Accounting scandals of 2002 In 2002, a wave of accounting scandals broke in the United States. A number of leading companies have admitted to mis-stating their accounts, giving a misleading impression of their status. In public companies, this type of creative accounting can amount to fraud, and a series of investigations have been launched by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In several cases, the sums involved are in the billions of dollars. See Also: Corporate scandal Reported accounting scandals in 2000 Xerox (2000) 2001 Enron (2001) Jeffrey Skilling, Kenneth Lay, Andrew Fastow 2002 AOL Adelphia Bristol-Myers Squibb CMS Energy Computer Associates Duke Energy Dynegy El Paso Freddie Mac Global Crossing Gary Winnick, John Legere, Thomas Casey Halliburton Dick Cheney Harken Energy Published report 10-9-2002 HealthSouth Homestore.com ImClone Systems Sam Waksal, Martha Stewart, John B. Landes, Ronald A. Martell, Kmart Lucent Technologies Merck & Co. Merrill Lynch Mirant Nicor Energy, LLC Peregrine Systems Qwest Communications International Reliant Energy Sunbeam Tyco L. Dennis Kozlowski, Mark H. Swartz, Waste Management WorldCom Bernard Ebbers 2003 Parmalat Calisto Tanzi Sorted by Big Five auditor Arthur Andersen -- CMS, Cornell, Dynegy, Enron, Global Crossing, Halliburton, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Merck, Peregrine, Qwest, Sunbeam, Waste Management, WorldCom David Duncan Deloitte & Touche -- Adelphia, AES, Cendant, Duke, El Paso, Merrill Lynch, Reliant, Rite Aid Ernst & Young -- AOL Time Warner, Dollar General, PNC KPMG -- Citigroup, CA, GE, IM Clone, Peregrine, Xerox PricewaterhouseCoopers -- Bristol Myers, HPL, JP Morgan Chase, Kmart, Lucent, MicroStrategy, Network Associates, Phar-Mor, Tyco Coopers & Lybrand LLP -- Network Associates Gutierrez & Co. -- Vivendi Grant Thornton -- Parmalat The Enron scandal has so far resulted in the criminal conviction of the Big Five auditor Arthur Andersen, and that firm has had to divest itself of its non-US partners. There is a general perception that there are other accountancy scandals waiting to be uncovered, which has contributed to the 2002 stock market downturn. On July 9, 2002 George W. Bush gave a speech about recent accounting scandals that have been uncovered. In spite of its stern tone, the speech did not focus on establishing new policy, but instead focused on actually enforcing current laws, which include holding CEOs and directors personally responsible for accountancy fraud. In July, 2002, WorldCom filed for bankruptcy protection, in the largest corporate insolvency ever. These scandals have reignited the debate over the relative merits of US GAAP, with its rules-based approach to accounting, and International Accounting Standards and UK GAAP, which favour a principles-based approach. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has announced it intends to introduce more principles-based standards. More radical means of accounting reform have been proposed but so far have very little support. See Also Corporate abuse External links Securities and Exchange Commission website Link to Bush speech A diagram of the scandals Further reading John R. Emshwiller and Rebecca Smith, 24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America or Infectious Greed, HarperInformation, 2003, ISBN 0060520736 Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals_of_2002