Background of the Enron Case: During the downfall of the Enron Corporation, Arthur Anderson, and Enron's accounting firm, instructed its employees to destroy financial documents relating to Enron. On May 6, 2002 a charge of obstructing an official proceeding of The Securities Exchange Commission was filed against Arthur Andersen LLP. Hence, the term, "Whistle-blower," was formed as well as the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act which monitors the ethical and financial affairs of all business corporations.
Using the Internet, locate sources of information about this landmark case. Review the contributing factors to the evolution of this
situation, the legal ramifications, and the resulting effects on corporate ethical standards that occurred to prevent further malfeasance on the part of corporate executives. Refer to the Supreme Court Full Case Name: Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States. Citations: 544U.S 696; 125 S.Ct.2129; 161L.Ed.2d 1008; 2005 U.S.LEXIS 4348; 73U.S.L.W.4393.
Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:
1. Determine the primary factors that contributed to the downfall of Enron's financial practices.
2. If you had been assigned to defend Enron, justify the legality of its methods of handling its finances.
3. Differentiate the responsibilities of Arthur Anderson's auditors from that of Enron's executives.
4. Analyze the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
5. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and
other Websites do not quality as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
1- Determined the primary factors that contributed to the downfall of Enron.
2- Justified the legality of its methods of handling its finances.
3- Differentiated the responsibilities of Arthur Anderson's auditors from that of Enron's executives.
4- Analyzed the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
5- Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Formulate guidelines to maintain effective corporate governance in a firm and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Analyze company policies to ensure compliance with key provisions of the major federal laws related to investor protection, equal employment opportunity, consumer protection, and environmental protection.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in commercial law.
• Write clearly and concisely about commercial law using proper writing mechanics