...Ethics Case: Arthur Andersen’s Troubles Once the largest professional services firm in the world, and arguably the most respected, Arthur Andersen LLP (AA) has disappeared. The Big 5 accounting firms are now the Big 4. Why did this happen? How did it happen? What are the lessons to be learned? Arthur Andersen, a twenty-eight-year-old Northwestern University accounting professor, co-founded the firm in 1913. Tales of his integrity are legendary, and the culture of the firm was very much in his image. For example, “Just months after [Andersen] set up shop in Chicago, the president of a local railroad insisted that he approve a transaction that would have inflated earnings. Andersen told the executive there was “not enough money in the City of Chicago” to make him do it.”1 In 1954, consulting services began with the installation of the first mainframe computer at General Electric to automate its payroll systems. By 1978, AA became the largest professional services firm in the world with revenues of $546 million, and by 1984 consulting brought in more profit than auditing. In 1989, the consulting operation, wanting more control and a larger share of profit, became a separate part of a Swiss partnership from the audit operation. In 2000, following an arbitrator’s ruling that a break fee of $1 billion be paid, Andersen Consulting split completely and changed its name to Accenture. AA, the audit practice, continued to offer a limited set of related services, such as tax advice.2 Changing...
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...Arthur Andersen Collapse Introduction Arthur Andersen was one of the biggest top 5 accounting firms around the country, practicing globally. The firm ran into many ethical issues when becoming involved in the Enron scandal, which affected the company globally. The ethical perceptions across cultures affected the employment of many people that ended up losing their jobs or transferring to other firms. There were many risks and consequences involved in the demise of Arthur Andersen. All of the risks involved affected the firm as a whole, around the world. Ethical Issues Ethical issues involving the demise of Arthur Andersen are solely based around the obstruction of justice involving the Enron case. “Its workers had destroyed ‘a significant but undetermined number’ of documents related to Enron.” (Kadlec, 2002) Destroying documents that were needed for future court proceedings involving Enron not only helped the collapse of Enron, but destroyed the Arthur Andersen firm in the process. Arthur Andersen was not only destroyed in the United States but globally as well. Employees quit and found new jobs, and clients “decided to quit the firm—not because the accountants are bad, but because the Andersen name is poison.” (Ackman, 2002) Over 85,000 employees worldwide, most of which had nothing to do with the Enron scandal were without a job, all because the employees had received a memo to destroy documents that should not have been destroyed. Globally, the demise of Arthur...
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...thousands lost their jobs and pensions. Another company involved in the scandal was Arthur Andersen, an accounting firm; Enron was their client. Arthur Andersen continued to perform bad audits even after a warning from SEC. If Arthur Andersen employees had been ethical, after the warning, the Enron Scandal would not have had led to the conviction and dissolution of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm. Arthur E. Andersen was born in a small town in Illinois and by the age of 16, he was an orphan. He was out in the world on his own. Luckily, his father’s employer was kind enough to allow Andersen to work in the mailroom at Fraser &ump; Chalmers. He attended college courses at night while making his way from the mailroom to the assistant controller position. Andersen joined Price Waterhouse &ump; Co and then took his Certified Public Accounting exam. He also was a professor at No... ... middle of paper ... ...s. The ethical values of Arthur Andersen employees at the time should have been enforce, had this been done the conviction and dissolution of the firm would not have happened. Works Cited Glater, Jonathan. "Enron Trail Stirs Memory of Andersen." New York Times 21 Feb 2006, web. McRoberts, Flynn. "The Fall of Andersen." Chicago Tribune 1 Sept 2002, web. Sloan, Allan. "The Jury's In: Greed Isn't Good." Newsweek. 24 June 2002: 37-38. Squires, Susan. Inside Arthur Andersen: shifting values, unexpected consequences. FT Press, 2003....
