Read the Ethics case, "A Sad Tale: The Demise of Arthur Anderson" located in the
WileyPLUS Week Fundamentals of Corporate Finance Chapter readings.
Discuss the mistakes made
by Arthur Anderson and potential actions that leadership could have
taken to prevent the organizational failure.
Write a 350- to 700-word summary of your discussion.
A SAD TALE: The Demise of Arthur Andersen
In January 2002, there were five major public accounting firms: Arthur
Andersen, Deloitte Touche, KPMG, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, and Ernst
& Young. By late fall of that year, the number had been reduced to
four. Arthur Andersen became the first major public accounting firm to
be found guilty of a felony (a conviction later overturned), and as a
result it virtually ceased to exist.
That such a fate could befall Andersen is especially sad given its early
history. When Andersen and Company was established in 1918, it was led
by Arthur Andersen, an acknowledged man of principle, and the company
had a credo that became firmly embedded in the culture: “Think Straight
and Talk Straight.” Andersen became an industry leader partly on the
basis of high ethical principles and integrity.