Role of General Manager in Equifax Data Breach and Its Impact

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Introduction
Equifax Inc. is one of the top credit bureaus and a leading global provider in consumer and
business solutionsSchaefer, Labude and Nasir, 2018). It brings buyers and sellers through
management of information, customer relationship management, transactions and direct
marketing, and transaction processing. Equifax has diversified customers and clients, that is,
individuals, financial institutions, governments and corporations. The company provides credit
scores to consumers, risk analysis to clients, and credit histories (Jeffery and Arnold, 2014).
Products and services of the company are stored in databases which contain business and
consumer information. The information is derived from public record, marketing data, credit,
demographic, and finance. This helps further in coming up with modified visions, services
processing, and decision-making solutions for business. It offers human resources services and
provides outsourced payroll. It helps consumers make informed financial decisions by making
them understand and protect their personal information(Schaefer, Labude and Nasir, 2018).
Although the company operates around the world most of its businesses are in US.
Corporate finance deals with decisions of finance and investment of a company (Fracassi, 2016).
It focuses on increasing the value of the shareholder through financial planning and
implementation of strategies which can be long-term or short-term(Fracassi, 2016). Activities of
corporate finance are investment decisions on capital and investment banking. The decision
process of capital investment deals with capital budgeting. This helps the company identify
capital costs, estimate the flow of money proposed on capital projects, relate planned
investments with possible income while deciding which schemes best suits capital budget.
Capital investment is the most crucial task in corporate finance and at the same time cause major
implications when it comes to business(Fracassi, 2016). Poor budgeting on capital affects the

financial position of the company either due to excess financing costs or having an under-funded
operating capacity.
After the Equifax’s 2017 breach of data, many were angered after learning that the company had
known it earlier but was slow in letting the public know (Zou and Schaub, 2018). Failure to let
them know earlier compromised personal information of many which damaged the company’s
public trust and in turn made their stock prices tumble. After the attack it’s not clear whether the
company will recover or continue to suffer with its stakeholders. Equifax’s breach teaches an
important lesson on keeping personal information safely (Moore, 2014). Investment index
company MSCI gave Equifax the lowest possible social, environmental and corporate
governance (ESG) rating in July 2017. MSCI pointed out that the company faces a high risk of
data theft and associated reputational consequences(Gressin, 2017). ESG ratings provide another
point of help to investors and help them in understanding the company. MSCI applies a scale that
uses a range of AAA to CCC. Companies with AAA ratings show leaders on ESG issues while
companies with B or CCC ratings are considered laggards like the case of Equifax. Low ESG
shows areas of weaknesses relative to other companies. Report from AQR capital management
found that stocks with poor ESG ratings may occur and cause higher volatility experience or
risks than stock with strong ESG ratings. Mishandling of people’s personal data can greatly
affect privacy and financial well-being(Berghel, 2017). ESG funds still holds Equifax shares. To
maintain a socially responsible portfolio is a priority when it comes to investment. Investors pay
attention to ESG ratings. Equifax’s stock in the year 2017 dropped by 31% after the breach. The
company’s market capitalization value went down.