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...The Rise and Fall of Arthur Andersen LLP In October 2001, Enron was accused of overstating their earnings in the last few years in excess of $1 billion dollars (Doost, 2001). At the same time, Arthur Andersen, one of the most reputable auditing firms, was responsible for auditing Enron’s financial statements. The Security Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Arthur Andersen to provide all relevant Enron documentation and auditing files. Going against Arthur Andersen’s impeccable reputation of honesty, David B. Duncan, the Arthur Andersen partner in charge of the Enron account, had his staff destroy thousands of pages of documents and records related to this case of fraud (Oppel & Eichenwald, 2002). Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Arthur Andersen’s conviction of "knowingly...corruptly persuading another person to withhold or alter documents in an official proceeding" (Wojdacz, 2009). However, Arthur Andersen had imploded and was not able to recover. Founder and His Principles Arthur Andersen was founded December 11, 1913. Arthur Andersen had a reputation of exemplary honesty. Arthur Andersen himself came from an immigrant Norwegian family. He worked for Price Waterhouse. At 23, Andersen became the youngest certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Illinois by educating himself at night (Marotta & Selman, 2009). At this time, CPAs were trying to establish accounting as a profession. Marotta and Selman (2009) stated Integral...
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...Unethical Practices of Arthur Andersen 1.) I think that Arthur Andersen contributed a lot to the Enron Disaster. I think that it all started when AA became its own company. Because of this, the two companies became rivals. AA’s main focus was on revenues. The company did not care how things were done as long as it put money in their pockets. Also, from what I understand, the company made the auditors feel that if they were to say anything that would make the company lose a client, then the auditor would lose their job. Auditors are there to make sure that things are being run ethically. The risk of getting in trouble by their employer blurred the line between what is right and what is wrong. Another thing that I feel like was a huge contributing factor in the Enron disaster was the approval of Special Purpose Entities that were used to generate false information. These entries were used to cover the truth of what was going on in the company. This is extremely unethical. It sounds to me like the integrity of the company went downhill after the split. 2.) I feel like most of the decisions that were made by Arthur Anderson were faulty. They were negligent in almost every decision they made. One of the biggest things was the special purpose entries which were used to cover the truth of what was going on in the company. Lying to make a company look better is extremely unethical. An investor might look into the company and want to invest because of great profits and really the company...
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...practices that occurred to one of the largest accounting firms in the United States. We will look and review the mandated requirements for legal compliance (from Chapter 4) and determine which requirements apply to the Arthur Anderson case. Then we will discuss how the issues with the Arthur Anderson case may have played out differently if the Sarbanes-Oxley Act had been enacted in 1999. Next we will determine and discuss which elements of the framework for ethical decision making in business (from Chapter 5) played the biggest role in the Anderson case. Explain your reasoning. Lastly, we will discuss how the situations at Arthur Anderson may have played out differently if their senior management had displayed the habits of strong ethical leaders. Provide specific examples to support your response. Introduction Known as one of the Big Five the Arthur Andersen firm was founded in 1913 by Arthur Andersen and his partner Clarence Delany. The company name was very synonymous for their integrity, ethics and trust, which is necessary for an accounting firm to have and stand by. Our textbook states, “Andersen set standards for the accounting profession and advanced new initiatives on the strength of its then undeniable integrity (pg. 348). Andersen once shown a strong character but with the rise of many high-profile companies filing for bankruptcy, that same character would come into question. Analyzing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to by U.S. Congress...
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...Arthur Anderson 1. Environment, strategic, organizational changes * High quality accounting, promoting integrity and sound audit opinions over short run profits * 1930’s- government adopted laws that require public companies to submit financial statements to independent auditor each year * mantra- good service, quality audits, well managed staff, profits for firm * auditors rewarded for making sound auditing decisions * decision rights to Professional Standards Group * firm did not become wealthy in the early years, partners were well respected in communities * 1950’s- Joseph Glickauf- computers to automate bookkeeping * 1979-42% of $645m fees came from consulting * 1989- split to AC and AA * accounting business grew slowly in 1990 due to increased competition and mergers * AA adopted new strategy of generating profits, “it was a matter of pride” * New rules- partners retired at 56, less experienced auditors and fewer partners overseeing audits * New breeds of partners- Samek, Allgyer, signing off on inaccurate financial statements * 1997- AC split completely and became Accenture, AA underwent setback when they didn't receive the $14b expected payment from AC * AA- 2X performance evaluation, relaxed dress code, wooden doors removed * New service- take over entire internal bookkeeping for clients- impaired quality of audits * Enron-1986, wholesale energy trading * Anderson hired Enron in 1990 * Speed...
