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Strategies & Market Trends : Paint The Table -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (9661)	1/10/2002 5:23:44 PM
From: Original Mad Dog	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23786

Andersen was the auditor for Sunbeam and Waste Management too.

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (9661)	1/10/2002 5:31:36 PM
From: Original Mad Dog	Respond to of 23786

Here is a delicious press release from the Andersen web site, about testimony the Andersen CEO gave in front of Congress four weeks ago: (I guess the documents were probably destroyed before then) andersen.com!OpenDocument Andersen CEO Joe Berardino testifies before Congress CEO details facts & pledges change WASHINGTON, D.C., December 12, 2001 — Andersen CEO Joe Berardino today told the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services that, “I am here today because faith in our firm and in the integrity of the capital market system has been shaken. Andersen will not hide from its responsibilities. That’s why I’m here today. The public’s confidence is of paramount importance. If my firm has made errors in judgment, we will acknowledge them. We will make the changes needed to restore confidence.” Berardino’s testimony focused on several accounting and auditing topics raised by the recent collapse of Enron and explained new details on the services Andersen provided to the Houston-based company. Among the topics addressed were two Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) whose financial statements recently had to be consolidated with Enron’s, reducing Enron’s earnings since 1997. SPEs are well-recognized financing vehicles that permit companies to access capital and increase leverage without adding debt to their balance sheet. Among the key points: Berardino stated that in the larger SPE, responsible for 80% of the SPE-related restatement, “important information was not revealed to our team” and that Andersen had notified the audit committee of the need to consider possible illegal acts by the company. Berardino stated that with regard to the smaller SPE, responsible for 20%, “we now believe, based on a second look, that our team made an error in judgment. An honest error, but an error nonetheless.” Berardino also acknowledged that questions have been raised about the sufficiency of Enron’s disclosures. “It’s true that Enron did not disclose every transaction or contingency,” he said. “It was not required to.” He noted that accounting rules also don’t require a company to disclose remote contingencies — such as the sudden, rapid decline we witnessed in Enron’s stock price and credit ratings. Berardino also underscored that of the fees paid to Andersen by Enron, $4 million listed as having been paid to Andersen were, in fact, paid to Andersen Consulting, now known as Accenture. Taking this into account, the total fees that Arthur Andersen received from Enron last year amounted to $47.5 million. And of this, about $34.2 million, or 72 percent, was audit-related and tax work. Total fees for other services paid to Andersen totaled 13.3 million. This was for several projects, none of which was for financial accounting systems implementation or for more than $3 million. Concluding his testimony, Berardino stated, “I am acutely aware that our firm must restore the public’s trust. I do not have all the answers today. But I can assure you that we are carefully assessing this issue and will take the steps necessary to reassure you and the public that our backbone is firm and our judgement is clear.” About Andersen Andersen is a global leader in professional services. It provides integrated solutions that draw on diverse and deep competencies in consulting, assurance, tax, corporate finance, and in some countries, legal services. Andersen employs 85,000 people in 84 countries. Andersen is frequently rated among the best places to work by leading publications around the world. It is also consistently ranked first in client satisfaction in independent surveys. Andersen has enjoyed uninterrupted growth since its founding in 1913. Its 2001 revenues totaled US$9.3 billion. Andersen refers to the brand identity adopted by member firms of the Andersen global client service network.