The fraud at WorldCom has numerous ethical and corporate governance implications. Although the fraud at WorldCom was directed by top management, much of the implementation was carried out by midlevel finance and accounting personnel. In one particularly egregious instance, a WorldCom employee threatened to tell the company’s external auditor about a questionable accounting treatment (this employee had stumbled across part of the fraud without realizing it). WorldCom’s director of general accounting told this employee, “If you talk to the auditors, I’ll throw you out the [expletive deleted] window.” The employee backed down and never approached WorldCom’s auditor with his accounting concerns. A lesson to be drawn is that in instances of fraudulent financial reporting intense pressure may be placed on you to participate, or at least to look the other way. Failing to cooperate may in some instances lead to a loss of your job. It is much easier to take a principled stand when facing such pressures if you lead a financially prudent personal life (e.g., build an emergency fund of at least six months of living expenses, avoid debt [other than mortgage debt]—particularly credit card debt—live on one income if part of a two-wage-earner family, etc.)