Subject Guide: Enron

NEWMAN LIBRARY
Selected Information Sources about Enron

watch the
conference at Baruch
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The Impact of Enron : Business Students Tackle Enron with the Experts.
Forum hosted by Baruch President Ned Regan; includes panelists: Lawrence Zicklin, Douglas Carmichael, Norman Strauss, Phil Livingston and Robert Herz, 02/05/02 (1hr. 22min.). For more information see press release.

See also the appearence of Baruch's Doug Carmichael on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS).

- Table of Contents -

WHERE DO I FIND: 

Enron Corporation Reports or Statements

Report of the Special Investigative Committee of the Board of Directors of Enron (Powers Report)  released Feb. 2, 2002
Enron established, in October 2001,  a Special Investigative Committee of the Board of Directors,  chaired  by William C. Powers, Dean of the University of Texas Law School, to investigate the after-tax charge of more than $500 million against its earnings  and the reduction in shareholders' equity of more than a billion dollars.  The report was issued Feb. 2, 2002.  

The entire report (8.6 MB), as well as individual sections of it may be downloaded from Findlaw.com. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Parts 1-4 of the Powers Report are downloadable from the Briefing Book on Enron of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Enron's investor relations has links to its latest news, its annual reports for years 1998-2000, SEC filings, and links and archives to audio conference calls.

Enron's pressroom  has its latest press releases, an index of past releases, and information about its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Statements from
Accountancy Organizations

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)  Statements regarding Enron
The Enron Crisis: The AICPA, The Profession & The Public Interest has been prepared by the AICPA with links to the GAO Independence Standards, official AICPA statements and member communications, transcripts of interviews with Barry Melacon, AICPA President, and schedules of legislative and agency meetings and hearings.

Financial Accounting Standards Board
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) news release on Feb. 14, 2002 provides information on the testimony FASB chairman Edmund L. Jenkins gave outlining FASB's role in setting U.S. accounting and financial reporting standards to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.  News release includes links to his prepared remarks and complete testimony.

International Federation of Accountants
A comment by Aki Fujinuma, President of the International Federation of Accountants, on Feb. 12, 2002, "Enron and The Global Accountancy Profession's Commitment to the Public Interest," is found on the federation's home page.

Statements from the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) regarding Enron
The NYSSCPA, the largest state society of certified public accountants in the country, has an Enron Center on its homepage with extensive links in its briefing book  and latest news.

 

Comments or Statements
from the Big Five Accounting Firms

Joint statement issued Dec. 5, 2001 by the CEOs of Andersen, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young

Andersen, for which Enron was an audit client, has provided statements and comments on its homepage.

Deloitte & Touche's statements  are found on their homepage.

Ernst & Young Chairman Jim Turley's op-ed piece, "How Accounting Can Get Back Its Good  Name," originally published  in the Wall Street Journal, is available on the Ernst & Young homepage, as are other statements.

KPMG has listed their statements and comments on their homepage.

PricewaterhouseCoopers  has their statements and comments on their homepage.

New York State Hearings

The New York State Senate Higher Education Committee held public hearings on "The Purpose and Mission of 21st Century Accounting Firms and Independence of Certified Public Accountants in the Post-Enron Era," on Feb. 6, and Feb. 25-26.  Testimonies and statements are found in the Briefing Book-New York State Senate hearings on the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) homepage.

Congressional  Hearings and Witness Testimonies

U. S. House of Representatives

Committees of the House of Representatives post their daily schedules. The full-text of testimonies given at congressional hearings are available through transcripts that are available through Dow-Jones Interactive and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe to Baruch Community members.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, full committee held hearings:

"The Enron Collapse and Its Implications for Worker Retirement Security," Feb. 6, 2002, with  testimony by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, among others, regarding worker retirement security,  pending legislation relating to  pensions and retirement, and correspondence. Enron's officials and others testified regarding pensions  at the second day of hearings Feb. 7, 2002.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Education and the Workforce, held hearings:

"Enron and Beyond: Legislative Solutions," hearing Feb. 27, 2002

"Enron and Beyond: Enhancing Worker Retirement Security," hearing Feb. 13, 2002

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Resources has links to previous statements and testimonies by Enron officials regarding energy matters.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means offers links to "Hearing on Retirement Security and Defined Contribution Plans," Feb. 26, 2002.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce

Enron Issues has links to committee  hearings, correspondence, and statements of Committee Chairman  W. J. "Billy" Tauzin. Hearings include:

"Are Current Financial Accounting Standards Protecting Investors?" Feb. 14, 2002

The Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, of the Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives, has links to all testimonies and witness statements given at hearings.  The first subcommittee hearing on the Enron Matter was Feb. 4, 2002.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform-Minority Office provides information on the Enron Investigation, including background on Enron's involvement with the Dabhol, India power plant project. Many documents and links to correspondence  are in pdf files, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader.

U. S. Senate

The schedule of  U.S. Senate committee meetings and hearings is updated daily.

C-Span.org has televised many of the hearings, which are being archived.

U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has live coverage of some of hearings.  Video archives are also available. (Requires Real Player 5.0 or better.)

Alphabetical list of witnesses may be searched. 

U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Hearings relating to Enron include:

"Accounting and Investor Protection Issues Raised by Enron and Other Public Companies: Oversight of the Accounting Profession, Audit Quality and Independence, and Formulation of Accounting Principles," March 6, 2002, in which Prof. Abraham Briloff, Emanuel Saxe Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Baruch College, is a witness. An earlier hearing with this same title was held Feb. 26, 2002.

