Editorial

On May 6, 2002, a charge of obstructing an official proceeding of the Securities and Exchange Commission was filed against Arthur Andersen. A lot has happened since that fateful day.

• The jury found Arthur Andersen guilty on June 15. Since federal regulations do not allow convicted felons to audit public companies, Andersen surrendered its CPA license on August 31, effectively putting the firm out of business in the United States.
• Michael Chertoff, who served the indictment was later promoted to Secretary of Homeland Security.
• The US elected its first African American President and female Speaker of the House.
• The US House has switched control from the Republicans to the Democrats to the Republicans and now back to the Democrats.
• The Senate switched from the Republicans to the Democrats and back to the Republicans.
• Facebook was launched in a Harvard dorm.
• The S&P 500 went from 1,073 in May of 2002 to a high of 1,525 in Sept 2007 to a low of 683 in March of 2009 only to rise to 2,596 last week.
• The US has spent over $1.5 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• The iPhone was introduced.
• Wall Street and the entire global economy nearly collapsed only to recover to record high.
• We have had 3 government shutdowns including the one underway.
• In a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court, Arthur Andersen's conviction was overturned.

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. None of the events listed above could have been predicted with any certainty. All of them had profound impacts on all of us. What will 2019 have in store for us?

It is safe to say the 2019 will hold many surprises. It is our wish that they find you well.

As always, we need your help to further strengthen and maintain our Andersen Alumni network. Please leverage our Social Media Presence and LIKE our Facebook page and JOIN our LinkedIn network, and lastly you can FOLLOW us on LinkedIn as well.

Sincerely,

Kirk Hancock

Editor