Enron and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enron and Ethics - Essay Example Arthur Anderson was recognized by the industry as one of the most prestigious accounting firms in the world. Even though the accounting scam Enron was running was a bit complex, a top accounting firm such as Arthur Anderson should have been able to recognize the accounting irregularities. The accounting firm turned a blind eye and they let the accounting scam continue for years. The Securities and Exchange Commission also did not do a good job of recognizing the scam in time. The SEC failed to perform its job of protecting the investors since they had at their disposal every annual report of the company with its financial statements and they fail to notice the scam the firm was running. The ethical meltdown the firm endured occurred because the executive managerial staff of the company was greedy and extremely unethical. They envision the company as the market leader in its industry when in reality the company had a business model that was completely flawed. At the end of the debacle when things were going down and the scam was revealed the top executives sold their shares fast before they completely lost all their value. The scam was such a secret that even president George Bush was a big backer of the company (Lashinsky, 2001). 2.