In recent years there has been a great deal of concern over the events that have occurred in corporate America. Among these events was the accounting scandal that took place at WorldCom. The purpose of this discussion is to examine the legal happenings at WorldCom. Let us begin our discussion with some background information about the WorldCom Scandal.
             According to an article published in the journal Issues in Accounting Education
             WorldCom was once a giant in the telecommunications industry. However, following several mergers, difficulties began to arise. The article explains that in July of 2000 the percentage of WolrdCom's total revenue began to rise; this resulted in a decrease in the company's rate of growth as it related to earnings. This decrease in earnings became a significant risk for WorldCom and it became apparent that its earnings would to meet the prediction of analysts and as a result the market price of WorldCom's securities would decrease. The article further explains that the company was then under a great deal of pressure to maintain a certain appearance as it related to the financial condition of the country. The article explains
             "Thus, the pressure was on to keep WorldCom stock from declining further. This intense pressure came not just from external investors and analysts, but also from within WorldCom from the CEO himself, whose financial well-being was precariously dependent on WorldCom's stock price. CEO Ebbers pledged his vast holdings of WorldCom stock as collateral for loans to finance the purchase of his personal outside business interests. If WorldCom's stock price fell substantially, the collateral would be of insufficient value to secure his loans, thus forcing margin calls that he could not meet. Another performance pressure came from the fact that WorldCom marketed itself as a high-growth company, with ...