DEATH of Aurther ANDERSEN

CNN | March 13th | LOU DOBBS

[cactmh]

Mergers between firms is very difficult...

[cactmh]

are very...

[Bobby777]

yes that's probably not an unusual practice ... fresh kids out of college are usually billed at $80-$85 per hour ... as a senior my rate was $185/hr ... however, as you stated, the objective wasn't to *find anything* ... I generally did non-audit work, though ...

[Semi Civil Servant]

One of the celebrated CEO's of the age is nicknamed "Chainsaw Al". And he isn't unique.

Care to remember who his auditors were at Sunbeam?

From:

cfo.com

***** "Chainsaw Al" to Pay $15 Million

Well, look who’s back in the news.

On Friday, "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap--turnaround specialist and former CEO at Sunbeam Corp--agreed on Friday to pay $15 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing him and other Sunbeam executives of inflating stock share prices. A civil trial for the suit was scheduled to start Monday.

The class action lawsuit accused Sunbeam and its officers of misleading investors about the appliance maker's sales and earnings in 1997 and 1998. The suit also alleged that the executives used inflated stock prices to complete mergers with Coleman, Signature Brands USA Inc. and First Alert Inc.

The company restated financial results for the six quarters before Dunlap was fired.

Sunbeam’s auditor at the time: Andersen, which also signed off on the financial statements of Enron Corp. and Waste Management.

*****

I'm sensing a pattern here. When the top managers are grifters and Three Card Monty experts, and when the auditors are on the payroll and are paid to look the other way, it's not free enterprise. It's a con game.

I'll say it again: the shareholders of corporations that do business in this country had better stop hiring and tolerating ruthless, dishonest managers. The alternative is more government regulation. We're already getting a whiff of that.

[cricket]

"Daschle is right! Corporate fraud should be punished! "

. . .good he qualified his criticism. . .had he just said 'fraud' shouuld be punished; he would really be asking for it.

The man is a fraud from the inside out; all 'four feet, ten inches' or whatever he measures standing up. . .

[HamiltonJay]

My brother an accountant and I had a conversation a few months ago about AA.. I told him point blank, AA is dead! It will no longer exist as an independent company post Enron... he believe it would still stand, because the government would not let one of the big 5 die because of insurance costs, only the big 5 will touch large companies, small audit firms won't go near them due to insurance liabilities.

I told him, they are dead or will be acquired, no other route for them. They engaged in illegal activity and have for years, as have ALL of the big 5... AA just got caught the most so far. Accounting is about reputation, if your reputation is dirt, you will lose clients left and right, (as AA has done) and you will lose good accountants left and right, because they don't want their carreers ruined by association....

Thusfar I am right, unless a bailout shows up... Shoulda made him put his money where his mouth was :)

[HamiltonJay]

it's not free enterprise. It's a con game.

If you see some of the things I have seen, you come to realize, they are one in the same more often than not.

[Tickle Me Pank]

Per reuters: Rank Firm Global 2001 Revenues Global Employees

1 PricewaterhouseCoopers $22.3 billion 150,000

2 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu $12.4 billion 95,000

3 KPMG $11.7 billion 100,000

4 Ernst & Young $9.9 billion 84,000

5 Andersen $9.3 billion 85,000

[VA Advogado]

In normal professional liability policies, that would be called "tail coverage". It is subject to underwriting though, and I'd imagine that no underwriter who wants to keep his job would approve tail coverage on an Anderson enterprise.

Yes. I think you've contrasted the different scenarios perfectly.

For those playing at home - this Enron situation, where it certainly has to be consider a ripe claim of some sort of malpractice or tort, no NEW insurer will write a policy to cover this event. However, its very likely they will be able to obtain or renew their E & O policies which will cover claims that may arise (but have not yet arisen) from their past conduct.

[Leisler]

Organizations larger than two people start to featherbed. It is an old story. When we had railroads it was the breakmen. As we have moved from large amounts of people employed in manufacturing, the behaviours have just shifted to the existing industries. Leadership is the key, bad leaders, all the soldiers get killed, same in buisness.

[Mr. K]

The news here is that AA is going to worth even less as time goes on- so why buy them now?

Look for someone to buy out their assets when their price hits rock bottom.

[elfman2]

"Uhm, actually it is widely known and reported."

Uhm, nope…

[elfman2]

"Uhm, actually it is widely known and reported."

Looks like #168 proves me wrong.

[cactmh]

Really? Well then, how do the numbers listing the Top 50 firms come about? I've seen lists where the number of partners, employees and revenues were all listed...the numbers don't just appear, do they?

[elfman2]

I see, #1 & #2 made some acquisitions and changed their names since 1998.

[cactmh]

Not quite sure I understand what you're saying. You mean PW and C&L? What's your point?

[Bob J]

Radio Free Republic Presents

The Banana Republican Hour

With your host Luis Gonzalez

This week’s guest:

Brothers to the Rescue founder, José Basulto

---

On February 24, 1996, three light aircraft left Miami on a routine flight. Their missions, to search the waters off the Florida Coast for rafters trying to reach the US shores, and bring them help by guiding the US Coast Guard to their location. That day in February, only one plane would return to its home base in Miami.

Tune in to Radio FreeRepublic this Thursday, March 14, at 9 PM EST, and listen to the actual sounds of a terrorist in action, murdering unarmed American citizens.

Sr. José Basulto, founder of Brothers to the Rescue and pilot of the surviving Cessna, will shed light on the events of that day, and detail how the Clinton administration withheld advanced knowledge of the attack from the humanitarian volunteer group, helping seal the fate of these four courageous flyers.

Radio FreeRepublic, fearless talk radio.

Click on Banner to hear broadcast of Show Thursday, March 14, at 9PM EST/6PM PST


RadioFR Every Thursday at 9PM EST/6PM PST

RadioFR Archives, Hear the shows you missed

[cactmh]

That's okay, it would make sense if the partnership kept its numbers to themself...but they don't. :)

[cactmh]

I heard a couple of years ago that one Big Five firm paid 17% of its revenues in legal fees. Sometimes the auditor is at fault...and sometimes they merely have the deepest pockets.