The Demise of Arthur Andersen / interessanter Artikel, engl.

verfasst von JÜKÜ, 12.04.2002, 19:40

<font size="2">
<div>
<font color="#002864" size="1" face="Verdana">http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=932</font>
</div>
<div>

</div>
<div>
<font face="Verdana" size="2"><font color="#002864" size="5">The Demise of Arthur Andersen</font>
</div>





<font size="4"><strong>by Clifford F. Thies</strong></font>




<font size="2">[Posted April 12, 2002]</font>




<font size="2"> </font>




<font face="Verdana" size="3">From Yahoo.com, Andrew and I downloaded the
daily adjusted closing prices of the stocks of these companies (the adjustment
taking into account splits and dividends). I then constructed portfolios based
on an equal dollar investment in the stocks of each of the companies and tracked
the performance of the two portfolios from August 1, 2001, to March 1, 2002.
Indexes of the values of these portfolios are juxtaposed in Figure 1.</font>




<font face="Verdana" size="3">From August 1, 2001, to November 30, 2001, the
values of the two portfolios are very highly correlated. In particular, the
values of the two portfolios fell following the September 11 terrorist attack on
our country and then quickly recovered. You would expect a very high
correlation in the values of truly matched portfolios. Then, two deviations
stand out.</font>


<p align="center"><font face="Verdana" size="3">[img][/img] </font>




<font face="Verdana" size="3">In early December 2001, a wedge temporarily
opened up between the values of the two portfolios. This followed the SEC
subpoena. Then, in early February, a second and persistent wedge opened. This
followed the news of the coming DOJ indictment. It appears that an Andersen
signature (relative to a"Final Four" signature) costs a company 6
percent of its market capitalization. No wonder corporate
clients--including several of the companies that were in the Andersen-audited
portfolio Andrew and I constructed--are leaving Andersen.</font>




<font face="Verdana" size="3">Prior to the demise of Arthur Andersen, the Big
5 firms seemed to have a"lock" on reputation. It is possible
that these firms may have felt free to trade on their names in search of
additional sources of revenue. If that is what happened at Andersen, it was
a big mistake. In a free market, nobody has a lock on anything. Every
day that you don?t earn your reputation afresh by serving your customers well
is a day you risk losing your reputation. And, in a service-oriented
economy, losing your reputation is the kiss of death.</font>


<font face="Verdana" size="2"><font size="2">
<hr align="left" width="33%" SIZE="1">


<font size="2">Clifford F. Thies is a professor of economics and finance at
Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Send him </font><font size="2">MAIL</font><font size="2">.
See also his Mises.org </font><font size="2">Articles
Archive</font><font size="2">.</font>


</font></font>


<center>

<HR>

</center>

Thread gesperrt

 

gesamter Thread:

• The Demise of Arthur Andersen / interessanter Artikel, engl. - JÃœKÃœ, 12.04.2002, 19:40