The Discursive Management of Financial Risk Scandals Case Study

The Discursive Management of Financial Risk Scandals - Case Study Example Hamilton (2003) attributed Enron’s failure to a culture of conceit that led the society in general and economists in specific to buy the idea that it had the capacity to handle complex corporate risks in a successful manner. As such, Enron’s corporate culture was less concerned about advancing the ethics of respect and honesty. These important values were overlooked in a systematic process which saw the firm shift its focus to the doctrine of subsidiarity and maximization of profits at any cost. By keeping each Enron division autonomous from the others, Hamilton (2003) noted that the financial manipulators and their closest internal associates only were aware of the bigger picture of Enron’s financial position. I agree with Hamilton on the reasons for Enron’s downfall. This is especially true considering that overreliance on decentralization by a large company in an environment where there are inadequate operational and pecuniary controls is normally associated with failure. In addition, the seemingly diverted, hands-off company board including the chairman was a recipe for financial failure, as they could not initiate adequate checks and balances on the executive managers such as Skilling (Ailon, 2012). As a consequence, the accounting staffs, auditors, and company lawyers equally failed in their mandates. Eventually, the company’s complex financial records became so confusing to the public, the shareholders and even the spin-doctors, hence the failure. In spite of Enron’s dramatic move to formally admit bankruptcy in 2001, the failure did not occur by accident. According to Temple (2014), there were several presuppositions to the event including a business culture that spawned greed and scam while maintaining cosmetic value rather than real value. Following the  merger, the company’s assets tremendously expanded to an extent that it was ranked seventh among the top-ten American companies in terms of revenue. Managing the massive assets usually does not want any form of risky investments and misrepresentation of financial statements as Enron did before its collapse.