Report: Sarbanes-Oxley could threaten security

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Exactly...: Here is a real-life example:
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I worked for Nortel during the 'fall' in 90-91.
If any of you have followed Nortel, you'll know that they have 'restated' their income almost a half-dozen times in the past couple of years.

According to the stereotypical individual contributors (that means you aren't an executive), this would mean that Nortel MUST have "Cooked" (I hate that phrase) their books a helluva lot! They must be evil, just like Enron!

I was there. I can tell you that at teh executive level, there wasn't any 'manipulation' going on in order to make money. I'll say there was some negligence which in turn caused the numbers to be incorrect. There were system problems. There were process problems. There was corrupt data. BUT there were no corrupt executives.

I can hear it now.... "Then why did they let most of their executives go?"
...another typical question from the folks that have never experienced life at this level of an organization. Its a shell game. It is unfortunate that it has to happen, but the general public's perception of the "numbers being wrong" is usually not unlike yours that they "must be corrupt". So in order to keep the stock from completely bottoming out, they do some turn-over and try to restore investor confidence.

anyway, probably waaaaay more than you ever wanted to know, but I can assure you....there are very very very few Enrons out there in the fortune 5000.

Cheers!
Critique; Posted by: critique Posted on: 07/12/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use