September 26, 2006 Source: :
http://www.unb.ca/news/view.cgi?id=1105 STORY OF ENRON'S DEMISE SUBJECT OF UNBF PRESENTATION September 26, 2006
UNB Fredericton News Release: D713
Brad Janes, Public Relations Officer (506) 458-7969 The University of New Brunswick in Fredericton’s Centre for Financial Studies (CFS) inaugural Speakers’ Series begins with a behind-the-scenes view of corporate scandal, personal greed and complex personalities. It’s the story of Enron. The CFS will host Bethany McLean, co-author of the best-selling book The Smartest Guys in the Room—The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron. Ms. McLean will appear Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Delta Fredericton. The event is sponsored by UNBF’s MBA Society. Tickets are $50 each and are available in Fredericton at Mazzuca’s on York Street; Westminster Books on King Street; UNB Fredericton Bookstore and at the CFS, located in Room 352 of Singer Hall. A Fortune magazine writer, Ms. McLean delved into the Enron’s dealings in her article Is Enron Overpriced? It was the first story in an international publication to question Enron’s business practices. For a company that was the darling of the investment industry, once the story of corruption began to unravel, Enron fell like a house of cards. Top executives walked away with fortunes while investors and employees lost everything. The energy company was based in Houston and was one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper and communications companies. Enron made claims of billions of dollars in revenue in 2000 before the accounting fraud was discovered. The story of Enron is complex. Parallel to the demise of Enron was the disintegration of its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen LLP. An era emerged where corporate governance practices increasingly came into question. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 set new standards in disclosure and transparency in corporate governance. Ms. McLean is now an editor at large at Fortune. She graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., in 1992 with a double major in mathematics and English. She began her career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the mergers and acquisitions department and in real estate principal investments until 1995. After Enron’s bankruptcy, she co-authored the book The Smartest Guys in the Room. The book was the basis for the documentary film of the same name, which was nominated for an Academy Award last year. In the latest edition of the book, Ms. McLean and co-author Peter Elkind bring the saga up-to-date in a chapter which includes the Enron trial and the death of Kenneth Lay, the former chairman and chief executive of Enron. Ms. McLean covers a broad range of topics at Fortune, with recent stories including the student loan industry. Her in depth coverage of former American president Bill Clinton’s new philanthropy initiatives graced the cover as the lead story in the most recent issue of Fortune. Ms. McLean’s speaking engagement will be followed by a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception. She will take questions from the audience and sign copies of The Smartest Guys in the Room—The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron. Her wide-range of expertise will make for an interesting cross-section of business, legal, accounting, investment and financial conversation with those attending. For further information, contact Susan Boyce at the CFS at 506-453-4895 or e-mail sboyce@unb.ca. - 30 -
| 