Lessons from Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen collapses

NSome of the key questions that were presented in the article include; How could a company as successful as Enron meet such a demise? What lessons can be learned from the Enron Debacle? Was the Bush administration aware of the problems at Enron before they became apparent to the rest of the country What can be done to prevent this from occurring again? Why did WorldCom collapse? Can the collapse of WorldCom interrupt internet connections? Why did Arthur Anderson ignore the discrepancies with Enron's business practices? Is Arthur Anderson to blame for the problems with Enron? Have the actions of Arthur Anderson tainted the profession of accountants? Why wasn't there more accountability for the practices of the companies? Why didn't the SEC know that these problems were occurring?

What is the most significant question?

The most significant question is What can be done to prevent this from occurring again? This question is the most significant because ot forces us to examine the things that are wrong with the current business structure in America. In addition, it forces us to find ways to address this issue and prevent the collapse of other companies.

2. What information did the authors use to come to the conclusions?

Most of the authors site information from the SEC and other government agencies. In addition, the company has been forced to disclose certain information during the court proceedings that occurred after the companies collapsed. Some of the articles discuss the authors opinions about the situation based on information from these sources. After the collapse of these companies, a great deal of information was revealed about the internal affairs of these organizations.

How can we check to see if this information is accurate?

We can make sure that this information is accurate by obtaining company information from the SEC. In addition, we can gather information from court transcripts. All of this information is readily available to the public and can be obtained easily.

Is there a more reasonable interpretation of the evidence than the conclusions to which these "experts" have come?

The interpretation of the evidence is straightforward. The articles assert that all of these companies met their demise because they were dishonest; all of the evidence supports this conclusion. All of the articles came to the same conclusion about the evidence that was available about the companies.

3. Name and explain some of the questions, problems, and issues that people in the IT field answer, solve, or resolve related to this issue.

Technology is an important part of business throughout the world. During the Enron scandal a key pieces of evidence were found through interoffice emails. IT professionals were able to retrieve emails that were sent and they were used as evidence against those that had been involved in the scandal. In addition current and future technologies could make it easier for IT professionals to retrieve emails and other interoffice communications such as letters and memos.

In the case of these three companies, IT professionals have asked if these situations could have been prevented through the use of advanced technologies. Some professionals suggest that software programs should be developed to accurately record and report information to the SEC. In addition, some assert that advanced accounting programs should be used to track business activities and to ensure that these activities are accurately recorded. These experts also contend that software programs should be used to track any changes that are made to the companies accounting records. Tracking such changes will allow the SEC and other firms to hold the company accountable for any inaccuracies in their reporting.

4. Discuss the point-of-view or perspective that the field of IT involves surrounding consideration of this topic.

IT professionals assert that much can be done to ensure that none of these scenarios occur again. The professionals assert that there are already programs that exist that can aid in catching discrepancies before they cause the collapse of a business. IT professionals also recognize there limitations and assert that businesses must behave in a way that is ethical to ensure that these situation do not occur again. Business leaders that are unethical will always find a way to beat the system no matter how much technology is in place to prevent problems from occurring.

Were these just isolated cases or symptomatic of U.S. business overall?

I think that these cases were symptomatic of the overall business structure. It seems that American businesses are willing to do anything to make profits, with no concern for the people that are going to harmed through these frauds.

Does your answer change when considering this from a Christian perspective? Should we accept these assumptions or should we question them?

Assumptions should always be questioned. We should inspect the evidence ourselves and review how the evidence stacks up against the assumptions that have been made by the authors. The nature of the collapse of the aforementioned companies received so much attention that many reports contain assumptions and asserting that are inaccurate.

6. How would you elaborate on your understanding of the concepts involved in the study of this topic?

This particular topic involves the demise of business ethics. From Enron to Arthur Anderson, people in powerful positions made conscious decisions to abandon their stakeholders and report deceptive and inaccurate information. In the case of Enron millions of people that weren't even Enron employees were placed in dire situations because of the company's dishonesty. In addition, the actions of these companies made investors more apprehensive and made loarge corporations revamp their accounting practices.

7. What is your prediction for the future? What part do you play in shaping that future?

It seems that the business world has partially learned a lesson from the demise of these companies. In the future I predict that companies will more vigilant concerning the financial reports that are given to the public. The part that we will play involves behaving in a manner that is ethical.