[20030128]RS21269_安然事件以来大公司报告的会计问题.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21269Updated January 28, 2003Accounting Problems Reported in MajorCompanies Since Enronname redactedSpecialist in Public FinanceGovernment and Finance DivisionSummarySince the sudden collapse of Enron Corp. in the fall of 2001, and the series ofaccounting scandals that followed, the integrity of corporate financial accounting hasemerged as a public policy concern. Over 100 U.S. companies, including several of thelargest, restated (or corrected) their previously-announced financial results in the firsthalf of 2002. During the 1980s and early 1990s, by contrast, there were an average ofabout 50 restatements per year. Does the increase represent a decline in the quality ofcorporate accounting, the inevitable fallout from the end of an easy-money stock marketboom, or is it the result of more intense, post-Enron regulatory scrutiny? Do accountingscandals reflect a few rotten apples in the corporate barrel, or has “gaming the numbers”become standard practice at many U.S. companies? The 107th Congress enactedfundamental auditor and accounting reform legislation (the Sarban