If you were asked the question “what was the most memoriable event to happen during the last decade” what would you say? Would you say the passing of Micheal Jackson? Would you mention the Rihanna/ Chris Brown fight? You mention Richard Scrushy, Martha Stewart, Bernard Maddoff? If you mentioned them, you are headed in the correct direction. Last decade I feel will without a doubt be remember for all of the corporate crime that was commited. Ceo’s lied and received big bonuses for it. CFO’s and accountants “cooked” the books to paint the illusion that their companies were doing much better than expected. Everyone had the same idea, how can I make a lot of money and a lot of them did. Making these large profits did not come with consequence. Many of them had to repay millions of dollars. Majority of them went to jail. All of them lost our trust. In my paper I will examine how corporate corruption lead to the business failures of Tyco International, Worldcom, and Enron.
Enron (ENRNQ)
Enron was the country’s largest trader and marketer for electric and natural gas energy. It made money by buying energy at a negotiated price and, later, selling the energy when prices increased. As an energy broker, Enron provided a service by allowing producers to negotiate a certain price while Enron took the risk that prices would fall below what it bought energy. Buyers of energy also benefited because Enron could ensure an available supply of energy. In 2002 Enron was listed number five on the Fortune 500, rated fifth based on sales. Today, Enron is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has sold its primary energy trading unit. Enron has interests in utilities, power plants, and energy projects around the world, but it is selling assets to pay off debt; it sold its North American energy trading unit to Swiss bank UBS in 2002. The collapse of Enron and the destruction of corporate documents related to its audit have become the focus of congressional investigations.
In...