Accounting statements can be manipulated. Please try to give an argument pro and con on this ethical issue. Any actual public examples you would like to cite would be most appreciated by all.
Scenario: Many brokerage firms got into a lot of trouble because their analysts continued to recommend clients "buy" Enron as its share price plummeted. This was due to the conflict of interest in that those brokerage firms did not want to lose Enron as a client. It was said that "buy" recommendation was really a "hold". Also, a "hold" recommendation really meant, "sell" because no brokers wanted to lose clients.
Do you believe a stock analyst can truly be independent if he knows his brokerage firm depends on the corporation he is evaluating for tens of millions of dollars in underwriting fees each year? Explain.