1. How did the fraud get started? Who started it (name and title)? Who in the accounting department was brought into the fraud (names and jobs)? Why did they go along?
2. What was said or done to discourage Cynthia Cooper from pursuing answers to the suspicious journal entries that her staff had found? Why do you think she had the confidence to pursue the matter?
3. Are you surprised at what Cynthia Cooper’s grandfather said about investing in education for a girl? What issues did Cynthia encounter at social events related to her being a woman?
4. What broad economic factors set the stage for Bernie Ebbers to grow a company like LDDS (which eventually became WorldCom) so quickly?
5. Who is Jack Grubman and what role did he play in LDDS’s (which eventually became WorldCom) growth?
6. What was the culture like at WorldCom? How did it reflect Bernie Ebbers’ personality? Why is the organizational culture of interest to auditors?