Verified Document

Arthur Andersen Chapter Four Of Our Text Essay

Arthur Andersen Chapter four of our text explains the mandated requirements for legal compliance. The following requirements apply to the Arthur Andersen case. Certainly, accountants are very important in this mix because they are the watchmen for the system, making sure that the books are correct and transparent so that there will be confidence in the system by all of the stakeholders. The tragedy of Arthur Anderson (as well as in the present recession) is that the watchers have falsified the books. In the view of the author, transparency is a major component of faith in the financial system for all stakeholders. When auditing agencies act illegally and unethically, it shakes faith in the system and prevents the normal operation of capitalism because such uncertainty makes it virtually impossible to have normal business planning and day-to-day functioning.

Laws and incentives are instituted by governments to set minimum standards for business conduct in order to preserve faith in the system and to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to make an honest profit. This is the reason for audit companies such as Arthur Andersen. They can detect when corruption creeps in due to irregularities in the books (Institutionalization of business ethics, 2010,, 95). Outside of the accounting system, the civil and criminal law systems provide venues for facilitating compliance. Civil law lays out rights and duties and are enforced by lawsuits while criminal law prohibits certain actions (such as fraud) and provides for punishment measures (such as prison) for violations (ibid., 96).

Ethics and their maintenance is really not the purview of the legal compliance. Law is more concerned about determining the appropriateness of situation. In other words, the laws lay the groundwork for responsible business activities. These fall into five basic categories: 1) regulation of competition, 2) consumer protection, 3) promotion of safety and equity, 4) environmental protection, 5) compliance encouragement (ibid. 97).

Probably, companies such as Enron...

Sarbanes? Oxley Act requires that companies be much transparent. To accomplish this, companies have to be audited by externally, such as an accounting firm. Sarbanes-Oxley Act at the time renewed the confidence of investors, provided greater protection to employee retirement programs and greater penalties for senior management, board members and auditors. Also, the act gave employees whistle-blower protection which likely would have motivated employees of a public company to report unethical behaviors or practices ("Sarbanes-oxley essential information," 2006).
However, these speculations are essentially for 1999 through the early 2000s. The most recent recessionary episode has pointed out the problems with the act. While transparency was certainly improved, enforcement was not. Hardly anyone has went to jail and one wonders what the use of laws against fraud and corruption are worth if they are not enforced ("Sarbanes-oxley/enron/2008 crisis," 2011).

Certainly, fraud and the falsification and hiding of incriminating information was at the heart of the Arthur Anderson case. The question really boils down to who was accountable and when. While Enron may have perpetrated one of the largest corporate frauds in American history up that time, it was Arthur Andersen that covered the tracks for Enron. The heart of this coverup a memo to destroy most of the documentation of Enron's true financial situation four days before energy giant disclosed a $618 million loss for the third quarter of 2001. An Arthur Andersen Oct. 12 memo directed the auditing company's workers to destroy all of the audit materials save for the basic "work papers." This brought about the mass destruction of thousands of e-mails and electronic and paper files that would have shed more light on the financial hemorrhaging and fraud going on within Enron (Kadlec, 2002).

What…

Sources used in this document:
References

21 famous corporate bankruptcies of 2001-2009. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.fastupfront.com/blog/business/21-famous-corporate-bankruptcies-from-2001-2009/.

Institutionalization of business ethics. In (2010). O. Ferrell & J. Fraedrich (Eds.), Business Ethics:

Ethical Decision Making and Cases (p. 90). 125: Cengage.

Kadlec, D., et. al. (2002, January 13). Enron: Who's accountable?. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1001636,00.html.
Sarbanes-oxley/enron/2008 crisis. (2011, September). Retrieved from https://mg312.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/sarbanes-oxleyenron2008-crisis.
Sarbanes-oxley essential information. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.sox-online.com/basics.html.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Worldcom-Mci Case Analysis - Worldcom-Mci
Words: 2813 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Proposal

The first three organizations in line to recuperate their funds were Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and General Electric Group. They had been offering financial solutions and encouragement to purchase the WorldCom stock based on a favorable business relationship. However, at the time when bankruptcy procedures were commenced, the three organizations recognized their losses and intended to recuperate them. A succinct presentation of the period surrounding the crisis could be reveled by

Social Variables in the Development
Words: 16820 Length: 58 Document Type: Thesis

To critically investigate the current state of international business relationship development literature. 2. To explore the characteristics that determines sustainable international business relationships within the Libyan business context-from the Libyan point-of-view. 3. To present a model based on the findings from the two objectives above. This model will serve two main functions: (I). It will help fill in gaps in the current literature relating to the development and maintenance of business

Marketing Management and Marketing Questions:
Words: 2108 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

The proclivity to pass blame between organizational members also suggest an internal cultural shortcoming rooted in an unwillingness to take responsibility for planning failures. This is an unnecessary conflict which is derived from the onus on planning failure and the clear incapacity of the organization to rebound in its wake. This perspective and reality go hand in hand. So may we observe this from an article regarding Toyota's ongoing struggles

Enron Was the Seventh Largest
Words: 27112 Length: 98 Document Type: Thesis

Enron could engage in their derivative trading strategy with no fear of government intervention because derivative trading was specifically exempted from government regulation. Due in part to a ruling by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) chairwoman, Wendy Graham, derivatives remained free of regulatory oversight. Ms. Graham, wife of Texas senator Phil Graham, made this ruling 5 weeks before resigning as chairwoman of the CFTC and joining the Enron Board

Corporate Governance Under Globalization in
Words: 5529 Length: 17 Document Type: Research Proposal

It should not be treated as a separate exercise undertaken to meet regulatory requirements." (ICA, 29) Here is expressed a philosophical impetus that drives the focus of this research, that such compliance which will generally concern matters such as corporate accounting, the practice of internal oversight and the practice of financial transaction must be considered inextricable from other aspects of practical, procedural and legal operation in terms of its

Cheating: A Cultural Construct Cheating
Words: 3828 Length: 12 Document Type: Thesis

This presented the troubling consideration that many of the current standard-bearers for physical excellence were the product of performance enhancing drug use. Moreover, this cast a dark shadow on what have been regarded as some of the game's greatest recent accomplishments, which had been achieved through cheating. In that vein, Canseco's claim was succeeded by an admission that seemed to justify this reproach. Mark McGwire, Canseco's former Oakland Athletic teammate,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now