Enron - the auditors role Andersen chief executive Berardino resigns Joseph Berardino quit as chief executive of Andersen, the highest-ranking casualty of the accountancy firm’s involvement in the Enron scandal, following a stream of high-profile client defections. |  Read Greenspan takes aim at use of stock options Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve chairman, stepped up his criticism of executive stock options, saying their use had 'perverse effects' on corporate accounting that must be reformed, particularly in the wake of Enron's collapse. |  Read Houston shows its resilience after the collapse of Enron In the past year, Houston has endured a dramatic run of bad luck. But the city has lost fewer jobs than rival centres such as Austin and Dallas. The redevelopment of its centre continues and residents dine out and shop as if they were still in boom times. |  Read Volcker plan is overtaken by defection rate Paul Volcker, the man charged with reforming Andersen, the crisis-hit auditor of Enron, has faced a hard task in keeping his plans up-to-date with events. Mr Volcker, a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, issued proposals for change on Friday, only to see them overshadowed by defections by leading Andersen clients and member practices of the firm's worldwide network. |  Read Andersen UK confident KPMG merger will succeed The British arm of Andersen, the crisis-hit auditor of the collapsed energy trader Enron, insisted it could overcome legal and commercial obstacles to its proposed merger with its rival KPMG. John Ormerod, Andersen's UK managing partner, attacked US government allegations of systematic document-shredding at the firm's London office as an "outrageous smear". |  Read Andersen UK arm cleared by its legal advisers Andersen's UK arm maintained that its legal advisers Herbert Smith had found no "material evidence" that its staff would be drawn into the US investigation of the embattled professional services firm, despite federal allegations that Enron-related documents were shredded in London. |  Read Andersen indicted for obstruction of justice Andersen was charged with obstruction of justice by a federal grand jury, a move its lawyers have described as a 'corporate death penalty'. The accountancy firm, pushed to the brink by the Enron scandal, was still being rebuffed by the justice department as it sought last-minute talks. The indictment was handed down on March 7 but remained sealed while negotiations were taking place. |  Read Lex: Andersen Indictment for obstruction of justice will put Andersen on death row. The legal arguments will no doubt drag on for years. But the business - already bleeding clients in the US - will probably not survive long enough to see them through. |  Read Andersen prepares for indictment over Enron Andersen is expecting to be indicted by the US Justice Department, which has already prompted the probable break-up of the global accountancy firm as its Japanese practice moved into advanced talks to sell itself to rival KPMG. Meanwhile, rival Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has backed out of merger talks further reducing Andersen’s options and almost certainly ending its chances of surviving as a global entity. |  Read KPMG in talks with Andersen while Ernst & Young bows out KPMG has emerged as a third bidder for Andersen, as the embattled professional services firm seeks a buyer to rescue it from collapse and faces possible indictment this week by the US Justice Department. |  Read Andersen in merger talks with rival Deloitte In turmoil following its role as Enron's auditor, Andersen has held merger talks with rival Big Five accountancy firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as part of a wide-ranging plan to save its business from collapse. |  Read Concerns grow over Andersen's survival Andersen has been stripped of business by two more large US companies, raising concerns about the firm's ability to survive as one of the world's biggest accounting groups in the wake of the Enron scandal. |  Read Regulators get ready to clip auditors' wings A series of acknowledged and alleged failings by Andersen, auditor of the failed energy trader, have prompted attacks on the profession over issues ranging from the independence of its work to the alleged cosiness of self-regulation. |  Read Big Five firms uncomfortable in the spotlight The spectacular collapse of Enron has put the work of the "Big Five" auditors under intense public scrutiny. For every $1 they earn from audit services an estimated $2.69 comes from non-audit work, according to a survey by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. |  Read