Research Paper on:
Learning Lessons from Enron's Bankruptcy

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Dorgan said, "We dont seem to have got any closer... well have to keep digging" (Saragosa, 2002). Three witnesses had testified and gave three distinctly different stories about what had  happened at the company (Saragosa, 2002). As might be expected, the hearing sometimes lapsed into a round of mud-slinging and finger-pointing by the witnesses towards the other witnesses (Saragosa, 2002).  Jeffrey Skilling, a former chief executive of Enron, arrogantly insisted that he had done nothing wrong during his tenure as chief executive officer (Saragosa, 2002). Skilling insisted that the  collapse was the result of a "classic run on the bank" (Saragosa, 2002). This excuse did nothing but rile the other two witnesses, which led to mud-slinging (Saragosa, 2002). Skillings  testimony was far afield from that of the other witnesses that day (Saragosa, 2002). The fact that all three of the witnesses, Skilling, Jeffrey McMahon, chief operating officer, and  Sherron Watkins, the person who finally blew the whistle on the company, were all seated at the same table (Saragosa, 2002). Skilling consistently denied any knowledge of any financial problems  in the company but both McMahon and Watkins alleged they had both alerted Skilling to the problems that were brewing and he ignored their warnings (Saragosa, 2002). Skilling insisted that  since he was not an accountant himself, he should not be expected to know or understand any of the complex transactions he had personally approved - that was his defense  (Saragosa, 2002). He would not agree with the Senators on the panel that as chief executive officer, it was his responsibility to understand anything he signed and approved (Saragosa, 2002).  Senators also fired questions at both Skilling and McMahon about a discussion they had had about the complexity of the financial arrangements for the company and the two gave entirely