Enron
Disgraced energy giant
Enron was an American energy company whose 2001 collapse became synonymous with corporate fraud and accounting scandal.
The name now serves as shorthand for spectacular corporate malfeasance: The company's finances were a total Enron situation.
To pull an Enron is to cook the books or orchestrate financial deception on a grand scale.
Intentional financial record deception
- mark-to-marketValuing at current price
- securities fraudIllegal financial market deception
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
falsification · misrepresentation · deception · scheme · white-collar crime · malfeasance · Raptors · concealment
Insider who reports misconduct
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- shreddingCutting into thin pieces
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- investigationFormal examination of facts
indictment · subpoena · federal charges · conviction · prosecution · perp walk · documentary · collapse
Energy from charged particles
- natural gasSubterranean hydrocarbon fuel
- tradingExchanging for value
- deregulationRemoving governmental business restrictions
- rolling blackoutsPlanned sequential power shutoffs
power plants · pipelines · commodities · wholesale · utilities · market manipulation · price gouging · broadband
Texas's largest city
- headquartersCentral command location
- Fortune 500Largest American companies ranking
- subsidiariesCompanies owned by another
- stockGoods kept for sale
shareholders · executives · board of directors · compensation · stock options · corporate culture · trading floor · merger
Business debt reorganization process
- collapseSudden structural failure
- creditorsThose owed payment
- liquidationSelling assets for cash
- shareholdersOwners of company stock
401k · employees · layoffs · stock crash · assets · restructuring · court · trustee
accounting fraud
Intentional financial record deception
- mark-to-marketValuing at current price
- securities fraudIllegal financial market deception
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
embezzlement · falsification · misrepresentation · deception · scheme · white-collar crime · malfeasance · Raptors · concealment · kickbacks
whistleblower
Insider who reports misconduct
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- shreddingCutting into thin pieces
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
investigation · indictment · subpoena · federal charges · conviction · prosecution · perp walk · documentary · collapse · downfall
electricity
Energy from charged particles
- natural gasSubterranean hydrocarbon fuel
- tradingExchanging for value
- deregulationRemoving governmental business restrictions
rolling blackouts · power plants · pipelines · commodities · wholesale · utilities · market manipulation · price gouging · broadband · water
Houston
Texas's largest city
- headquartersCentral command location
- Fortune 500Largest American companies ranking
- subsidiariesCompanies owned by another
stock · shareholders · executives · board of directors · compensation · stock options · corporate culture · trading floor · merger · acquisitions
Chapter 11
Business debt reorganization process
- collapseSudden structural failure
- creditorsThose owed payment
- liquidationSelling assets for cash
shareholders · 401k · employees · layoffs · stock crash · assets · restructuring · court · trustee · claims
- Defunct OrganizationsLeague of Nations, Warsaw Pact, Pan Am, TWA, Lehman Brothers
- financial fraudsecurities fraud, bank fraud, accounting fraud, defalcation, embezzler
- Defunct BrandsPan Am, Woolworth's, Circuit City, RadioShack, Compaq
- British TheatreWest End, Macbeth, Globe, King Lear, pantomime
- Famous Failuresflop, bomb, dud, turkey, lemon
- Financial ScandalsBernie Madoff, Ponzi scheme, insider trading, securities fraud, accounting fraud
EnronBerkshire Hathaway
American multinational holding company
Patagonia · honest · transparent · Johnson & Johnson · Costco
EnronBerkshire Hathaway
American multinational holding company
built to last · Johnson & Johnson · Procter & Gamble · IBM · successful
Enrontransparent
Allowing light through
forthright · clear · open books · auditable · Vanguard
- Enron scandalMajor corporate accounting fraud