Unethical Behavior at Enron
Enron’s name was formerly Northern Natural Gas Company, which was formed in 1932 in Omaha, Nebraska. But in 1985, it bought the smaller Houston Natural Gas and finally changed its name to Enron. The “crooked E” logo was designed in the 1990s. Enron was well known for transmitting and distributing electricity and gas throughout the United States. Enron developed, built, and operated power plants and pipelines while dealing with the rules of law. They owned a huge network of natural gas pipelines which spread ocean to ocean and border to border including Northern Natural Gas, Florida Gas Transmission and Transwestern Pipeline Company. They were the companies that brought in the most cash for Enron and investments. They were the only reason that Enron received significant profits. Enron was named “America’s Most Innovative Company” by Fortune magazine for 6 consecutive years, from 1996 to 2001. It made Fortune’s “100 best companies to work for in America” list in 2000. Enron was beginning to be looked upon for its large long term pensions, benefits for its employees and effective management until people found out about corporate fraud. The first to publicly disclose Enron’s financial fallout was Daniel Scotto who in August 2001 issued a report telling investors to sell Enron stocks and bonds at any and all cost. The Enron Corporation and its accounting firm Arthur Andersen that was revealed in late 2001. After a series of revelations involving irregular accounting procedures began throughout the 1990s, Enron was on the brink of bankruptcy by November 2001. A rescue attempt was made by a smaller energy company, Dynegy, but was not practical. Enron Filed for bankruptcy on December 2, 2001. As the public began to realize what had happened, Enron’s shares dropped from $90.00 US to less than 50¢. After Enron’s huge financial plunge, information was revealed that much of the profits and revenue were the result of deals with special purpose entities. Which resulted in the