Product Description
This is the shocking story of the collapse of America's seventh largest company. Founded in 1985, Enron soon expanded beyond imagination, venturing into new territories such as internet trading and using state of the art financial and technical solutions. In the 90s Enron operated the largest eCommerce business in the world. The company's revenues soared. What was $50 billion in revenue in 1999 doubled to $100 billion in 2000. The sky seemed the limit.
Early in 2001 clouds appeared on the horizon. Enron's stock prices eroded from $90 to $40 by the end of July 2001. In mid-August, CEO Skilling resigned suddenly and whistleblower Sheron Watkins informed Kenneth Lay about questionable accounting practices. Stock prices continued to fall.
In October of that year, Enron announced a downward adjustment to its results of $1 billion. Stocks nosedive to $12. In December Enron had to file for bankruptcy as stock prices dropped below one dollar.
An energy giant collapses in the shortest possible time, leaving its employees, shareholders, and creditors out in the cold. Is Enron an incidental case or the tip of an iceberg? Or is it the prelude to a financial meltdown resulting from a combination of wrong American and Japanese economic policies?
Average Customer Review:
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Terrible., 2002-07-23
No wonder the author got this book out so soon after Enron's fall. He filled the book with the work of others and then threw in old essays on the failures of capitalism that have no connection to the Enron scandal. Don' waste your money on this book.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
The Enron Collapse: Basics for the Beginner, 2002-06-07
After reading this book I was incredibly disappointed .... 1/2 of the book consists solely of excerpts from Enron's year 2000 annual report. The author relies upon the February 2001 report print date as a means to assure his audience that they, the officers and auditors, were lieing through their teeth in the report and isn't it just shocking when you juxtapose that annual report language against the crumbling events of 2001. Throughout all this recopying of text the author doesn't give us anything but the most basic of observations with language fit more for tabloid reporting. The second half of the book consists primarily of excerpts from the Powers Report and several testimony's before the various congressional financial sub-committee's. Again, little merit in the author's observations regarding the content but lots of tabloid language to thrill us.
Lastly, the book closes with an economic history of capitalism. Filler space, if you will.
If you haven't read an annual report, if you haven't followed this case in any of the major newspapers, if you do not have a business degree and are not actively involved some way in a company's accounting and financing environment then perhaps this book will be of interest. Let me leave you with one positive note: I would recommend this text for advanced high school students who want to study business. Minus the tabloid language, that's the most appropriate marketing avenue for text of this kind.