Abstract

Arthur Andersen’s culture popularly known as the ‘Andersen Way’ made it one of the leading consulting firms in the world. The ‘Andersen Way’ represented a culture of integrity and ethics in business. The case discusses the evolution of this culture and also its deterioration (over the decades) due to internal conflicts (between the audit and consulting groups) and changing business dynamics during the 1990s. It examines how and why one of the world’s most respected auditing firms got entangled in a web of controversies and accounting scandals by the early 2000s, which eventually led to its demise.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Effects of internal conflicts in an organization on its performance and survival.

Keywords

Arthur Andersen, culture, Andersen Way, leading, consulting, firms, world, integrity, ethics, business, evolution, deterioration, internal conflicts, changing, business, dynamics, 1990, world, auditing, firms, controversies, accounting scandals, 2000, demise