On June 25, 2002, WorldCom, the Nation’s second largest long distance
telecommunications company, announced that it had overstated earnings in 2001 and the
first quarter of 2002 by more than $3.8 billion. The announcement stunned financial
analysts and, coming on top of accounting problems at other corporations, had a
noticeable effect on the financial markets. The accounting maneuver responsible for the
overstatement – classifying payments for using other companies’ communications
networks as capital expenditures – was characterized by the press as scandalous, and
it was immediately asked why Arthur Andersen, the company’s outside auditor at the
time, had not detected it. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy protection on July 21st. On
August 8th, the company announced that it had also manipulated its reserve accounts in
recent years, affecting an additional $3.8 billion.
Response in Washington was swift. On June 26th, the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the company with massive accounting fraud and
quickly obtained court order barring the company from destroying financial records,
limiting its payments to past and current executives, and requiring an independent
monitor. Hearings were held by the House Committee on Financial Services on July 8th
and by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 30th.
Several company officials have been indicted.
The fundamental economic problem confronting WorldCom is the vast oversupply
in the Nation’s telecommunications capacity, a byproduct of overly optimistic
projections of Internet growth. WorldCom and other telecommunications firms faced
reduced demand as the dot–com boom ended and the economy entered recession. Their
revenues have fallen short of expectations, while the debt they took on to finance
expansion remains high. As the stock market value of these firms has plunged,
corporate management has had a powerful incentive to engage in accounting practices
that conceal bad news.