Corporate Accounting Crises in the USA 2002

Abstract

During the past year there have been several companies in the USA that have used different doubtful accounting methods. These cases have caused a heated debate in the USA and have led to changes in accounting and corporate governance regulation. The purpose of this thesis is to find out if and how the accounting cases in the USA will affect Swedish companies through changes in accounting and corporate rules and regulations in Sweden. In this thesis, Enron and WorldCom are used as representatives for the recent accounting cases in the USA, and four areas that have been discussed in relation to these companies are studied. The areas are: consolidation, financial derivatives, expenditures and corporate governance. In order to find out the possible changes in Swedish regulation of the four areas selected, we have conducted interviews with auditors. The study shows that there will probably not be many changes in the Swedish regulation of accounting and corporate governance, following the recent accounting cases in the USA. The conclusion is, therefore, that the recent accounting cases in the USA will not affect Swedish companies to a great extent. However, in some areas there could be consequences for Swedish companies, primarily due to changes in the regulation of corporate governance.