Prof. Briloff's prepared comments, Accountancy and Society : A Covenant Desecrated (pdf), refer to two exhibits:

"Accounting and Investor Protection Issues Raised by Enron and Other Public Companies," March 5, 2002.

"Accounting and Investor Protection Issues Raised by Enron and Other Public Companies: International Accounting Standards and Necessary Reforms to Improve Financial Reporting," on Feb. 14, 2002.

"Accounting and Investor Protection Issues Raised by Enron and Other Public Companies," on Feb. 12, 2002.

"The State of Financial Literacy and Education in America," First hearing, Feb. 5, 2002, Second hearing, Feb. 6, 2002.

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held hearings on Dec. 18, 2001 and  Feb. 26, 2002 relating to Enron's collapse. Sherron Watkins, Enron's Vice President of Corporate Development, and Jeffrey McMahon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enron, testified on Feb. 26, 2002.

  U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs  hearings on Enron include:

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing:

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing:

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing:

U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation  

This joint committee prepared a report, "Present Law and Background Relating to Employee-Sponsored Defined Contribution Plans and Other Retirement Programs," in February, 2002. (pdf file.)

Securities and Exchange Commissioner's
Testimony and Statements

Testimony by Securities and Exchange Commissioner  Harvey L. Pitt relating to Enron is  found on the SEC's web site as are the Commissioner's statements and speeches.

Subscription databases, such as Dow Jones Interactive and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, available through the Newman Library Information Resources page,  may be searched for transcripts of testimonies.  Transcripts include radio and television broadcasts.

Sources of  Business Periodicals, Newspapers
and Other  Media Coverage Relating to Enron

Baruch Community members may search a number of subscription databases through Information Resources on the Newman Library homepage to locate full-text newspaper and business journals coverage on Enron.

Newman Library Subscription Databases: Business offers descriptions of available business databases and links to searching them.

 Accounting Literature on Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe provides access to specific accounting related journals and publications.

Business  on Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe provides links to business publications, financial reports and SEC filings.

Dow Jones Interactive provides the full-text of The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and 6,000 publications, as well as media transcripts form radio, television and cable broadcasts.. (You will need to revise the search to limit it to a search of publications by type and then select the media category.  More than 6,000 publications are available) 

News on  Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe provides access to transcripts and wire services, along with newspapers, magazines and journals, and newsletters. 

Special Reports by Business News Publishers and Media Relating to Enron include:

Baruch Community members may search the full-text subscription databases for the following special reports, as well as the publications' web sites. Recent copies of the following print publications, except for The Houston Chronicle, are found at the 3rd floor Periodicals Desk.

NewsHour Interview with Prof. Douglas Carmichael
 Baruch Accounting Professor Douglas Carmichael's Jan. 22, 2002 interview on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is  also available in full-text on Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.

Business Week
Special Report: The Enron Scandal is provided online by Business Week.(full text availability).

C-Span
C-Span.org, created by cable television companies, has links to hearings, recent programs, and related resources regarding Enron. Most events are in the archive for 15 days.

Findlaw
Enron Investigation from Findlaw.com has free links to documents relating to Enron's  board meetings, bankruptcy filings, lawsuits, political action  committee (PAC) campaign contributions, SEC filings, insurance policies, as well as the congressional investigations. 

Financial Times
Enron: The Collapse is the continual  special coverage offered on the The Financial Times's web site. (full text availability).

Forbes
Forbes.com offers  Special Report: Aggressive Accounting and articles on Enron. (full text availability).

Fortune
Fortune reporter Bethany McLean was among the first to raise questions about Enron. Fortune's website may be searched for articles relating to Enron. (full text availability).

Houston Chronicle
HotTopicEnron is the Houston Chronicle's continuing special coverage of Enron, which is headquartered in Houston, Texas.  This special coverage may be searched back to October, 2001. Members of the Baruch Community have free access to searching the Houston Chronicle  on the full-text databases available through the library's information resources. (full text availability).

New York Times
Understanding Enron  is a primer offered on the The New York Times website, with links to the most recent articles on Enron.  Members of the Baruch Community have free access to  searching full-text articles from The New York Times by searching Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. (full text availability).

Time
Time.com offers Behind the Enron Scandal. (full text availability).

Wall Street Journal
Special Report: The Rise and Fall of Enron is available to Wall Street Journal subscribers. (Login required.) Members of the Baruch Community have  free access to  full-text articles in The Wall Street Journal  by searching the  Dow Jones Interactive subscription database. (full text availability).

Washington Post
Enron Probe contains current and past coverage reported by The Washington Post.  (full text availability).

Free accounting newsletters available on the Internet include:

CPA Newsletter, published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, may be searched by monthly issue.

IOMA.com, by  The Institute of Management and Administration, offers several free newsletters and free featured articles relating to Enron.

SmartPros, a free online accounting newsletter, includes a special Enron CPE Supplement and news articles. (Sign-up required to receive by e-mail).

Internet search engines and meta-search engines:

These seach engines may be searched for links to print, electronic and broadcast news providers and news coverage relating to Enron in the United States and other countries.

Other Information

Campaign Contributions

The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, provides information regarding the amounts and recipients of campaign contributions made by Enron and Andersen in recent elections.

Legal Aspects of Enron

The Law Library of Congress has prepared a guide, "Enron (Legal Aspects)," which includes links to the U.S. Government Accounting Office, the bankruptcy courts, and other legal guides and general sources of information.

Prepared by Rita Ormsby,
Library Liaison to the
Stan Ross Department of Accountancy,
The William and Anita Newman Library,
Baruch College, The City University of New York.

Prepared March 11, 2002

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