Andersen Could Have Survived: A Textual Analysis using Image Restoration Theory

J. Lynn Reynolds
Pepperdine University

Denise P. Ferguson
Indiana University

Ken A. Smith
Pepperdine University

Abstract: After the fall of Enron, Andersen CPA corporate offices distributed a packet of four texts in a nation-wide mailing to accounting professors. This was their attempt to salvage their organizational legitimacy in time for the semester starting January, 2002. The four texts from December, 2001 were: a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, a news release from a Chicago joint press conference with other big CPA firms, the written statement to Congress and the oral statement to Congress. This paper uses image restoration theory to analyze these texts for the appropriate steps to be used in crisis management. The communication and public relations literature has been used to provide understanding on corporate apologia in famous cases such as Tylenol, AT&T, Dow Corning and Texaco. This paper concludes that Andersen’s CEO failed to serve his company as spokesperson and Andersen did not enact the proper steps for image restoration.

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