9-104-071 REV: SEPTEMBER 14‚ 2007 ROBERT S. KAPLAN DAVID KIRON Accounting Fraud at WorldCom WorldCom could not have failed as a result of the actions of a limited number of individuals. Rather‚ there was a broad breakdown of the system of internal controls‚ corporate governance and individual responsibility‚ all of which worked together to create a culture in which few persons took responsibility until it was too late. — Richard Thornburgh‚ former U.S. attorney general1 On July 21‚ 2002
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I believe that corporate employees working within the confines and rules of the organization‚ have all the tools required to act ethically. When an individual is asked to do something that they may even suspect would be detrimental to their livelihood‚ then they have all the rights given to them to not follow through with that action. In the case of Betty Vinson of WorldCom‚ while she had the clear understanding that her actions were wrong‚ she clearly kept personal financial safety ahead of her
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WorldCom was born in 1983 with the name LDDS (Long-Distance Discount Service) in Clinton‚ Mississippi. In 1985 Early investor Bernard Ebbers becomes chief executive officers (CEO) of LDDS. The company became public in August 1983 with the acquisition of Advantage Companies Inc. In 1993 LDDS acquired long distance providers Resurgens Communications Group and Metromedia Communications in a three-way stock and cash transaction that created the fourth-largest long distance network in the United States
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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
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one of the largest communications companies in the United States and world. A humble motel owner‚ Bernard Ebbers took a small long distance company in 1983 and turned it into one of the most successful businesses in the country. It was not so much the business operations that caused the company to grow but the aggressive acquisitions that made the company grow. In its day‚ CEO Bernard Ebbers led the company through seventeen mergers and acquisitions‚ including the (at the time) largest ever with
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WorldCom and Accounting Ethics ACC557 Assignment #1 April 29‚ 2013 Dr. Mohammad Rahman Deanna Williams Current business and regulatory environments are more conducive to ethical behavior due to many new laws that have been put into effect in recent years. For many companies‚ especially small ones‚ the checks and balances are not put into place as well as they should be. With new laws in effect and more and more accountants paying attention to their clients’ accounts‚ ethical behavior is on
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edu/networks/Telecommunications_Regulation.pdf Hevesi‚ A Mecoy‚ D. (2003‚ Sep 14). Cost of WorldCom fraud for Oklahoma investors still unknown. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Retrieved from www.proquest.com WorldCom Morton‚ P. (2005‚ July 14). Ebbers became symbol of scandals: downfall began with blocked Sprint bid in ’97. National Post ’s Financial Post & FP Investing (Canada) National Edition‚ p. FP1. Retrieved from: www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic Norris‚ F O’Reilly‚ C. (2005‚ August 11)
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WorldCom had great strength through its time‚ it also had much weakness‚ mostly through bad decision making in the accounting department. In 2001‚ Ebbers made the first critical mistake. He convinced the board of directors to provide him with over 400 million dollars to cover his margin calls. The board had much weakness by actually providing Ebbers with this substantial amount of money. I think that the well educated people on the board should have seen the great risk they were putting out on
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to the disregard of legal‚ ethical and social issues and the influence of the company’s strategic‚ tactical‚ operational and contingency planning. It all began in Clinton‚ Mississippi in 1985 when Long Distance Discount Services selected Bernard Ebbers to be its CEO. The company name was changed to LDDS WorldCom in 1995 and later just known as WorldCom. MCI‚ Inc. was a telecommunications company that was headquartered in Ashburn‚ Virginia. This was a result of the merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications
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The limitations for Women “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”‚ written in 1893 by George Bernard Shaw‚ is a play that centers around the relationship between Mrs. Kitty Warren‚ a brothel owner‚ and her daughter‚ Vivie‚ an intelligent and hardheaded young woman. The women in this play are underpaid‚ undervalued‚ and overworked. A good comparison that explores women in the Victorian era is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte‚ written in 1846. Wuthering Heights goes in depth about the social classes that
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