Reference no: EM133278099

Question - Your firm has represented Summer Enterprises for over a decade. Summer is a large conglomerate (sales exceeding $2.3 billion last year) that generates millions of dollars in yearly revenue for the firm. Your experience with struggling firms and workouts has brought you to the attention of Ella Roland, the senior partner managing the Summer account. Roland calls you in to ask you to take on a very important assignment: go over the Summer books, interview the employees, and try to determine if some nefarious activity is afoot that is causing Summer's devastating quarterly losses despite record sales. The chairman of the board of Summer says that you are to be given carte blanche by the company, bringing in your own accounting team and any other assistance you need. No one else is to know of your task, except that you are working under the chairman's authority.

You make a preliminary review of the records and you see that Summer may have a high-placed embezzler. You also have heard rumors about irregularities in Summer's government contracts (kickbacks, competitive contract manipulation, etc.). You have identified a large group of employees to interview. What will you say to the employees as you begin your interviews? Does it matter whether Summer seems to be on sound financial footing despite the problems under investigation?