Enron: A Political Scandal Term Paper by Nicky

A discussion on the Enron fraud as the biggest political scandal in American history.
# 150694 | 1,372 words | 4 sources | APA | 2012 | US
Published on Mar 30, 2012 in Political Science (U.S.) , Accounting (Fraud)


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Description:

The paper reveals the contributions of Kenneth Lay's company, Enron, to the political career of George W. Bush and then points out Bush's denial of his association with Lay. The paper offers the facts of the Enron scandal and discusses it as the biggest political scandal in American history as well as the biggest scandal to ever hit Wall Street and accounting. The paper describes the results of the Enron scandal and how the American people have learned a harsh lesson about the integrity of even blue-chip companies.

Outline:
Introduction
The Enron Scandal Breaks
George W. Bush - Denial of Association with Lay
The Enron Scandal Facts
Enron is Biggest Political Scandal in History
Enron Scandal is Biggest Scandal to Ever Hit Wall Street
Enron Scandal Biggest to Ever Hit Accounting
The Results of the Enron Scandal
Summary & Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The work of Joel Levy entitled: "The Little Book of Conspiracies: 50 Reasons to be Paranoid" relates that Enron had its beginning in 1985 as a small fuel supply company located in Houston, Texas. Enron sold and delivered gas to customers and "diversified to become an energy broker and dealer in the complex financial instruments of the energy market." (2005) In 2001, an investigation began when a corporate whistleblower tipped off the investigation and ultimately resulted in billions being lost including the share options and pensions of Enron employees and investors. (Levy, 2005, paraphrased) Levy states that the rise of Enron in the financial world "...coincided with a massive deregulation of the energy markets in Texas and America as a whole. The deregulation was forced through by legislators to whom Enron paid out massive contributions..." (Levy, 2005)
"The fraud was primarily comprised of "cooking the books to make it look as if the company's finances were consistently rosy, so that share prices would steadily keep rising." (Levy, 2005) More than 30 individuals have received criminal charges since 2001 connected to their dealing with Enron which incidentally "was just one of several companies revealed to have been practicing this sort of fraud..." (Levy, 2005) It is interesting that most of these companies are known to have provided hefty contributions to "politicians of every stripe, but had particularly strong links to the Republicans and to Bush." (Levy, 2005)"

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Bryce, Robert (2004) Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego and the Death of Enron. Public Affairs, 2004.
  • Herivel, Tara and Wright, Paul (2003) Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor. Routledge 2003.
  • Levy, Joel (2005) The Little Book of Conspiracies: 50 Reasons to Be Paranoid. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005.
  • Waldman, Paul (2004) Fraud; The strategy behind the Bush lies and why the media didn't tell you. Sourcebooks Inc. 2004.

Cite this Term Paper:

APA Format

Enron: A Political Scandal (2012, March 30) Retrieved September 25, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/term-paper/enron-a-political-scandal-150694/

MLA Format

"Enron: A Political Scandal" 30 March 2012. Web. 25 September. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/term-paper/enron-a-political-scandal-150694/>

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