THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS - Essay Example More to the point, Arthur Andersen partnership was also dissolved at the time. Arthur Andersen was one of the five biggest audit and accountancy firms globally during the scandal (Li 37). Enron executives, particularly Jeff skilling as well as Andy Fastow, were key to Enron plunging into bankruptcy as well as ultimately dissolution. The acts include: market to market accounting as well as special purpose entities (SPE’s). None of these acts was illegal; however they were employed in illegal business plans (Mackey and Kristine 349). Enron Corporation was an American company based in Houston, Texas. What's more, Enron being one of the most prominent companies in the globe, it was also one of the companies that collapsed very quickly. Over and above, being the biggest liquidation reform at one time, Enron scandal was undeniably the largest audit letdown in American history (Li 37). This paper examines why the Enron scandal occurred? Whether the investigations into the scandal wer e fair? How the scandal was discovered? What went wrong? And what internal controls failed? Enron Corporation was established in 1985. Enron was as one of the globe's leading company dealing with natural gas, electricity, pulp and communications ahead of being declared bankrupt in October 2001. Enron was nearly universally regarded as one of the country's most innovative companies in the late 1990’s; a new-economy nonconformist that abandoned stuffy, aged industries with their bulky hard assets for the lax world of e-commerce. Enron persistently operated gas lines as well as built power plants, however it gained prominence for its distinctive trading businesses. In addition buying and selling gas plus electricity futures, it established whole new markets for such nonconformist merchandise as weather futures, Internet bandwidth as well as broadcast time for advertisers (Li 37).Very few people were acquainted with precisely what Enron's business was. Bethany McLean, a reporter for Fortune, inquired, â€Å"How exactly Enron made its money?† The question is hard to answer; the "particulars are difficult to get hold of as Enron keeps many of its details secret for what it terms 'competitive reasons.'" a different analyst remarked, "Enron is a big black box." Hence, even Wall Street had very little information about Enron's actual business practices. However, Enron is not unique in this regard. Enron akin to the majority corporations, operated relatively independently by opposing transparency and stakeholder participation (Brenan 35). Jeffrey Skilling proposed market to market accounting is a scheme to increase stock prices, hide Enron’s losses as well as attract new investment. The market to market scheme entailed that once a long-term contract was signed, the amount of which the asset supposedly would trade on the future market is reported as profit in the present financial statement. So as to soothe the investors to maintain a steady profitin g condition at Enron, traders at Enron were forced to predict low discount rate on the long-term contract with Enron as well as high future cash flows. The variation amid the computed net current value and the initially paid value was viewed as the profit of Enron. However it is unfeasible to gain in a long-term operation manner, and so it is evidently illegal furthermore immoral. Additionally, it was reported that the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the time permitted Enron to employ mark to market account

Russian revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Russian revolution - Essay Example 'What Is Happening in Russia' was one of many documents written and published by Vladimir Lenin while he lived outside of Russia; these were distributed throughout his home country and eagerly awaited by the activists and Communist thinkers he had left behind. It was with this chapter that Lenin first publicly commented on the events that had occurred prior to publishing; specifically the worker protests that had occurred in Russia between the self-declared proletariat and the Czarist forces. The military forces triumphed, but Lenin and the rest of the world looked on the Russian activists as the instigators to a revolution that was only just beginning. Students of the Russian Revolution have always read reflective essays and texts concerning the events that led up to the Russian Revolution, but rarely do they have a glimpse of first-hand doctrine and commentary from that era, specifically in the years before the major conflicts. Not only do primary sources heighten the learning experience and give first-hand context to historical events, but to read the words and thoughts of someone as integral to the Russian Revolution as Vladimir Lenin gives an entirely new slant to basic course studies. Through this piece of writing, one can get a feel not only for the attitude of Russians at the time, but of foreign countrymen as well. At the time Lenin wrote this piece, he had been a victim of prejudice for his political views for so long and to such an extreme extent that he didn't feel safe living in Russia anymore. His writing was a way for him to stay connected with the Communists at home in Russia and to continue inspiring them to want change. Lenin believed that the masses in Russia were largely unaware of their poor position in the strict class society, but that with persuasion they were slowly coming to terms with it and looking for a way out. The worker protests that occurred in the early 20th century clearly gave Lenin hope and a small sense of pride in his countrymen for their efforts. He did believe, however, that the failure of these protests called for pause and reflection so that future revolts might be more successful. When 'What Is Happening in Russia' was published, it was before the major events of the Russian Revolution had yet occurred; because of the timing of this piece of writing, students will be able to cultivate an excellent knowledge of the atmosphere of the times. Lenin references the growing unrest among Russian workers towards their classist, Czarist system, as well as their growing willingness to become proactive in changing their own lives and the lives of millions of disenfranchised Russians across the entire country. He refers to the Communist activists as "taking their first tentative steps" towards change and equality, "defining their objectives" in protest. Because of his position outside the country at the time, Lenin makes several references to international misunderstandings of the Russian state of mind, explaining that although foreign newspapers were mixing up their terms in reference to Russia and its protests, the basic opinion of the international community was that these outbursts of the public were the beginning of something bigger. He