Assessment tasks:
This assignment requires you to revisit the case of the collapse of US energy giant Enron Ltd. Your revisit starts with a reading of the excerpts from memos written by Enron executive Sherron Watkins and delivered to Enron Chairman Ken Lay outlining the accounting irregularities at Enron just before its demise. Carefully read the excerpts of the memos titled, "Dear Mr. Lay" provided by your lecturer. This set of memos capture the essence of some of the accounting and business anomalies that were taking place at Enron before its collapse.
Required:
Conduct your own research on the events leading to the collapse of Enron and identify the series of questionable business deals by Enron, in particular, between Enron and Raptor, and between Enron and Condor. How those deals were accounted for in the financial statements?
- "I am incredibly nervous that we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals." What accounting scandals was Watkins referring to here? List the questionable and/or fraudulent accounting practices Enron was engaged in. What were the effects of such practices on the reported results of Enron?