | 6.6 |
| Tesco | United Kingdom | Consumer goods & services | 6.5 |
| Novartis | Switzerland | Health Care | 6.5 |
| ExxonMobil | United States | Oil & Gas | 6.4 |
| Vodafone | United Kingdom | Telecommunication | 6.4 |
| Wal-Mart Stores | United States | Consumer goods & services | 6.4 |
| ANZ Banking | Australia | Financials | 6.3 |
| Siemens | Germany | Industrials | 6.3 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | United Kingdom | Health Care | 6.2 |
| Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands/UK | Oil & Gas | 6.2 |
| ENEL | Italy | Utilities | 6.2 |
| GDF Suez | France | Utilities | 6.2 |
| Telefónica | Spain | Telecommunication | 6.2 |
| British Amer Tobacco | United Kingdom | Consumer goods & services | 6.1 |
| Bayer Group | Germany | Basic materials | 6.1 |
| Westpac Banking Group | Australia | Financials | 6.0 |
| General Electric | United States | Industrials | 6.0 |
| Home Depot | United States | Consumer goods & services | 6.0 |
| L'Oréal Group | France | Consumer goods & services | 6.0 |
| Deutsche Telekom | Germany | Telecommunication | 6.0 |
| E.ON | Germany | Utilities | 6.0 |
| Roche Holding | Switzerland | Health Care | 5.9 |
| Sanofi-Aventis | France | Health Care | 5.9 |
| ENI | Italy | Oil & Gas | 5.9 |
| Nestlé | Switzerland | Consumer goods & services | 5.9 |
| SAP | Germany | Technology | 5.8 |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank | Canada | Financials | 5.7 |
| Unilever | Netherlands/UK | Consumer goods & services | 5.7 |
| Banco Santander | Spain | Financials | 5.4 |
| Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) | India | Oil & Gas | 5.4 |
| BNP Paribas | France | Financials | 5.4 |
| Coca-Cola | United States | Consumer goods & services | 5.3 |
| Occidental Petroleum | United States | Oil & Gas | 5.2 |
| Chevron | United States | Oil & Gas | 5.2 |
| Credit Suisse Group | Switzerland | Financials | 5.1 |
| Total | France | Oil & Gas | 5.1 |
| Amgen | United States | Health Care | 5.0 |
| United Technologies Corporation (UTC) | United States | Industrials | 5.0 |
| AstraZeneca | United Kingdom | Health Care | 5.0 |
| Merck & Co | United States | Health Care | 4.9 |
| Hewlett-Packard | United States | Technology | 4.8 |
| Banco Bradesco | Brazil | Financials | 4.8 |
| Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil | Brazil | Oil & Gas | 4.7 |
| Vale | Brazil | Basic materials | 4.7 |
| Reliance Industries | India | Oil & Gas | 4.7 |
| Intel | United States | Technology | 4.7 |
| Abbott Laboratories | United States | Health Care | 4.7 |
| AT&T | United States | Telecommunication | 4.7 |
| Lloyds Banking Group | United Kingdom | Financials | 4.6 |
| 3M | United States | Industrials | 4.5 |
| EDF Group | France | Utilities | 4.4 |
| Qualcomm | United States | Technology | 4.4 |
| Royal Bank of Canada | Canada | Financials | 4.4 |
| América Móvil | Mexico | Telecommunication | 4.4 |
| Johnson & Johnson | United States | Health Care | 4.4 |
| Samsung Electronics | South Korea | Technology | 4.3 |
| IBM | United States | Technology | 4.2 |
| Procter & Gamble | United States | Consumer goods & services | 4.2 |
| Oracle | United States | Technology | 4.1 |
| PetroChina | China | Oil & Gas | 4.1 |
| United Parcel Service (UPS) | United States | Industrials | 4.1 |
| Barclays | United Kingdom | Financials | 4.0 |
| Schlumberger | France/ incorporated in Curacao | Oil & Gas | 4.0 |
| Saudi Basic Industries | Saudi Arabia | Basic materials | 4.0 |
| Philip Morris International | United States | Consumer goods & services | 3.9 |
| CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) | Hong Kong/China | Oil & Gas | 3.9 |
| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) | China | Financials | 3.9 |
| Citigroup | United States | Financials | 3.8 |
| JPMorgan Chase | United States | Financials | 3.8 |
| Pfizer | United States | Health Care | 3.7 |
| McDonald's | United States | Consumer goods & services | 3.7 |
| ConocoPhillips | United States | Oil & Gas | 3.7 |
| PepsiCo | United States | Consumer goods & services | 3.5 |
| Visa | United States | Financials | 3.5 |
| Cisco Systems | United States | Technology | 3.4 |
| Microsoft | United States | Technology | 3.4 |
| Walt Disney | United States | Consumer goods & services | 3.4 |
| Goldman Sachs Group | United States | Financials | 3.3 |
| Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | Israel | Health Care | 3.3 |
| Verizon Communications | United States | Telecommunication | 3.3 |
| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial | Japan | Financials | 3.2 |
| Apple | United States | Technology | 3.2 |
| Bank of America | United States | Financials | 3.2 |
| Commonwealth Bank | Australia | Financials | 3.1 |
| Canon | Japan | Industrials | 3.0 |
| United States | Technology | 2.9 | |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | Belgium | Consumer goods & services | 2.9 |
| Toyota Motor | Japan | Consumer goods & services | 2.8 |
| Gazprom, OAO | Russia | Oil & Gas | 2.8 |
| Amazon.com | United States | Consumer goods & services | 2.8 |
| Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation | Japan | Telecommunication | 2.6 |
| Berkshire Hathaway | United States | Financials | 2.4 |
| China Construction Bank (CCB) | China | Financials | 1.9 |
| Honda Motor | Japan | Consumer goods & services | 1.9 |
| Bank of Communications | China | Financials | 1.7 |
| Bank of China | China | Financials | 1.1 |