Product Overview

These cases are part of a module of teaching materials that study the major financial events of the first decade of the 2000s and the dramatic shift in civic attitudes that accompanied them. Cases on the so-called Panic of 2001 address the start of the shift in 2001-02 (the complementary materials address the events of 2008 and beyond). The substance of the A and B cases is the civic reaction to the dot-com crash of 2000 and the wave of corporate fraud cases exposed from 2000 to 2002. The B case provides a short summary of the final draft of Sarbanes-Oxley, the voting results in Congress, and the voting results in the congressional elections in November 2002. This case is intended to be distributed toward the end of the class discussion and can be used to stimulate further reflection on the episode.

Learning Objectives

These cases were developed to serve three main teaching objectives: Review the origins of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which at the time was considered the most significant new financial regulation in about 70 years. Reflect on the influence of financial crises and frauds on the civic temperament and legislative action. Critically assess the definition of "financial crisis."