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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3-page paper deals with the question of business ethics in a legal sense, and an example of how the Andersen shredding of papers was both a legal and ethical problem. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MTbusmor.rtf
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namely because many companies have been not behaving in a very ethical manner. In terms of legalities, for example, the business might be well within the rights of the law.
But when it comes to morality, the ethical meter is pretty low. If we take the example of Enron and Arthur Andersen,
for example, these are two companies that didnt do anything illegal, even for all the negative press that was piled on them. In formulating the enterprises in which Enron executives
hid the companys massive debt, the special purpose entities, Enron simply took advantage of an approved Financial Accounting Services Board requirement, that allows companies to hedges their resources to raise
more capital (and to reduce debt). Granted, the degree to which Enron took these SPEs was astounding -- but again, it was ethically wrong, not necessarily legally wrong.
Andersens case is a little clearer. Turning a blind eye to corporate greed is not a crime, nor is it illegal. Andersen received a
great deal of negative publicity for doing so. But Andersen was caught, not in signing off on Enrons dubious accounting practices -- other auditing firms have done the same things
in the past. Andersens crime (and it is a crime) was obstruction of justice, when it came to shredding the Enron documents. If you examine all of the press about
Andersens role in Enron, youll see the moral outrage and disgust, but again, legally, Andersens crime involved trying to get rid of the evidence.
Robert Arnott, who is editor of the Financial Analysts Journal, asks an important question, which is mainly, how ethical standards can be improved without more legislation. He also
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