Discussion Questions A … A commentary by FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith. ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. Here's a look at three major battles of the decade. What went wrong? But ultimately, as this report shows, it was not just Congress but the big accounting firms themselves that failed to protect investors, and what happened at Arthur Andersen illustrates the wider story of how the oversight system broke down. Together with Enron -- the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history -- these failures have cost investors an estimated $200 billion. Pavadinimas: PBS Frontline Bigger than Enron Video Language: English Duration: 55:55 During the 90s, the Big Five flexed its political muscle as never before. WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY Hedrick Smith & Marc Shaffer. Reforms on the Table An overview of post-Enron reforms being proposed by the SEC, Congress, the New York Stock Exchange, and other bodies. A synopsis of FRONTLINE's "Bigger Than Enron." This is a DVD re-release of a 2002 PBS Frontline VHS release documenting the deeper nature of corporate fraud and corruption as it stood then and that extends beyond Enron and its auditors to many other firms. FRONTLINE investigates the rise of deadly drug-resistant bacteria. press reaction + credits + privacy policy + FRONTLINE + wgbh + pbsi, web site copyright 1995-2013 WGBH educational foundation, League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis. Lynn Turner, a former Wall Street partner at Coopers & Lybrand and former chief accountant at the SEC, says, "Without reform, there's no question we'll see more damage inflicted -- we will see more Enrons. Unless major reforms are undertaken to restore investor confidence, observers say, it could spell trouble for the U.S. markets. And, well placed blame on our elected political representatives was also presented. Houston Chronicle Ann Hodges. HEDRICK SMITH, FRONTLINE Correspondent: [voice-over] Everything about Enron seemed larger than life, from its glittering Houston headquarters reaching to the skies to its spectacular downfall. This is a DVD re-release of a 2002 PBS Frontline VHS release documenting the deeper nature of corporate fraud and corruption as it stood then and that extends beyond Enron and its auditors to many other firms. WGBH educational foundation. var gads = document.createElement('script'); In the late 1990s, Sunbeam CEO Al Dunlap used simple accounting tricks to paint a picture of a turnaround in earnings that didn't exist. What makes tonight's Frontline a must-see for anyone interested in the business pages and the prospects of happier days ahead for employees, pensioners, investors, et al, is that Frontline's investigation seeks the hows and whys of what happened, not just at Enron, but going back to the 'investor frenzy' of the '90s. press reaction + credits + privacy policy + FRONTLINE + wgbh + pbsi, web site copyright 1995-2014 In the late 1990s, Enron was just one of the more than 400 corporations forced to dramatically restate their value because of accounting lapses, failures or fraud. }); An unprecedented account of the crisis inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Now, FRONTLINE examines an oversight system gone soft"--Container })(); What went wrong? But Enron and Arthur Andersen are the tip of the iceberg. (function() { Enron cost the American people $200 billion, due to deceptive financial reporting. But Enron and its auditor, Arthur Andersen, are the tip of the iceberg. Course. With a commentary by correspondent Hedrick Smith. Bankers, lawyers and accountants all colluded in enabling these frauds, and many were inadequately punished. Audience Reviews for Frontline - Bigger Than Enron. Bigger than Enron. questions for investors + interviews + discussion + correspondent's chat + tapes + transcripts In the 1990s, more than 700 U.S. companies were forced to correct misleading financial statements as a result of accounting failures, lapses, or outright fraud. introduction + lessons + politics of enron + accounting wars + watchdogs googletag.enableServices(); Instead, after prolonged criticism for moving too slowly and being too soft on the accounting firms, SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt has taken the initiative, announcing on June 20 his proposal for a new Public Accountability Board. “The Most Risky … Job Ever.” Reporting on “ISIS in Afghanistan”. FRONTLINE PROGRAM: Bigger Than Enron. What went wrong? Bigger Than Enron The Frontline program profiled corporations that undercut financial watchdogs. In the spring of 1998, when Dunlap and his team ran out of tricks, Sunbeam corrected its books, declared bankruptcy, and the stock price plunged from $53 at its peak to just pennies today. A synopsis of FRONTLINE's "Bigger Than Enron." PBS Frontline Bigger than Enron by dacia stefanski. On June 15, a Houston jury convicted Arthur Andersen -- the 89-year-old accounting firm once known as the gold standard of integrity in auditing -- for obstruction of justice in the government's investigation of Enron, Andersen's biggest client. Critics, however, still say that his plans are too weak, and question whether he is genuinely prepared to cross his former clients in the accounting industry, which he represented as a top Wall Street lawyer throughout the 1990s. Bigger than Enron [videorecording] / a FRONTLINE coproduction with Hedrick Smith Productions ; ... Summary: Examines the ... Frontline (Television program) Note: Originally