Speaking of accounting scandals.
A lot of papers have called the Satyam scandal India’s Enron (just like they called 26/11 India’s 9/11, really? Do we really need the validation that badly?)
So it is interesting to watch the documentary about the huge original scandal at Enron that I watched on new year’s eve this year. (No really. Long story about trying to balance out last new year’s eve which involved telling my boss ‘I quit’, flying to Goa to try to save a doomed relationship, getting wasted, swimming out to sea, twice and a whole lot of generally very out-of-character behaviour.)
Back to the film. It’s all on Google Video (which has become a great source for PBS documentaries) and it’s called ‘ENRON: The Smartest Guys In The Room’. It’s about Enron’s rise and fall, the web of dummy companies that were set up, the dirty dealings, the creative accounting, the crazy schemes and best of all it has a lot of actual recordings, audio and video, of Enron Management making shady deals and Enron traders openly screwing over the American public so they could make a quick buck.
Once again, one of the Big Five accounting firms, Arthur Andersen was involved and despite clear, well documented malpractices and sheer criminal activity like shredding documents relating to Enron’s accounts, the audit firm has (from what I understand) got away scot free after their felony conviction was reversed because of a mistrial due to some technicality. Crap.
In one of my favourite books ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide’, one of the lead characters, Ford Prefect remarks
‘They’ve re-introduced the Death Penalty for the CEO’s of insurance companies.’
To which Arthur Dent says ‘For what crime?’
Prefect replies
‘What do you mean for what crime?’
Priceless.
