HOW COMPANIES LIE

WHY ENRON IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

A. Larry Elliott & Richard J. Schroth

Series: NICHOLAS BREALEY BUSINESS BRIEFINGS

Enron, Tyco, Sunbeam Global Crossings, Waste Management are but the tip of the iceberg, the symptoms at the surface that reveal what companies of the future have to do to keep the economy from going into a tailspin and crashing.

Luckily there are ways for individual investors to spot companies that are using smoke and mirrors and are in danger of becoming the next Enron. Larry Elliott and Richard Schroth explain what to look for - and what to look out for. They warn of:

• The Mechanics of Mendacity
• The Art of Artful Dodgers
• Words Without Foundation
• The Fog of Corporate Complexity
• Dysfunctional Governance

Using Enron as the touchstone and bringing in examples of other companies such as Micro Strategy, 3Com and Abbott Laboratories, the authors show what needs to be done to save capitalism from the capitalists, and improve what has become history's greatest system of wealth creation so that it benefits not just a few greedy insiders, but all of us.

Richard Schroth is founder, CEO and President of Executive Insights Ltd., and Executive Viewpoints Inc., private advisory and speaking services. He had been a personal advisor to CEOs of companies such as Pfeizer, KPMG, Bank One, Monsanto, Marriott, A&T and GE Capital. Larry Elliott is a senior partner with Heiderick and Struggles, a leading executive search firm.