The Enron ScandalOne of the most popular bankruptcies and corporate collapses known to date is that of the Enron company. Enron, once known as "America's Most Innovative Company" by Fortune magazine for six consecutive years, from 1996 to 2001. Enron seemed to be doing very well until the summer of 2001, generating a lot of cash and new companies, but in October 2001, Enron was forced to reveal that their accounting practices had been very creative and did not follow generally accepted accounting principles. Profits that had peaked were wiped out and replaced by huge losses and expenses that were never properly recorded. Unfortunately, Enron executives, responsible for questionable accounting practices, were able to escape this debt by selling most or all of their shares in the company (valued at over $10 million) before the stock price fell. The stock does not fall considerably. They also froze employee pension plans, and many people lost their jobs in the collapse and found that their retirement was a thing of the past (Anonymous, 2002). For five straight years, Enron made investors and shareholders believe that all was well in the company with their creative accounting. External and internal agencies that should have discovered problems in accounting practices failed to do so until it became painfully obvious to all of America. Today, as America grapples with the Enron scandal, the Securities and Exchange Commission has tightened its grip on the accounting practices of all companies and, through the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, she can closely monitor all financial aspects. report. It's not entirely Enron's fault; through millions of dollars of making...... middle of paper ...... on The scandal is one that should never have happened. Political administrations and for-profit businesses cannot be as closely linked as they are now; It is the people who should run the country, not the companies. Furthermore, thanks to the new legislation, auditors of accounting firms will no longer have casual relationships with the audited company and “creative accounting” will therefore no longer be able to take place. Hopefully this will be the last scandal in which a few greedy business executives plan to steal money from those who run their companies (Lindstrom, 2004). Works Cited Lindstrom, Diane. “Enron scandal.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2004): 29 par. December 9, 2004. Anonymous. "BBC News | In Depth | Enron." BBC News (February 2002): December 9, 2004. Gutman, Huck. “Enron Scandal: The Long and Winding Path.” Common Dreams News Center (February 2002): 24 par. December 9 2004