August 16 is CEO come clean or "Chicken Little Day" The End is Nearer!

Great Debates
1

So Mr. Pitt, that tireless protector of the uptrodden, has declared that CEO’s must sign off on thier annual report for this year and last OR explain why not. Some ( a very few, at this point) have leaped to the challenge and done so at once.

Some already have a built-in pass, as they had Aurthur Anderson as thier auditers, so they can claim they have to wait for a different, unindictable accounting firm to sign off.

Some, I suspect, will develop Born Again Family Man syndrome, and scurry away from the kitchen light to spend more time with thier money. Thier honey. The family, you know, the important stuff. The “fall guy” can claim he hasn’t been CEO long enough, blah blah yadda blah blah yadda, and gets a pass as well.

But some are simply going to have to bite the bulletin. We are going to know one hell of a lot more about what’s really going in in Corporate America (aka the Towers of Mammon). Going to flush the shitbirds out of the bushes (so to speak).

Those who are somewhat anxiously touting the Few-Bad-Apples line suggest that not much will happen, the big shoes have already dropped, etc.

Those of us (yours truly!) who suspect that the Enron game was simply to delicious too be kept under wraps, that slash and burn capitalism has been rampant, have a rather less optimistic expectation. Debacle. Godderdamnerung DOOOOOOOM!

Opting out because A.A. is your accountant will be rather like bringing a leper to the prom, investor wise. And, of course, those who can sign the Pledge with a straight face will be very happy campers indeed. And armies of trial lawyers will be uncorking the champagne. Whole masses of the investment community will abandon Viagra for chloral hydrate.

Gaze deeply into the crystal bull, SDMBers, and tell the future.

Awww. don’t worry, “Kenny-Boy” Leavenworth is nice this time of years, it’s very…Kansas. Just think of it as a very secure gated community!

2

If im not mistaken, even those CEOs whose firms switched auditors due to the Anderson debacle have to sign off on the financials on Aug 16.

Its going to be crazy - I predict many will fail to file, resign, or otherwise try to cop out of it. Market should definitely take a good bath that day.

But hey, these guys make millions. Let em sweat - too bad no one told them the job would require personal accountability. Shame.

3

Though the DOJ has called this claim inaccurate, Newsweek reports that we could have charges against Andrew Fastow as early as the beginning of next week. That ought to get the ball and chain rolling.

4

OK, which one of these is the real thread? This one or the other one?

5

I told you so! I told you so! One week to go, and 6000 of the 7000 required have not complied.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028185627347&p=1012571727102

And there shall be great weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the wearers of the suits shall be sore vexed…

'Cause when everybody has to get nekkid all at the same time gonna see a whole lot of blemishes. The trajectory of the shit is about to intercept the locus of the fan.

Oh, before I forget…I told you so!
DOOOOOOM!! DOOOOOOOOM!

[sub]I told you so![/sub]

6

Um, elucidator… Please see my post in your other thread with the same title. I’ll quote myself:

I have links to the relevant SEC web pages in that post.

Bottom line is, the sky’s not falling. Sorry.

7

Does anyone else think its amusing that while most other companies are hiding losses and exaggerating profit, Major League Baseball is disguising profit and exaggerating losses?

http://msn.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0808/1415598.html

8

So, Elucidator, the 16th has come and gone (with a 80+ up day on the 16th itself), and over 88% of the required CEO’s have filed their certifications (all have been on time thusfar, certain companies have later deadlines).

Are you going to be man enough to admit how incredibly wrong your OP was, or are you going to squawk some more, and throw in a few ‘tommy rots’?

So you did indeed ‘tell us so’, but you told us wrong. American capitalism is alive and kicking.

9

And no destruction of the stock market, either.

Elucidator, where a-are yooouuuuuuuuuuuu?

10

One question—is the Bush Administration actually doing something to check these claims?

Or is it the honor system?

If the latter, do the statements mean anything at all?

11

Bosda:

  1. No, not really.

  2. Yes.

  3. No, not really.

yer pal,

xeno

12

I disagree, xeno.

These sign-offs are not to ensure that the books are dandy, because if they were going to do that there would be no reason to require CEOs to sign off, the SEC could simply be required to check everyone’s books. Which would be expensive and no one would really want to pay for that.

The real idea is that now CEOs are liable. They can no longer say they had no idea what was going on, as they have had to sign off on them. Well, they can say it, but it won’t hold up.

So the answer to Bosda’s questions are:

  1. No, not really.
  2. Yes.
  3. Yes.
13

Another 80+ day on the DJIA, crooked CEO’s being prosecuted, and no general collapse of the system.

Elucidator, where oh where are you? Won’t you retract your rather off-base predictions? Will you admit that the actions taken have restored investor confidence in the validity of the market?

Come now, you ‘told us so!’…

14

Neurotik, have you read the text of the statement the SEC is requiring? IANAL, but I can see enormous wiggle room in the sign-offs. Of course, I hope I’m wrong, and I’ll be quite happy to see any bad actions haunt crooked CEO’s, but I don’t believe these signature requirements actually add to either the potential or the consequences of getting caught.

15

Nuts to you, **Neurotik **!

It sounds like a useless, empty gesture from an Administration that doesn’t really want to stop white collar crime.

Mostly, because the Administration seems to have done the exact same thing themselves.

16

Fuck off, Bosda. You obviously just wish to wallow in your bias. Fine. I don’t care.

xeno, I have read the statement. IANAL, either. Nor am I an accountant or actuary or anything. But my impression after reading it is that the CEO is essentially swearing they didn’t add anthing that shouldn’t be there and didn’t keep off anything that should be there.

Now, again, as IANAL, there may well be some wiggle language in there. Any lawyers in the house?

Still waiting for elucidator, by the way. Is he ever going to show up?

17

[Moderator Hat ON]

That is not appropriate in this forum. If you absolutely must tell people to fuck off, keep it in the Pit.

[Moderator Hat OFF]

18

That’s fine. But why is he allowed to say essentially the same thing to me?

19

Because I adhered to the rules about obscenities.

I rejected you views. But no foul language was used.

And, I expressed an actual point. It is meaningless–toothless & weak. Why is a shoplifter that steals a pair of $40 sneakers sent to prison, while executive just get a finger waggled at them & a feeble “naughty-naughty”? Thses guys ain’t heroes or leaders…just punks.

20

I’ve heard worse, but if that’s not a personal insult call me Uncle Bobo!