Introduction
The documentary investigates the most significant financial fraud in US history. The top of the company has enormous power and is practically not controlled, and it aims to make easy money. Because the company’s actual production was in decline, Enron bet on the market of energy futures and derivative securities (Benke, 2018). In addition, they had to fake financial statements and look for other, easier ways to make money. Hundreds of subsidiaries were opened in offshore zones, through which electricity transactions took place, inflating the cost of electricity for Enron (Bhaskar et al., 2019). Then the corporation’s expenses began to be written off to these firms, thereby improving the reporting of the main one. Despite the short-term success, the company’s history has become one of the most significant because many people lost their jobs, and the company was forced to close with a big scandal.
Company’s History
Enron gained worldwide fame and high ratings for its operations as an electricity trader. The main problem of the electricity market was the complexity of the sale procedure: suppliers were interested in short-term contracts with changing prices, and consumers were interested in long-term contracts with fixed costs (Gibney, 2005). In addition, electricity suppliers experienced significant cash gaps, so they demanded prepayment for supplies. Consumers made the payment only after receiving the service (Bhaskar et al., 2019). Enron has taken on a mission to reduce the conflict of interests of both parties and close financial debts by acting as an intermediary or electricity trader. To do this, it was necessary to find proper funding.
The Beginning of the Collapse
To pay off the suppliers, Enron accumulated debts and issued securities with the right of repurchase. The company was able to attract more than $250 million, including from the Pension System for civil servants (Benke, 2018). However, the company could not hold on to the trust of investors for a long time since it traded securities without backing up any assets, then a new fraudulent scheme was invented. With many unprofitable projects, the company showed a considerable profit. The thing is in shadow accounting: the corporation attributed its gains to long-term fixed contracts with gas buyers before the money arrived in the account (Gibney, 2005). The company’s mistake was the publication of a press release with quarterly financial statements. The company received $400 million and wrote off $1 billion (Bhaskar et al., 2019). Investors became interested, and the company’s shares collapsed, which led to its bankruptcy and further investigation of the whole situation. They presented the company as a successful one, which has no debts, and there are only different ways to make its investors rich.
Mass Dismissal of Employees
In addition to the fact that investors lost significant amounts of money invested in Enron shares, employees who worked at the company suffered greatly. Thousands of employees lost their jobs after the company went bankrupt (Paulsen, 2002). The laid-off workers were stripped of any benefits and health insurance after Enron’s closure. Some employees have invested their funds in the company’s shares. One of the conditions of the management when buying shares was a temporary ban on the sale of shares, which subsequently led to the fact that the shares depreciated, and people lost not only their jobs and health insurance but also money (Paulsen, 2002). Realizing that so many people have lost their jobs and insurance that allowed them to be treated to help relatives, the film makes viewers feel confused and desperate, probably what those dismissed employees felt. This is because thinking about those people, some may try to put themselves in their place and understand how terrible the dismissal was and how hopeless their situation became.
The signs in the film show that the company was striving for growth, and big earnings, but in the end, they were waiting for one of the most global falls in history. The history of Enron has served as a lesson to many companies and even authorities. Later, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed in the United States, which limited the possibility of repeating the Enron scheme (Bhaskar et al., 2019). The law imposes strict requirements on securities issuers to control and disclose financial statements. The company’s executives were charged, which led to imprisonment for some of them, and the company’s founder Kenneth Ley could not live to serve his sentence. He died of a heart attack (Benke, 2018). Subsidiaries were closed, and people were laid off, investors never got their money back.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the once successful Enron electricity supplier company went bankrupt and entered world history. The company issued and sold its shares, inviting investors to cooperate who invested large amounts of money in the purchase of shares. Enron had several subsidiaries that had their claims for sale. The financial frauds of the company were revealed, and the value of the shares fell sharply, which caused the bankruptcy of the enterprise. During the closure of the enterprise, not only people who invested their funds in the shares suffered, but also a considerable number of employees were dismissed. People received small payments but still were deprived of work, earnings, as well as health insurance, and other benefits. Enron’s bankruptcy has gone down in history and has become one of the most striking examples of a company committing financial fraud.
References
Benke, G. (2018). Risk and ruin: Enron and the culture of American capitalism. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Bhaskar, K., Flower, J., & Sellers, R. (2019). Financial failures and scandals: From Enron to Carillion. Routledge.
Gibney, A. (2005). Enron: The smartest guys in the room [Film]. Magnolia Pictures.
Paulsen, S. (2002). Workers lose jobs, health care and savings at Enron. World Socialist Website.