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...Financial Accounting Business Folio Task 1 (Team Assignment) DUE DATE: Your tutorial in week 4 If you do not hand in your business folio to your tutor at your tutorial in the specified week, then 2 marks per day will be deducted from the available marks for this Task. This 2-mark- deduction applies to all submissions after your tutorial time, even if still on the same day of your tutorial. Business folios will be only handed back at tutorials. It is your responsibility to attend the tutorials to submit and collect your business folio. You need to keep your marked Task 1 after you collect it from your tutor as you will need to submit it with your Task 2. Business Folio is a team assignment, submission of individual work is not accepted. It is your responsibility to find your team member, form into a group and conduct team work to develop your team working skills. Prior to commencing your assignment 1. You are required to form a team with one or two other students from your class (teams must consist of two or three students). Complete the team details (Pro Forma: Task 1A). All of your submitted tasks should be typed. Handwritten work is not eligible for submission. 2. Your team is to commence a new business; the form of ownership is to be a company. You will each contribute $200,000 cash and receive shares in the company to that value. There are conditions involved: • The business must be either a retail or wholesale business that appeals to you and...
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...Arthur Andersen: Questionable Accounting Practices Steven Young Strayer University Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases Dr. Mary Tranquillo November 13, 2012 Arthur Andersen: Questionable Accounting Practices p1 Arthur Andersen, one of the largest accounting firms in the United States, “a name that was synonymous with trust, integrity, and ethics” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2011, p. 348), through a loss of its founder Arthur Andersen, and change in its corporate culture resulting in many unethical business transactions that affected multitudes of primary stakeholders had to close its doors in 2002 after 90 years of business. Review the mandated requirements for legal compliance (from chapter 4) and determine which requirements apply to the Arthur Andersen case. Explain your rationale After re-reading Chapter 4 there are five areas that separate the mandated requirements for legal compliance, and I feel the that two apply to the Arthur Andersen case; the protection of consumers, and incentives to encourage organizational compliance programs. In the laws that protect consumers they require businesses to provide accurate information protecting them from financial scams, unfair, fraudulent, or deceptive practices. There are “Gatekeepers” that are in charge of that such as lawyers, financial rating agencies, and financial reporting services that help enforce high ethical standards. This...
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...to determine objectives and resources that will be used to achieve them. Planning is not considered as an informal response to a crisis. Planning is a purposeful effort geared towards providing “individuals and work units with a clear map to follow in their future activities; at the same time this map may be flexible enough to allow for individual circumstances and changing conditions” (Bateman & Snell, 2009, p. 132). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Arthur Andersen’s, LLP, planning function of and how legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibilities impacted Arthur Andersen’s management planning. Arthur Andersen, LLP In 1913, Arthur Andersen and Clarence De Lany, accounting professors at Northwestern University, formed Andersen, DeLany & Co. A few years later, DeLany left the company; therefore the company’s name changed to Arthur Andersen. During Andersen’s control, the company’s mission statement focused on building a solid corporate culture among all Andersen employees. In 1947, after Arthur Andersen’s death, the company almost closed; if it was not for the intervention of...
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...Review the mandated requirements for legal compliance (from chapter 4) and determine which requirements apply to the Arthur Anderson case. There are five categories that separate the mandated requirements for legal compliance. Two directly apply to the Arthur Anderson case. Those requirements include (1) protection of consumers, and (2) incentives to encourage organizational compliance programs. When I read the text, the examples which were given were all about making sure that people were not taken advantage of as a result of an entity’s business practices. The mandated requirement, incentives to encourage organizational compliance programs, speaks directly to the Arthur Anderson case. Our text states, “Gatekeepers such as lawyers, financial rating agencies and even financial reporting services must have high ethical standards.” High ethical standards don’t just happen they are enforced. Without compliance programs, loopholes are created for the dishonest. Discuss how the issues with the Arthur Anderson case may have played out differently if the Sarbanes-Oxley Act had been enacted in 1999. The provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley Act help minimize the likelihood of auditor failing to identify accounting irregularities by the following requirements: 1). Improving the internal control. Auditors comment on the internal control of the firm should be reported. 2). Reinforcing supervision for financial irregularities. This act boosts to establish an independent the Public Company...
