Crimes and misdemeanours: the death of Arthur Andersen

Abstract

This paper serves as a preface to a provocative analysis of the demise of Arthur Andersen by former Andersen employee, Mary Ashby Morrison. The plethora of articles and editorials that have critiqued this subject to date (see, e.g., Levitt, 2002; Revsine, 2002 and Squires SE, Smith CJ, McDougall L, Yeack WR. Inside Arthur Andersen: shifting values, unexpected consequences. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Prentice Hall; 2003.Squires et al., 2003) have unswervingly placed Enron management and Andersen at the centre of much of the blame for the deceptive financial reporting of Enron and associated entities. Morrison challenges the culpability of Andersen in this infamous saga.