I must come from a strange industry (high tech) because I’ve never met a Chairman of the Board that knew so little about what the company was up to. But live and learn, because apparently in the energy business, the Chairman doesn’t really know how the company works financially.
Or so Ken Lay would have us believe.
Naturally, it takes a willing suspension of disbelief to swallow this. In fact, I’m betting anybody who’s been involved in a company at that level won’t buy it for a second.
Maybe Lay never saw any details. Maybe we won’t find anything in writing proving he knew about off-balance-sheet partnerships, or had knowledge of accounting practices.
But wouldn’t you imagine that a company founder would know a little bit more about what his own company was doing? Particularly when his own fortunes were riding on it? Particularly when he was still Chairman of the Board? Particularly when the board is usually involved in audits, audit standards, and audit results?
The best one can say is that if Lay didn’t know any of this as board Chairman, he was negligent in his duties as Chairman. More likely, however, he was an involved board Chairman, and all 11 charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and false statements to banks are probably true.
