Business historian Gavin Benke´s article on The Washington Post Made by history section
December 3rd, 2021
Twenty years later, Enron’s business tactics still haunt us
Twenty years ago Thursday, Texas energy company Enron officially declared bankruptcy. While it was big news, it was hardly a surprise when the announcement arrived. For weeks, the nation’s business press had offered revelations of accounting fraud and inflated profits as the stock price cratered. Soon after that day in December, the company became an object of political ambition in Washington, with Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio) holding hearings on Enron and ultimately co-writing the Sarbanes-Oxley bill, which focused on accounting transparency.
