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 |
| Education | University of Texas (BBA) |
| Occupation | Accountant, businessperson |
| Awards | Time Person of the Year |
Sherron Watkins (born August 28, 1959) is an American who used to work as a Vice President at a big energy company called Enron. She is known for telling the company's boss, Kenneth Lay, about serious money problems at Enron in 2001.
Because she spoke up, Sherron Watkins was named one of Time magazine's "Persons of the Year" in 2002. She shared this honor with two other people, Cynthia Cooper and Coleen Rowley, who also bravely shared important information about problems at their own workplaces. People like Sherron who tell the public or authorities about secret problems are called whistleblowers.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sherron Watkins was born in Tomball, Texas. She went to the University of Texas and earned a special degree in business. She also got a master's degree in accounting from the same university.
She became a Certified Public Accountant, which means she was trained and certified to check a company's money records.
Her Career and Enron
Sherron Watkins started her career in 1982 at a company called Arthur Andersen. She worked there for eight years as an auditor. An auditor is someone who checks a company's financial records to make sure everything is correct and honest.
Later, she joined another company in New York before coming to Enron in 1993. Enron was a very large energy company.
Speaking Up at Enron
In August 2001, Sherron Watkins noticed some big problems with Enron's money reports. It looked like the company was not being honest about its finances. She bravely wrote a memo to Enron's boss, Kenneth Lay, to tell him about these issues.
Even though Enron started looking into her concerns, they didn't use independent people to investigate. Her warnings were mostly ignored at first. Some people later said she should have told the government or the public sooner. However, her memo eventually became public five months after she wrote it.
In early 2002, Sherron Watkins was asked to speak to important government groups in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. She told them about the warnings she gave to Kenneth Lay regarding Enron's dishonest financial statements.
After Enron: Sharing Her Story
In 2004, Sherron Watkins wrote a book about her experiences at Enron. The book is called Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron. It talks about what happened at Enron and also about how big companies in America sometimes work.
Books and Films
Sherron Watkins co-wrote a book that tells her story:
- Mimi Swartz with Sherron Watkins: Power Failure. The Inside Story of The Collapse of Enron, ISBN: 0-385-50787-9 (March 2003)
She has also been featured in films about the Enron scandal:
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. 2005. This movie includes interviews with Sherron Watkins herself.
- The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron. 2003. In this movie, she is shown as a staff accountant who nervously tells Kenneth Lay about the financial problems.
