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As the WorldCom Turns

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)
August 9, 2002

WorldCom's begun to morph into the spherical shape of an onion. With every layer that's peeled away, you want to cry even more.

The troubled global communications specialist admitted there's another $3.3 billion in improperly reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Apparently the company reversed some of its reserves against bad debts, reporting the sums as operating profits over the past three years.

This comes on top of the $3.85 billion in accounting irregularities the long-distance carrier revealed in June.

Under the weight of its accounting shenanigans and phantom profits, WorldCom last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company will likely write off the value of its goodwill and intangible assets in their entirety, a monstrous $50.6 billion charge. That amount would be second only to the one-time whopper AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL) reported after America Online swallowed Time Warner. 

In our Current Events discussion board, HedonistiX added a lighthearted conspiracy theory to the mix: "Wondering what they'll find next..." he wrote. "Maybe [WorldCom's] wireless service is actually not wireless, but using transparent cables?" 

The way things have been going for WorldCom, it's hard to keep anything clear.

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