Source: CFI
Waste Management Scandal (1998)
01
Waste Management Inc. is a publicly traded US waste management company. In 1998, the company’s new CEO, and his management team discovered that the company had reported over $1.7 billion in fake earnings.
Enron Scandal (2001)
02
Enron Corporation was a US energy, commodities, and services company. It was discovered in 2001 that the company had been using accounting loopholes to hide billions of dollars of bad debt. The scandal resulted in shareholders losing over $74 billion as Enron’s share price collapsed from around $90 to under $1 within a year.
WorldCom Scandal (2002)
03
WorldCom was an American telecommunications company. In 2002, it was discovered that WorldCom had inflated its assets by almost $11 billion, making it one of the largest accounting scandals ever.
Tyco Scandal (2002)
04
Tyco International was an American blue-chip security systems company. In 2002, it was discovered that CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, and CFO, Mark Swartz, had stolen over $150 million from the company and had inflated the company’s earnings by over $500 million
HealthSouth Scandal (2003)
05
HealthSouth Corporation is a top US publicly traded healthcare company. In 2003, it was discovered that the company had inflated earnings by over $1.8 billion. The CEO, Richard Scrushy, after he sold $75 million in stock a day before the company posted a huge loss.
Freddie Mac Scandal (2003)
06
In 2003, it was discovered that Freddie Mac had misstated over $5 billion in earnings. Due to an investigation, Glenn, Clarke, and Brendsel were all fired and the company was fined $125 million.
American International Group (2005)
07
American International Group (AIG) is a US multinational insurance firm. The SEC’s investigation into Greenberg revealed a massive accounting fraud of almost $4 billion.
Lehman Brothers Scandal (2008)
08
American International Group (AIG) is a US multinational insurance firm. The SEC’s investigation into Greenberg revealed a massive accounting fraud of almost $4 billion.
Bernie Madoff Scandal (2008)
09
Bernie Madoff is a former American stockbroker. After the 2008 financial crisis, it was discovered that Madoff had tricked investors out of over $64.8 billion.
Satyam Scandal (2009)
10
Satyam Computer Services was an Indian IT services and back-office accounting firm. In 2009, it was discovered that the company had inflated revenue by $1.5 billion, marking one of the largest accounting scandals.