Steve MacLaughlin thoughtfully reminds us that Arthur Anderson employees are people, not a scandal. With the actions of a few, many (85,000) will suffer greatly. We used to, in IT consulting circles, lightheartedly refer to AA people as “Androids.” For the most part, the AA people I’ve encountered were formidable and capable technical resources. I never had much experience with the accounting people, which is (was?) obviously their main business division. Some of the technical people were not perfect, of course. Then we found ourselves wondering how they got to be an “Android” but, that is common with any IT consulting group. There is always a couple that you wonder how they even fell out of bed in the morning. AA was no different.
So remember, when thinking of ugly big-business knaves and the name Arthur Anderson pops into mind, remember that you are thinking about a very slight few out of thousands of good, honest and hard working individuals. All of whom have had their own professional credibility compromised, at no fault of their own. As the author points out, when an “Android’s” resume comes across your desk, don’t toss it in the shredder automatically. (via Jerry Kindall)