In-house lawyers fear Enron disaster in UK
A poll of company legal departments shows that the overwhelming feeling is that an Enron-style corporate disaster is possible in the UK.
The survey, by Legal Director , in association with City law firm Halliwell Landau, of 103 heads of in-house legal departments revealed as many as two-thirds feared a disaster on such a scale could indeed happen in the UK. This despite revealing that almost 70% now complied with the Turnbull code of corporate governance.
But only 15% said such an event was ‘likely’.
These views are in line with comments made by FSA chairman Howard Davies in February, when he warned that a ‘large and unpredicted corporate failure’ in the UK was possible.
So far, only Clara Furse, head of the London Stock Exchange has been the only high-profile British business representative to come out publicly and say Enron could not happen in Britain.
AT the IoD convention last month she said she could not envisage Enron happening in the UK, with its strict principles-based disclosure rules.