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...profits became intense. Andersen leaders responded by pushing partners to become salesmen -- upsetting the delicate balancing act any auditor must perform between pleasing a client and looking out for the public investor. Seeds for Demise Although nobody knew it at the time, the seeds for Arthur Andersen's eventual demise were sown in 1950, when the firm introduced the "Glickiac" to the world. Named after its inventor, an Andersen engineer named Joseph Glickauf, the clunky device created a sensation by demonstrating that computers weren't just for scientists: Companies could use them to automate their bookkeeping. This ushered in an entirely new business. Rather than just audit the books, Andersen would set up the computers clients needed to keep the books. It wasn't long before Andersen boasted by far the largest technology practice of any accounting firm, raking in huge profits. The flood of money introduced a new element of tension into the partnership. Under rules set by the auditors who ran the firm, all of the profits from all the practice areas had to go into one big pot to be divided among partners. But since the average consultant brought in more money than the average auditor, the consulting side complained the arrangement was unfair. The week after New Year's Day in 1989, at a world-wide meeting of the firm in Dallas, the consultants finally made their break. They won an agreement to separate into two units -- Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting -- under a...
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...Planning Paper Universidad of Phoenix MGT/330 – Management: Theory, Practice, and Application Prof. Richard Valdés-González 17 de noviembre de 2008 Legal La firma Arthur Andersen dedicada a la auditoria de otras compañías (1999) reconoce la necesidad de acelerar el flujo de la información que tiene valor, desde los individuos a la organización y de vuelta a los individuos, de modo que ellos puedan usarla para crear valor para los clientes. Pero en la auditoria de Enron olvidaron su filosofía y violaron varias leyes, la que no solamente afecto su reputación, si no que afecto la reputación de toda profesión de contable en general. Los errores que cometieron fueron la destrucción de documentos importantes y hacerse de la vista larga ante practicas contables fraudulentas de Enron, las personas a cargo no cumplieron con su trabajo ya fuera intencionalmente o por negligencia. Así también, la actitud del director general de Arthur Andersen que destituyo a Carl E. Bass de AA de su papel de velar por que se respetaran las normas de contabilidad de Enron. Bass lo que hizo fue poner muchas objeciones sobre las continuas violaciones contables de Enron. Pero como auditar la compañía de Enron generaría una cuenta lucrativa para Arthur Andersen (100 millones anuales) y convenció a mas de 14 socios para no abandonar la cuenta de Enron. Obviamente, la actitud política general estaba menos preocupada de proteger los intereses de los...
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...Arthur Andersen (AA) had served as Enron’s outside auditor since 1985. Two years after the collapse of Enron, Arthur Andersen went from an international firm of 36,000 employees to nonexistence. In AA’s 16 years relationship with Enron, besides external auditing, AA also provided Enron internal auditing and consulting services. From 1997 to 2001, Enron overstated its profits by $568 million, 20 percent of Enron’s earnings for those four years. Andersen auditors helped Enron hide this earnings manipulation. On June 15, 2002, Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to its audit of Enron. (Arthur Andersen v. United State, 2005) Arthur Andersen contributed to the Enron scandal in four aspects. Firstly, facing the false financial condition, AA never disclosed it. Enron was one of AA’s major clients. In order to avoid the loss of this big client, AA helped Enron cheat on its financial statements. This action is not only unethical, but also illegal. To avoid losing this big client, AA determined to violate the standards. From the ethical aspect, AA should have stopped this fraud early. Instead, AA chose to act illegally to earn profits. Secondly, AA provided Enron external auditing, internal auditing and consulting services at the same time, violating accounting and auditing standards because there are conflicts of interests among these services. “There was a fluid atmosphere of transfers back and forth between those working...
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...Contrary to some belief, accounting is not a “walk-in-the-park” career. Accountants do not sit at a desk one-hundred percent of the time crunching numbers that always add up perfectly. In fact, accounting fraud is one of the largest scandals found today. When an accountant enters an engagement with a client, who are they liable to? Certainly not just to the client, but also anyone who could negatively be affected by a material misstatement, as well as the government. These responsibilities are not easily assumed, nor are they equally distributed. Accountants assume a large responsibility to their clients. They enter a contractual agreement through an engagement letter, and use engagement letters to minimize the risk they assume under the contract. Many engagement letters include memos limiting the recovery. (Reinstein, Lobingier, & Green, 2009) Accountants expressly agree to do a project by a specific date, and imply that the work will be completed carefully. If an accountant breaches the contract, they can be found liable for damages. If it can be found that an accountant did not act with skill and competence, causing harm to their client, negligence can be proved. Accountants also may be found guilty of fraud. Fraud can be proved if an accountant makes a false statement, knowing it is false, and the client relies on the information, resulting in damages. Another liability to the client is the trust clients give their accountants. They are liable to keep the...
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