Final Draft 1
LS501: Ethics and The Professional
Kimberly Thompson
The Enron Scandal
Kaplan University
Final Draft 2
Enron is a company that used its ethics and accounting courses. The company was caught in a
large accounting scandal causing stakeholders and the public to lose confidence in the
accounting profession. A look at the company helps individuals understand the need for
accounting oversight and professional code of conduct.
Enron was an energy company who moved from designing power plants based in oil and gas
pipelines to a trading network buying supplies and selling to consumers. The company created
natural gas contracts and worked with both gas and electricity. Towards the end of the
company’s business, Enron tried to move into the telecommunication trading business.
The key players involved in the Enron scandal included Lay, Skilling, Fastow, Watkins, and
Anderson LLP, Lay was Chief Executive Officer hired on as a business strategist. Fastow was
the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Watkins was the VP and Whistle Blower. Anderson LLP
was the group of auditors used by Enron (Thomas, 2002)
In 2001, Enron took a down turn in public confidence. Notes on the company’s financial
statements were under suspicion as being unclear and nontransparent. Enron imploded when it
