This article is about the rise and fall of one of the most popular accounting firms, Arthur Andersen. Rated as one of the 'Big 5' along with Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterHouse Coopers, the firm once known for its proud culture of integrity and high reputation crumbled due to unethical practices. Enron was the last straw for Arthur Andersen which was already mired in deep controversies and internal troubles. When Enron fell, it dragged along with it the 80 year old, once successful, reputed auditing firm into deep abyss.

This article is about the rise and fall of one of the most popular accounting firms, Arthur Andersen. This article is an inspiration from the book Final Accounting by Barbara Ley Toffler. The author recalls her experiences as a former partner-in-charge of Arthur Andersen's Ethics and Responsible Business Practices consulting services Group. She draws instances from her experiences at Andersen that gives the readers an insight into how such a reputed and highly valued professional organization crumbled.

The deterioration of "The Firm" (Arthur Andersen's employees referred it to as "The Firm") did not begin with the Enron scandal but much earlier. The fall of such a great empire was no murder, but suicide. It was a suicide set in motion even before there was an indictment.

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