WorldCom maintained a fairly automated process for closing and consolidat- ing operational revenue numbers. By the 10th day after the end of the month, the revenue accounting group prepared a draft preliminary MonRev that was followed by a final MonRev, which took into account any adjustments that needed to be made. In non–quarter-ending months, the final MonRev was usu- ally similar, if not identical, to the preliminary MonRev.32
In quarter-ending months, however, revenue accounting entries, often large, were made during the quarterly close to hit revenue growth targets. Investigators later found notes made by senior executives in 1999 and 2000 that calculated the difference between “act[ual]” or “MonRev” results and “target” or “need[ed]” numbers and identified the entries that were necessary to make up that differ- ence. It was alleged that CFO Scott Sullivan directed this process, which was implemented by Ron Lomenzo, the senior vice president of financial opera- tions, and Lisa Taranto, an employee who reported to Lomenzo.33
Throughout much of 2001 WorldCom’s revenue accounting group tracked the gulf between projected and targeted revenue—an exercise labeled “close the gap”—and kept a running tally of accounting “opportunities” that could be exploited to help make up that difference.34
Many questionable revenue entries were later found within the corporate unallocated revenue account. On June 19, 2001, as the quarter of 2001 was coming to a close, CFO Sullivan left a voicemail message for CEO Ebbers that indicated his concern over the company’s growing use of nonrecurring items to increase revenues reported: