Why did the WorldCom scandal happen?

To hide its falling profitability, WorldCom inflated net income and cash flow by recording expenses as investments. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy on July 21, 2002, only a month after its auditor, Arthur Andersen, was convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to its audit of Enron.

How was the WorldCom scandal discovered?

WorldCom says the fraud was discovered by its internal auditors, but outsiders question whether top officials were unaware of what was happening. But the company’s internal and external auditors should have spotted it or called it into question months ago.

Who was responsible for the WorldCom scandal?

Who is to blame? WorldCom’s chief executive, John Sidgmore, blamed the company’s former chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, and the former controller, David Myers. The two were fired for claiming $3.8bn in regular expenses as capital investment in 2001.

Is Bernie Ebbers alive?

Deceased (1941–2020)
Bernard Ebbers/Living or Deceased

What was the impact of the WorldCom scandal?

$750 million dollar SEC settlement to compensate investors. Nearly 30,000 jobs lost. 25-year prison sentence for CEO Bernie Ebbers. 5-year prison sentence for CFO Scott Sullivan.

Did anyone go to jail for WorldCom?

Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, the “telecom cowboy” who spent 13 years in federal prison for his involvement in a notorious $11 billion accounting scandal, died Sunday. In 1998, the company, renamed WorldCom, stunned the industry by acquiring MCI, the second-largest U.S. long-distance carrier, for $47 billion.

What year did WorldCom collapse?

2006
MCI Inc./Ceased operations

What year did Arthur Andersen collapse?

August 2002
Arthur Andersen/Ceased operations

Is WorldCom still in business?

WorldCom was a telecommunications company that went bankrupt in 2002 following a massive accounting fraud. WorldCom remains the biggest accounting scandal in U.S. history as well as one of the largest bankruptcies.

What happened at WorldCom?

WorldCom was the biggest accounting scandal in the history of the United States as well as one of the biggest bankruptcies. After the tech bubble burst and companies slashed spending on telecom services, WorldCom resorted to accounting tricks to maintain the appearance of ever-growing profitability.

What was WorldCom?

What is Worldcom? Worldcom was a telecommunications company that underwent a merger with fellow telecommunications company MCI in 1997; subsequent to the merger of these 2 giants within the telecommunications industry, the conglomerate company was renamed ‘MCI Worldcom’.