Sherron Watkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sherron Watkins
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Sherron Watkins in 2004
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| Born | August 28, 1959 Tomball, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | University of Texas (BBA) |
| Occupation | Accountant, businessperson |
| Awards | Time Person of the Year |
Sherron Watkins was born on August 28, 1959. She is an American accountant and businesswoman. She is best known for being a brave "whistleblower" at a company called Enron.
A whistleblower is someone who tells the truth about wrong things happening inside a company or organization. Sherron Watkins worked as a Vice President at the Enron Corporation. She found serious problems with how Enron was reporting its money. She told the company's top boss, Kenneth Lay, about these issues in 2001.
Because of her courage, Time magazine chose her as one of their "Persons of the Year" in 2002. She shared this honor with two other whistleblowers, Cynthia Cooper and Coleen Rowley.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sherron Watkins grew up in Tomball, Texas. She went to the University of Texas. There, she earned a special degree in business. She also got a master's degree in accounting. This means she studied how companies manage their money.
She became a Certified Public Accountant, which is a professional who helps businesses keep their financial records accurate.
Her Career Journey
Sherron Watkins started her career in 1982. She worked as an auditor at a company called Arthur Andersen. An auditor checks a company's financial records to make sure everything is correct and honest. She worked there for eight years in different cities.
In 1993, she joined Enron. Enron was a very large energy company.
Discovering Problems at Enron
By August 2001, Sherron Watkins noticed some big problems. Enron's financial reports, which showed how much money the company made or spent, seemed to have mistakes. These mistakes made the company look more successful than it really was.
She wrote a memo to Enron's CEO, Kenneth Lay, to warn him. She explained her concerns about these "accounting irregularities." This means the way Enron was counting its money wasn't right.
Enron did start an investigation after her warning. However, they did not use independent people to check her claims. Her concerns were mostly ignored by the company at that time.
Speaking Out
Sherron Watkins was later asked to speak to important groups in the United States government. She testified before committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in 2002. She told them about the warnings she gave to Enron's CEO.
In 2004, Sherron Watkins wrote a book. It was about her experiences at Enron. The book also talked about problems in how some big companies in the U.S. were run.
Books and Films
Sherron Watkins helped write a book about her time at Enron:
- Mimi Swartz with Sherron Watkins: Power Failure. The Inside Story of The Collapse of Enron, ISBN: 0-385-50787-9 (2003)
She also appeared in films about the Enron story:
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. 2005. This movie included interviews with Sherron Watkins.
- The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron. 2003. In this movie, she was shown as an accountant who bravely told the CEO about the company's money problems.
