Editing Arthur Andersen (section)

=== Reputation ===
Andersen, who headed the firm until his death in 1947, was a zealous supporter of high standards in the accounting industry. A stickler for honesty, he argued that accountants' responsibility was to investors, not their clients' management. This gave rise to the uniform look of all the so-called "Arthur Androids", as employees referred to themselves, the intent being to provide the same service the same way to all customers in all locations. For many years, Andersen's motto was "Think straight, talk straight"—an axiom passed on from his mother.<ref name="Toffer2004">{{cite book |last1=Toffler |first1=Barbara Ley |last2=Reingold |first2=Jennifer |title=Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed, and the Fall of Arthur Andersen |date=2004 |publisher=Currency/Doubleday |isbn=978-0-7679-1383-6 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQsOfnuCAnUC&pg=PA9 |access-date=March 15, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> During the early years, it is reputed that Andersen was approached by an executive from a local rail utility to sign off on accounts containing flawed accounting, or else face the loss of a major client. Andersen refused in no uncertain terms, replying that there was "not enough money in the city of Chicago" to make him do it. The railroad fired Andersen, only to go bankrupt a few months later.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emotional-intelligence-did-myers-briggs-destroy-arthur-andersen/|title=Emotional Intelligence: Did Myers-Briggs Destroy Arthur Andersen? |newspaper= CBS News|date=3 May 2011|access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref>

Arthur Andersen & Co. also led the way in a number of areas of accounting standards. Being among the first to identify a possible sub-prime bust, Arthur Andersen dissociated itself from a number of clients in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.cpajournal.com/2004/204/infocus/p22.htm|title=Reclaiming the Profession's Heritage|publisher=CPA Journal|date=1 February 2004|access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref>

Arthur Andersen & Co. struggled to balance the need to maintain its faithfulness to accounting standards with its clients' desire to maximize profits, particularly in the era of quarterly earnings reports. The firm has been alleged to have been involved in the fraudulent accounting and auditing of [[Sunbeam Products]], [[Waste Management (company)|Waste Management]], [[Asia Pulp & Paper]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB998243223377564102|title= APP and Arthur Andersen Face Class-Action Lawsuits|author=Sara Webb|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=August 20, 2001}}</ref> the [[Baptist Foundation of Arizona]], [[WorldCom]], as well as [[Enron]], among others.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/30/AR2006093000928.html|title=Executives Sentenced in Church Fraud|author=Terry Greene Sterling|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 1, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/2002/06/27/0627topnews.html |title=WorldCom: Too Easy, Too Late|author=Dan Ackman|magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=June 27, 2002}}</ref>