(Movie) Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
This is one of those books I keep meaning to read, but well, the movie came out, so…
I think we all know the story of Enron. I’m an accounting nerd so the story of Enron has always intrigued me. The lack of integrity of the accounting people involved had to be huge. This can be done by one person, it’s a team effort. I remember in accounting class (this was back in the 90s before the Enron scandal) the topic of Mark to Market accounting came up and the professor glossed over it, basically just said it was “magic” accounting based off of projections that were “plucked from thin air”. I don’t know why I remember that, but it always stuck in my head.
I’ve seen my fair share of creative bookkeeping, cleaned up more than one mess, but I cannot even fathom what must have gone on between Enron and Arthur Andersen.
Anyway… the movie. I have to say that the “sound track” kept me giggling a little. Very well done documentary. It did a good job of telling the story and explaining it so that a lay person can understand it. I think that is the biggest hurdle for people is understanding what went wrong in Enron and how it happened so quickly.
The worst for me was thinking about the 20,000 employees that got screwed out of their retirement. One guy in there sold his 401k that had been worth $348,000 for $1200. Can you imagine?
I was also struck by the connection to the Bush family and the fact that Arnold “The Terminator” was in a meeting (amazingly enough there are no notes from this meeting). Connect the dots, eh? I walked away feeling bad for Gray Davis. I guess I never really connected those dots myself until now. Enron basically forced him out of office.
Anyway, very interesting… I really like documentaries, so I am biased, but this one was really well put together.
Ken Lay and Jeff Skillings trials are set to start on Monday, January 30, 2006.
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Description:
Based on the book of the same name by Peter Elkin, director Alex Gibney’s documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at the powerful energy company whose downfall forever changed the landscape of the business world. With a blend of fascinating footage, fast-paced interviews and a wealth of information, this film is a serious lesson in the potential trappings of dishonesty and unethical behavior dogging corporate America today.
