Gatekeepers (Research Paper Sample)

Essay
Business
Number of Pages: 2
Gatekeepers and their roles: A case study of Enron Corporation Scandal
Gatekeepers are professionals who are independent bodies in organizations. They are supposed to oversee or monitor activities being carried out in the organization. There are two distinct roles that are supposed to be carried out by the gatekeepers. One of these roles is to be watchers of events flowing within the organization and make approvals or consent where transactions are to be made. The other role is being intermediaries who help to correct any imbalances that may arise. They provide services to the investors by providing verifications needed for investment to take place. They are also seen as advisors to investors to help them avoid legal misconduct.
Professionals such as Board of Directors, Lawyers, Accountants, Security Analysts and Financial Advisors are considered to be gatekeepers. They all have responsibilities to ensure that their jurisdictions are run on honesty and credibility. They all play a key part in the running of the economy and are expected to be of their utmost integrity.
In this case, Enron Corporation was one of the largest natural gas and electricity organization. However, in the 1990s, it started falling and by 2001, it was declared bankrupt. It had difficulties and made things worse by hiding all incriminating evidence against it. If its gatekeepers had done their job accordingly, the situation would have been different.
On its side, The Board of Directors should have been keen on the off-books of the company created by the management. The company, being one of the largest in the industry at the time, had the notion that it was supposed to be the best at all times. Thus, when difficulties started popping in, the company covered up the inadequacies. Thus, the board ought to have done its job well. The company also had internal Auditors who should have also taken the matter seriously I their analysis of financial statements.
Enron had an external Audit firm by the name Author Anderson. It was both its external auditor and also the consultant. The firm was supposed to perform its audit on time so that such revelations should not have been discovered when it was too late. Since it had pledged to be its Auditor, it should not have aban...