Cynthia Cooper: Journey of a Whistleblower

Beginning of a Whistleblower Bernie Ebbers, Scott Sullivan, and other members of top management intentionally led Mississippi’s pride and joy, WorldCom, on a 5-quarter charade filled with smoke, mirrors, and much intimidation. They did it hotly pursuing success, monetary gain, and the praise of their fellow statesmen. They did it by abusing work relationships and intimidating employees with promises and threats. Ultimately, they ended up “losing their footing” which caused them and, in turn, others to slip down the proverbial “ethical slippery slope” and on the path to committing fraud. Cynthia Cooper, the Vice President of Internal Audit, was among the people who were pushed to compromise. When pushed, however, her instinct and ethical values could not be overrun by her personal desire to see Mississippi’s pride continue on in its deceptive success. Cynthia Cooper loved her company. She loved it because she too had been born and raised in Mississippi. The later location of WorldCom’s headquarters, Clinton, Georgia, had been the same small town where her and her husband had gone to high school. She then went on to Mississippi State University to obtain a bachelor of science in accounting and then a master of science in accountancy from University of Alabama. She became a highly qualified accountant after working at both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche in Atlanta. In addition, becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She began working for WorldCom with just a staff of two others in their internal Audit department. She witnessed the growth of the company to the Telecom giant it became and endured the heartbreak of having to be the one to take it down. No one wanted WorldCom to legitimately succeed more than Cynthia Cooper and part of her died with it.

The Fraud Begins Later in her career Cooper began to unravel the scandal that became WorldCom. She lays