broadcast as a segment of the television program Frontline. FRONTLINE WATCH SCHEDULE TOPICS ... Paul Volcker, Joseph Berardino, and others, on lessons learned from Enron and Andersen. An excellent case was made for reform of the accounting profession. Is This Supreme Court Case the Next ‘Citizens United’? In his bestselling The Russians, PULITZER PRIZE WINNER Hedrick Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union.In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington’s corridors of power.Now, in Who Stole The American Dream?, Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America. Why the largest business scandal in American history is just the tip of the iceberg--and why investors should care. DIRECTED BY Marc Shaffer David Brooks of The Weekly Standard and Robert Kuttner of The American Prospect debate the political fallout, or lack of it. Bankers, lawyers and accountants all colluded in enabling these frauds, and many were inadequately punished. 'https:' : 'http:') + In the late 1990s, Enron was just one of the more than 400 corporations forced to dramatically restate their value because of accounting lapses, failures or fraud. ... Watch "Frontline: The Warning" Watch "Part 2/2: Bill Murphy of GATA reveals whistle blower Andrew MaGuire to CFTC 3-25-2010" Keep your eyes out on WikiLeaks -- they will be releasing some internal bank documents soon. Now, FRONTLINE examines an oversight system gone soft"--Container ... Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS … University. View GENBUS - Bigger than Enron from GENBUS 101 at Boise State University. Everything about Enron seemed to be larger than life. The word is out. The meteoric rise and stunning collapse of Enron caused many to question why the corporate oversight system that was supposed to protect investors failed to sound any alarms about the company's dubious finances. In the late 1990s, Enron was just one of the more than 400 corporations forced to dramatically restate their value because of accounting lapses, failures, or fraud. questions for investors + interviews + discussion + correspondent's chat + tapes + transcripts But so far no bill has passed both chambers and been signed into law. But what seemed to be lacking was in … Together with Enron -- the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history -- these failures have cost investors an estimated $200 billion. For PBS since 1989, Smith has created 26 prime-time specials and mini-series on such hotly debated and much discussed topics as terrorism, Wall Street, Soviet perestroika, Wal-Mart, Enron, tax evasion, educational reform, health care and Washington's power game. "The trail leads to Washington," Smith reports, "where Congress weakened the protections and tied the hands of regulators, making it easier for aggressive companies like Enron to push the envelope." Bigger THAN Enron - Discussion Questions - Worksheet. Boise State University. "Bigger Than Enron" examines three specific cases in which Andersen auditors allowed misleading or fraudulent accounting practices to cause enormous investor losses -- at Sunbeam, Waste Management, and finally Enron. In the case of Waste Management -- which in 1998 issued the largest corporate restatement before Enron -- the company had exaggerated its earnings by $1.7 billion. AIRDATE: Thursday, June 20, 2002. googletag.defineSlot('/6735/n6735.pbs/culture_race_AmericanFamily', [728, 90], 'googlead').addService(googletag.pubads()); + Questions Investors Need to Ask An excerpt from the new book How Companies Lie: Why Enron Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg. Included in the report were details of how deregulatory fervor in Congress enabled these sheisters to invent profits out of thin air. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; + Boosting the Bubble? The House and Senate held hearings and introduced legislation to reform the accounting industry. PBS Frontline aired this expose of the Enron/Anderson scandal last night. Through interviews with SEC officials, corporate executives, members of Congress, and investor advocates, FRONTLINE examines an oversight system gone soft and explores how market deregulation and conflicts of interest between accountants and the companies they were auditing eroded the system of controls designed to protect stockholders from investment fraud. Harvey Pitt, Arthur Levitt, Paul Volcker, Joseph Berardino, and others, on lessons learned from Enron and Andersen. "The collapse of Enron caused many to question the watchdog system designed to protect investors. gads.src = (useSSL ? [an error occurred while processing this directive] "The collapse of Enron caused many to question the watchdog system designed to protect investors. I think the Enron scandal is symptomatic of something much broader than Enron. But Enron and Arthur Andersen are the tip of the iceberg. Now, FRONTLINE examines an oversight system gone soft"--Container FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate assisted living in America. Andersen and Waste Management paid a steep price in stockholder settlements, but no one went to jail. But Enron and Arthur Andersen are the tip of the iceberg. The conviction of Arthur Andersen for document shredding gives the Bush Administration an early, if shaky, legal success in its investigation of the Enron scandal. Dear FRONTLINE, I thought Bigger Than Enron was an excellent program. Enron's collapse in late 2001 galvanized Congress and brought urgent calls for reform. Keep checking Rotten Tomatoes for updates! With the