Andersen: For lots of good people, too little, too late.

Never really scrutinized? Rest assured, the subject of Andersen's complicity in Enron, Worldcom, Qwest, Global Crossing, Dynegy, etc's various accounting troubles have been and will continue will be scrutinized via depositions, trial testimony, etc in the thousands of hours of resuting litigation before and since (as will those of various investment banks.)

 

I think an implication of what he's trying to say is that a firm would be less likely to do something wrong if they new the whole company would go under. Right now, there is very little acountability for white color crime.

I also thing that the person who did the crime, plus the board of trustees, all go to jail (kind of like what's happening with Enron). Make someone go to jail and they will be less likely to commit the crime especially if it's someone like Ken Lay.

 

It would be good if this were so. But who's going to sue a company that no longer exists?

Don't lawyers look for targets that can pay settlements?

 

The company doesn't exist, but its insurers do, as does a substantial asset base I believe. I would guess that is who paid for the defunct LLC's appeal to the supreme court. Likewise, various former Andersen partners are or were personal defendants in lawsuits around the country stemmng from their misadventures.

 

Just because the original trial judge issued improper instructions does not mean that the firm would have been found innocent of the charges.