Extraordinary Circumstances
The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower
By Cynthia Cooper
Whistleblower: whis·tle-blow·er or whistle blower n.
One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority
I doubt whether there are many internal auditors that are not familiar with Enron or Worldcom, names synonymous with corporate fraud and business failures. However many may not be familiar with the story behind the story of what took place within either of those companies. Extraordinary Circumstances is the first hand account from one of our own, Cynthia Cooper, internal auditor and former Vice President, Worldcom. Ms. Cooper tells a compelling story that most of us can relate to regarding how internal audit is sometimes viewed within organizations when confronting difficult ethical dilemmas. The book, written in present tense provides insight into the key players, their motivations and how an internal auditor helped uncover the largest fraud in U. S. corporate history. I usually have difficulty reading non-fiction accounts of this nature but once I got into the book I had a difficult time putting it down. At some point in your career as an internal auditor you may find yourself facing ethical challenges and reading this book may help you cope and put things in the proper perspective. This book, with its focus on ethics should be a required read for business and accounting students and any individual considering a career in auditing.
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