Former Enron executive appears before Congress

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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1. Wide shot of committee and media 2. Enron executive Sherron Watkins walks into committee room 3. Mid shot of committee and media 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Representative John Dingell "But today I look forward to hearing from an extraordinarily courageous woman who has been a bright spot in an otherwise sorry and outrageous saga." 5. Watkins listening as Dingell talks 6. Wide shot of committee 7. Watkins stands and takes the oath 8. Shot from behind Watkins as she sits to begin testimony 9. SOUNDBITE:(English) Sherron Watkins, Enron executive "I was highly alarmed by the information I was receiving. My understanding as an accountant is that a company could never use its own stock to generate a gain or avoid a loss on its income statement. I continued to ask questions and seek answers primarily from former co-workers in the global finance group or in the business units that had hedged assets with Raptor. I never heard reassuring explanations." 10. Cutaways of Watkins testifying 11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sherron Watkins, Enron executive "I urged Mr. Lay to found out who lost that money. If he discovered that this loss was born by Enron shareholders via an issuance of stock in the future then I thought we had a very large problem on our hands." 12. Cutaways of Watkins testifying 13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sherron Watkins, Enron executive "As I was doing my work and looking at this Raptor... these assets hedged by Raptor, my concern was that it seemed to be common knowledge that the Raptor losses were back-stopped by Enron stock and an analysis was always looked at, what's the value of Enron stocks compared what Raptor owes us. And I was shocked that people could explain this to me with no concern in their voice like there was some magic structure that Enron and Andersen had come up with to make this work." 14. Cutaways 15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sherron Watkins, Enron executive "My concern was that that was not going to stick. I gave it less than a five percent probability that this was going to go quietly. And I was highly concerned that not only had the Titanic hit the iceberg but we were already tilting." 16. Wide pan from Watkins to committee STORYLINE: Enron Corp executive Sherron Watkins told Congress on Thursday that she "was highly alarmed" by information she had received about the U-S company's finances. Watkins said she warned then-Chairman Kenneth Lay last summer that investors were being misled by inflated profit statements. Watkins said she continued to ask questions and seek answers from colleagues who may have known more about the complex partnerships that eventually brought the company down. In a testimony to the House Energy and Commerce investigative subcommittee, Watkins said she "never heard reassuring explanations." When it appeared that Andrew Fastow, the architect of the partnerships, was being considered for promotion to chief executive, Watkins said she went directly to Lay in hopes that the financial improprieties would be corrected. Watkins said Lay assured her that he would look into the issue but only went as far as to ask Enron's law firm to investigate the matter. Republican John Dingell called Watkins "a bright spot" in a company where executives turned a blind eye to abuses. Watkins appeared before Congress as a willing and knowledgeable witness following a parade of top Enron officials who have refused to answer questions. She testified under a "friendly subpoena" because she is still an Enron employee. Watkins, 42, is a vice president for corporate development at Enron. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c84ab7911cbcf1505aba49c7438d9cac Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork