Compromise of financial transactions - Personal financial problems promote the demand for success and financial compensation. BernieEbbers secured multiple loans to support other individual companies. He had economic problems and was unable to pay the margin requirement for his WorldCom stock. He convinced the board to eventually provide him with the company's financing. To increase the loyalty, Bernie Ebbers also offered a loan to Chief Operating Officer Ron Beaumont. In addition, Mr. Scott Sullivan, Chief Financial Officer, provided personal checks (bonuses) to major managers involved in fraud accounting activities.
In 2001, a series of financial information frauds occurred including Enron, the auditing firm Arthur Andersen, the telecommunications company WorldCom, Qwest, Sunbeam, and other well-known companies. These issues highlight the need to review the effectiveness of accounting standards, audit regulations and corporate governance principles. In some cases, management may manipulate the figures shown in the financial report to show better economic performance. In other cases, tax and regulatory incentives promote excessive use of companies and decisions to bear certain irrational risks.
Among many products, WorldCom and Enron are still attracting attention in the 21st century. According to available information, WorldCom participated in a series of financial scandals in the stock exchange market when these scandals did not meet the capital standards. As stated in the letter, these factors had a considerable impact in promoting the company's collapse in 2002. Based on this reasoning, the financial statements find one of the most important ethical issues in any investment.
Accounting did not result in recent corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. The unreliable financial statements are management decisions, fraud and other consequences. Management fraud on fraudulent financial statements accused the accountant as scapegoat and overlooked the real problem. Reliable financial reporting relies on some somewhat effective internal control, but effective internal control relies heavily on reliable management systems and strong corporate governance. (The management system is the process of planning, executing, and controlling all business processes within an organization.)