Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Business Ethics - Case Study Example Arthur Andersons’ unethical and fraudulent dealings with companies such as Enron, WorldCom, Dynegy, and Sunbeam led to its indictment on 15th March 2002. Arthur Andersen reputation in auditing and accounting then was unmatched by any other company due to its unrivaled commitment of its founder. Arthur Andersen preferred to lose a client rather than change the audits to reflect false information. Boyd sarcastically quotes the words of Arthur, who once told a customer â€Å"There is not enough money in the Chicago to induce me to change that report† (583). The company lost that customer due to of Arthur Anderson’s moral stand. Arthur’s motto was â€Å"Think straight, Talk straight† (Boyd 583). When Andersen was the CEO of the Arthur Andersen, â€Å"Arthur Andersen was a place where integrity mattered more than fees† (583). Boyd in his review of the book, Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen, quotes words of Arthur in his 1932 speech: â€Å"If the confidence of the public is the integrity of accountants’ report is shaken, their value is gone. To preserve the integrity of his accounting reports, an accountant must insist upon absolute independence judgment and action....preserving his position of independence indicates certain standards of conduct.† (583). Arthur Anderson died in 1947, and he was succeeded by Leonard Spacey as the CEO. Fernando states that Spacey adopted the same culture of honesty, integrity, and ethical practices until Arthur Andersen was accorded the honors of being elected to the Accounting Hall of Fame of Ohio University in 1953. Despite its reputation that had taken years of commitment to build, Arthur Andersen found itself under a series of unending unethical scandals. These scandals involved companies such as Waste Management (1997), Sunbeam (1998), Baptist Foundation (1999), and Enron (2001). During the 1990s, while