demise of Andersen, the American business landscape was forever altered. + Producer's Notebook var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol; googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); 55:55. NFL Commissioner Highlights Safety Record In Letter To Fans, How One Client’s Concussion Shook the Real “Jerry Maguire”. What did the NFL know, and when did they know it? Through interviews with current and former SEC officials (including SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt and his predecessor, Arthur Levitt), Arthur Andersen executives (including former Andersen CEO Joseph Berardino), members of Congress (including Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut), investor advocates, and others, the report explores how the system of controls was eroded by conflicts of interest, as well as by congressional intervention that blocked efforts at protecting investors. Your Name: _ Frontline video "Bigger Than Enron." [an error occurred while processing this directive] The meteoric rise and stunning collapse of Enron caused many to question why the watchdog system that was supposed to protect investors failed to sound any alarms about the company's dubious financial underpinnings. In a special two-part investigation, FRONTLINE reveals the hidden story of the NFL and brain injuries. But Enron and Arthur Andersen turn out to be merely the tip of the iceberg. I rece... View more. During the past decade, the accounting industry has flexed its lobbying muscle on Capitol Hill as never before, and Smith examines the three major political battles of the decade's accounting wars: the fight over stock options, the fight over tort reform, and the all-out war over SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt's attempt to rein in conflicts of interest by forcing accounting firms to separate their auditing and consulting practices. Notes on investigating the Andersen story, by FRONTLINE producer Marc Shaffer. gads.async = true; But Enron and Arthur Andersen are the tip of the iceberg. In Fight Against ISIS, a Lose-Lose Scenario Poses Challenge for West. var googletag = googletag || {}; + Enron -- What's the Fix? 2018/2019 In "Bigger Than Enron," FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith shines a spotlight on how the corporate watchdogs -- the bankers, lawyers, regulators, politicians, and above all, the accountants -- failed to prevent Enron and other scandals from happening. The SEC fined Andersen $7 million in June 2001, and Andersen promised to shore up its internal oversight -- but by then they were already deeply enmeshed in new trouble at Enron. node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node); gads.type = 'text/javascript'; The story of Enron was more than the shattering of one American success story. In an ominous harbinger of the Enron scandal, the SEC discovered that Andersen accounting documents had been destroyed. Bigger Than Enron. The SEC's investigation found a longrunning cover-up -- not just by Waste Management, but by Andersen as well. Also profiled was the accounting firm Arthur Andersen Consulting. But something else was altered as well: the scandal surrounding Enron and Andersen, together with the wave of other major accounting scandals that have come to light in recent months, has dealt America's markets an unsettling psychological blow. You will have to watch this movie and answer questions. After a trial that dragged on for six weeks, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm was convicted of obstruction of justice in the Enron debacle. In the late 1990s, Enron was just one of the more than 400 corporations forced to dramatically restate their value because of accounting lapses, failures or fraud. If we can't trust the auditors, investors wonder, whom can we trust? Netanyahu, Rabin and the Assassination That Shook History | Netanyahu at War | FRONTLINE by FRONTLINE PBS | Official. Professor Cheryl Larabee. 2002, Economics - 60 min 24 Comments. ", home + introduction + lessons + politics of enron + accounting wars + watchdogs Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for PBS Frontline - Bigger Than Enron (DVD, 2009) mint disc AUTHENTIC REGION 1 at the best online prices at … A synopsis of FRONTLINE's "Bigger Than Enron." The word is out. With a pay package that included more than seven million shares and options, Dunlap stood to make more than $200 million personally if he could keep Sunbeam's stock price flying. General Business 101 (GENBUS 101) Academic year. The meteoric rise and stunning collapse of Enron caused many to question why the watchdog system that was supposed to … Bigger Than Enron. var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; '//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js'; In the late 1990s, Enron was just one of the more than 400 corporations forced to dramatically restate their value because of accounting lapses, failures or fraud. "The collapse of Enron caused many to question the watchdog system designed to protect investors. This page, from FRONTLINE's January 2002 report "Dot Con," examines the role Wall Street analysts … There are no critic reviews yet for Frontline - Bigger Than Enron. ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? Summary "The collapse of Enron caused many to question the watchdog system designed to protect investors. googletag.cmd.push(function() { FRONTLINE reports from Iraq on the miscalculations and mistakes behind the brutal rise of ISIS. 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