In Conversation with Philip Feibusch: Enron, Arthur Andersen and me

Enron was once the world’s largest energy trader, a titan ofthe age which wielded untold corporate and political power. But in the early 2000s it all came crashing down. Over a few dramatic weeks in 2001, it was revealed that the company – America’s seventh biggest corporation – had concealed huge amounts of debt by transferring them to shady partnerships. By November Enron was in bankruptcy – and the spotlight turned to its auditors, Arthur Andersen. In this podcast, Astraea’s Nina Stewart and Tanya Costello look back at the dramatic collapse of Enron with Philip Feibusch, who – as an equity partner at Arthur Andersen at the time – found himself at the centre of the storm, at risk of losing everything he had worked for. Philip gives the inside track on professional life at Andersen in the lead up to the crisis as well as the steps he took and decisions he made during the intense period when it became apparent that Andersen would bear much of the blame for Enron’s collapse.With the benefit of hindsight, the podcast discusses the potential for corporate reputational damage – whatever the underlying grounds – to unravel an established, trusted business and the lessons learned for crisis decision making and preparedness.