Whistleblower to speak at UA tonight

A UA alumna who was at the center of one of the most infamous corporate scandals in recent history will speak at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Theater.

Cynthia Cooper, who received a master's degree in accountancy from the University, became famous in 2002 for her auditing role in uncovering corporate fraud at the former WorldCom. For her efforts, Cooper was named one of Time Magazine's 2002 "Persons of the Year" as one of "The Whistleblowers."

"Cynthia is an example of a woman who has done well in the corporate world and has learned to deal with the adversities and falls that go along with the position," said Robert Ingram, senior associate dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. "She has used that to help publicize the need for ethics and integrity in business operations and help a lot of people businesses to figure out how to get that done."

As the chief audit executive for WorldCom, Cooper uncovered the company's attempt to mask financial decline in ways such as underreporting expenses and inflating revenue reports, done to inspire false confidence in stock investors. Approximately $3.8 billion was uncovered in fraudulent reports.

"Cynthia clearly made a mark by doing a job she was trained here to do as an accountant," Ingram said. "Worldcom, at the time, was the largest fraud that had been uncovered."

This discovery helped usher in a new era in corporate accountability, with action such as the passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in July of 2002.

"WorldCom is now MCI, and it has become a reasonable company as a result of the events that have occurred," Ingram said. "I think that the changes that have occurred as a result of the regulation - the stronger corporate governance that we have, which was brought about by people like Cynthia, has prevented us from having major frauds, and since that period, things are working a lot better."

Cooper will discuss her new book, "Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower." She will be available afterward to sign copies of it.