CHICAGO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The Chicago office of the Andersen accounting firm "actively assisted" in hiding Enron's financial abuses, bankruptcy court filings show.
The office signed off on more deceptive deals than previously believed and deliberately misled the energy giant's board of directors, according to the 1,134-page report from bankruptcy examiner Neal Batson.
The report concluded Enron's accountants should be held responsible for the company's downfall, along with its lawyers and senior executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the Chicago Tribune reported.
It also said Enron's board of directors "took so little responsibility for monitoring the company's finances, they could not possibly have understood the complicated fraud going on under their supervision."
Andersen, which once employed 85,000 worldwide and now has 220 employees, has been charged with obstructing justice.
An Andersen spokesman rejected the report's conclusions.
"This is a simple, clear-cut case of Enron executives deceiving Andersen auditors at every turn," Patrick Dorton said. "Andersen people were trying to do the right thing. This report illustrates a culture of deception at Enron."
