24 days : how two Wall Street Journal reporters uncovered the lies that destroyed faith in corporate America / Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Rebecca.

Contributor:

Emshwiller, John R., 1950-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Enron Corp.

Energy industries--Corrupt practices--United States.

Energy industries.

Energy industries--Corrupt practices.

Business failures.

United States.

Business failures--United States--Case studies.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xv, 400 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

How two Wall Street Journal reporters uncovered the lies that destroyed faith in corporate America

Twenty four days

Place of Publication:

New York : HarperBusiness, [2003]

Summary:

This is the story of two Wall Street Journal beat reporters -- one covering the energy industry just after the chaotic California electricity crisis; the other chasing stock swindlers. Together these journalists were ideally placed to uncover one of the great cons of the century. Here is a story about the fall of a great company and the practice of journalism, marked by skill, luck, and determination. 24 Days is the gripping, untold chronicle of the investigative process -- often haphazard but imbued with insight and commitment -- that broke through Enron's stonewalling and exposed its inner workings, setting in motion a chain of events that shook the public's trust in big business, Wall Street, and the accounting profession. In August 2001, Jeffrey Skilling unexpectedly resigned from his job as CEO of Enron after only six months in the top job. While Smith -- who had been covering the California energy crisis -- was away, the Wall Street Journal Los Angeles bureau chief drafted Emshwiller to interview Skilling. During a rambling conversation, Emshwiller stumbles onto an unlikely admission from the corporate prodigy, which partly confirms the journalists' suspicions that Skilling didn't quit for "personal reasons." This odd revelation raised ominous questions about Enron's much-bragged-about success.

The two reporters pick and pull at the mystery, and with the help of confidential sources, who understood Enron's inner workings, expose an audacious scheme: Andrew Fastow's off-balance-sheet partnerships that hid Enron's failings and inflated its value by billions of dollars. Refusing to be put off by Enron's arrogant dismissal of anyone who questioned the company's practices, Smith and Emshwiller relied on their instincts and common sense to shine a light into Enron's "black box" finances. Climaxing in the brief period after Enron released disastrous earnings in October 2001, 24 Days gives a reporter's-eye view of the tug-of-war between journalists and a giant corporation. Each day, a new story uncovered another fact. Each day, the company issued denials. When the doubts and questions reached critical mass and momentum, the stock market cast its final vote of no confidence.

Contents:

Part 1 Red Sky Warning

1 "Our CEO Is Resigning." 3

2 "Who's Andy Fastow?" 12

3 "You Won't Believe What Skilling Just Told Me." 22

4 "I Have Found That Mr. Lay Doesn't Take Kindly to Criticism." 31

5 "It Isn't a Contlict of Interest." 42

6 "You're Just Scratching the Surface." 47

7 "You Are About to Topple a $20B House of Cards." 57

8 "I Want to Be CFO of the Year." 67

9 "It's Okay to Have a Conflict." 76

10 "Make the Journal Go Away." 83

11 "He Would Have Done Nothing to Harm Enron." 89

12 "Amend My Last Statement." 94

Part 2 The 24 Days

13 "I'm Not Sure It Had a Name." 104

14 "You Missed Something That Could Be Really Big." 119

15 "Looks Like the SEC Read Your Stories." 134

16 "There Is an Appearance That You Are Hiding Something." 142

17 "I Must Have Heard the Term Death Spiral a Dozen Times Today." 156

18 "Oh, I Expect to Be in the Office All Weekend." 172

19 "Those Liars!" 183

Part 3 The Party's Over

20 "Does Ken Lay Know About This Meeting?" 193

21 "Don't Approach Their People Again." 210

22 "At Least We're Going to Be Part of the Biggest Bankruptcy Ever!" 220

23 "Laydoff.com" 228

Part 4 Aftershocks and Revelations

24 "There Will Be Something Else Fun and Exciting on the Other Side." 241

25 "Enron Has a Problem You May Want to Write About." 258

26 "I Really Got Sucked into This One." 271

27 "We Notified Enron's Audit Committee of Possible Illegal Acts Within the Company." 278

28 "Do You Guys Have a Shredder Here?" 286

29 "I Didn't Look Closely. I Didn't Want to Know Too Much." 296

30 "You've Got to Be Kidding Me." 306

31 "I Feel I Just Can't Go On." 313

32 "There Was a Young Turk Arrogance." 329

33 "Next Time Fastow Is Going to Run a Racket, I Want to Be Part of It." 341

34 "Often He Was Just Goofy." 345

Part 5 The Perp Walk

35 "The Arrogance. The Lack of Accountability." 353

36 "Enron's CFO, Kopper, and Others Devised a Scheme to Defraud Enron and Its Shareholders." 363

37 "Americans Only Learn from Catastrophe and Not Experience." 373.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0060520736

OCLC:

52766077