4-1 Discussion
Southern New Hampshire University
Bus 206
I choose to concentrate on the energy trading corporation Enron. Enron's market value
reached $35 billion in 1999, bringing it national recognition as the sixth largest corporation in
America. Andrew S. Fastow, the finance chief, received a CFO excellence award in capital
structure management. Fastow's boasted increase in market value had been eroded down to
nothing by 2001, exposing the smoke and mirrors meant to conceal the company's real
profitability.
After less than a year as CEO, President and CEO Jeff Skilling departed in August 2001.
Despite his assertion at the time that his departure had "nothing to do with Enron," his
resignation surprised Wall Street experts and sparked suspicions. Enron executives, on the other
hand, were well aware that the company's financial transgressions would soon be exposed for all
to see. Later that year, in October, Enron revealed a $600 million loss in the most recent fiscal
quarter and a $1.2 billion fall in capital employed, and the firm lost money in December 2001.
