WorldCom Incident
How One Woman's Action Brought Down an Empire
What Happenend?
In 2002, WorldCom had be under heavy financial pressure after stock declines and a failed merger with Sprint, and had suffered even worse after Cofounder Bernard Ebbers had asked for corporate loans that accumulated to $400 million with the idea of covering margin calls. However, this strategy ultimately failed and he was fired in April of 2002. Thus the company turned to shady accountant deals that showed the company would make profitable growth to increase the price of WorldCom stock
In 2002, Cooper, the current Vice President of Internal Audit, was checking the finances of WorldCom over the past few months and noticed something fishy about the math. She and her team of auditors worked together at WorldCom, often at night to remain hidden, to investigate and unearth $3.8 billion in fraud in questionable accounting entries that inflated WorldCom’s earnings and portrayed the company making more money then it actually did (as told previously). WorldCom was officially busted
WhistleBlower
Who is She?
Victim
The Company
The Non-sugar Coated Result
The Spoils Went to...
The Public's Response
The public demanded action, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – the most sweeping investor-protection legislation passed by Congress since the great depression – was passed.
This legislation marked the transition to more regulation in business and ensured the corporate sector work more honestly more frequently to eradicate corporate greed and misdemeanor. Achieved through required financial checks of big stock holding companies
The Best Opinion
Personally, I was shocked at how easily WorldCom cheated the financial system. To think billions of dollars were made by just stretching the truth is beyond belief. Overall I believe Copper did the right thing by questioning her superiors, for she might have been caught up in the downfall if she had never done her job and dug deeper for the truth. Good for her, she deserves the success
Works Cited
Farrell, Greg, and USA TODAY. "WorldCom's whistle-blower tells her story - USATODAY.com." USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2008-02-14-cynthia-cooper-whistleblower_N.htm.
"WorldCom Scandal: A Look Back at One of the Biggest Corporate Scandals in U.S. History - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com." Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://voices.yahoo.com/worldcom-scandal-look-back-one-biggest-225686.html?cat=3>.