First thing that I noticed is that the author’s style is very personal and emotional. The author uses words and phrases expressing her personal feelings, which sometimes really made me a little bit bias about what was going on there (standing on Cynthia’s side).
I like that she gives a very detailed insider’s look on the economic and social environment in the Mississippi state, which I really knew nothing about. It is very important in this particular case because lack of workplaces and the overall “not wealthy condition” of the area was highly interrelated with what happened with WorldCom. I suppose that if those two middle-level accountants who directly changed the books didn’t think that it would be almost impossible to find an equivalent job in Jackson and they have people that depend on them financially, they could refuse to deceive and it would be an easier decision for them to leave the firm.
I also though again about how important it is to have your own professional opinion and defend it, no matter how good rationalization you can make for the act that you know is just not right. The Controller, David Myers, didn’t think about changing the books, but when a person who was an authority to him and to whom he was very loyal told him that it was what the company needs to do, David tried to lie to himself persuading himself that probably this idea is not that bad considering the circumstances. He artificially made himself to believe in something that he didn’t really believe in. And later he struggled a lot because he did not insist on his own view.
The author made a good job introducing her, starting from the early childhood. I noticed one very good thing about her – she is sincerely grateful for every person that influenced her and she is very generous on kind and admiring words when talking about her family and teachers. I also noticed that she wanted to emphasize some features of her character that finally led her to who she is now. First of all, she was willing to work much, and she liked this feeling of accomplishment when finishing a big amount of work that not everybody wants to do (example with cleaning the field). And also the things and values that her parents taught her - in a so logical way she emphasized how well she understood them and how useful they were for her.
Finally, I found it interesting to know what exactly accountants did to overstate earnings – details about “reserve in liabilities” capitalization of some expenses, I didn’t think about that.