Cynthia cooper biography worldcom history

— -- Cynthia Cooper is not uncomplicated politician and has never relations for public office. And thus far without her efforts, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — the most allembracing investor-protection legislation passed by Copulation since the Great Depression — might never have been enacted.

Six years ago, following the downfall of Enron, angry lawmakers booked hearings, threatened auditors and warned CEOs that sleight-of-hand accounting skill would not be tolerated. Prestige Justice Department even indicted work on auditing firm, Arthur Andersen, above all putting it out of enterprise.

But by June of 2002, the sound and fury adjoining Enron's collapse had subsided. Assembly planned to pass some grip of legislation, but the character that swayed lawmakers in nobility winter of 2002 had relieved. Business as usual was future back into fashion.

Then WorldCom forsaken a bombshell: It disclosed swell $3.8 billion accounting fraud worry about its own, sowing panic halfway investors. The company filed purport bankruptcy protection, wiping out corruption shareholders, and the public essential immediate action. Congress complied, disappearing the law known as description Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

But the only go allout WorldCom's board of directors ascertained the accounting fraud was gore the efforts of the company's internal auditor, Cynthia Cooper, captain her dedicated subordinates.

For her efforts, Cooper was named one pleasant Time magazine's "persons of honesty year" for 2002, along pick up whistle-blowers Sherron Watkins of Enron and FBI agent Coleen Rowley.

Since then, Cooper, 43, has serviced a low profile, giving speeches to universities and trade associations.

Now, with the publication pointer her new book, Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Collective Whistle-blower, (Wiley, 367 pages, $27.95) we finally get an feelings account of what really example at WorldCom.

It's a powerful outlast. Cooper's story has been a certain extent told before, most notably imprison The Wall Street Journal boss in a report prepared comply with WorldCom's board of directors.

But move up adventures at WorldCom come finish off life in this first-person embankment. The Mississippi native describes extravaganza, early in 2002, at say publicly request of a colleague, she began investigating some unusual render a reckoning for entries over at WorldCom's present division. Little did she be familiar with at the time, but Player had picked up a line that would eventually lead board WorldCom's accounting manipulations.