No recent case better illustrates this deterioration than Enron. Enron was an extraordinarily fast growing provider, primarily of natural gas, electricity, and communication products and services,⁽¹⁰⁾ whose total assets quadrupled between 1996 and 2000 from $16.137 to $65.503 billion.⁽¹¹⁾ Its 2000 Form 10-K annual report filed with the SEC was a consistently upbeat review of its many claimed successes, only unusual because of Exhibit 21 to the certified financial statements which was a 49 page list of subsidiaries. In 2001 Enron was seventh on the Fortune 500 list, with revenues in 2000 of $100.8 billion.⁽¹²⁾

Then, abruptly, essentially without warning, Enron melted down. A November 8, 2001 Form 8-K stunningly stated: "Enron intends to restate its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 1999 through 2000 and the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2001. As a result the previously-issued financial statements for those periods and the audit reports covering the year-end financial statements for 1992 to 2000 should not be relied upon."⁽¹³⁾