F1 Financial Reporting and Taxation - September 2015

When Enron, one of the world’s largest and most “successful” energy companies, filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, the news sent shockwaves through the entire accounting profession. Why? Five of Enron’s directors were found to have lied about its financial health. In doing so, they had acted in a self-interested manner that was unethical and not in the interests of the company’s other stakeholders. Senior executives – including the CFO, Andrew Fastow – were convicted and jailed for conspiring to manipulate the company’s earnings and artificially inflate its stock price.