Accounting Fraud And Unethical Business Ethics Essay

Enron Corporation, an oil later turned energy company, was founded in 1985. It quickly rose to the top, even being named Forbes Top Fortune 500 Company 6 years in a row. Despite small hiccups in its history, it pushed on, which some would account to its executives such as Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skillings, and more. In 2000, its stock was rising by three to four hundred percent. Suddenly, Enron declared bankruptcy in December of 2001, which shocked people everywhere. Accounting fraud and unethical business ethics committed by the company were surfacing and thousands of people were losing their jobs and benefits. The route of Enron’s downfall was not the fraud, but the lack of moral compass within the founders and executives of the company. By having the ability to push aside the guilt of hurting thousands of people, these men single-handedly ran this company into the ground. It is important when looking at this story to start from the beginning and understand how a company with great expectations was plagued by money and the loss of humanity. Enron was founded as an oil company after it merged with two companies, Houston Natural Gas Co. and Omaha-based InterNorth Inc. Kenneth Lay, who had been the CEO of Houston Natural Gas, became Enron s CEO and chairman, forming Enron into an energy trader and supplier. His main goal was to de-regulate the energy market from the government, so he set out to have Enron’s main mission to accomplish this. In 1987, Enron was faced withShow MoreRelatedEnron - Ethical Dilemma Essay1129 Words   |  5 Pagesstatements. But not only corporations can be blamed on this, accounting firms were involved in this as much as the corporations were. With the business stand point, ethics comprises of principles and standards that guide behavior. 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