Posted: February 26th, 2023

Case Study

Read the Capstone Case Study.

Answer questions 1-5 Using no more than two typewritten pages for each question.

QUESTION 1:
Discuss the environmental, strategic, and organizational changes that occurred over the life of Anderson in the context of Figure 11.1

QUESTION 2:
Evaluate Anderson’s claim that their problems on the Enron audit were due to a few “bad partners” in the organization. If you disagree with this claim, discuss what you think were the root causes of the problem.

QUESTION 3:
Suppose you were Andersen’s managing partner in the early 1990s. Would you have done anything differently than the actual management (assuming you knew only what they did at the time)? Explain

QUESTION 4:
Do you think that the problems at Andersen were unique to them, or did they exist at the other big accounting firms? Suppose you were the top partner at one of the other major accounting firms at the time of Anderson’s demise. What actions, if any, would you take in response? Explain.

QUESTION 5:
The American institute of Certified Public Accountants is the primary professional association for certified public accountants. It has developed a
Code of Professional Conduct that sets the standards of conduct for CPAs. People can file complaints about the ethical conduct of a CPA with the AICPA, which can levy sanctions and other penalties against its members. Do you think that the unethical conduct at Anderson (and possibly other accounting firms) was the fault of the AICPA for not setting and enforcing higher ethical standards among its members? Explain.