The Financial Executive.

Byline: Abelardo V. Cortez

The recent collapse of corporate giant, US-based Enron Corp. continues to rattle the equity markets in the United States and Europe. News from overseas financial markets have started to report on investors' rising concern over accounting irregularities and practices in the wake of the energy trading company's collapse.

Last October, the independent Value Line Investment Survey gave Enron an "A" rating for financial strength and spiced it with a commentary that Enron stock had "above-average appreciation potential." Early this year, Enron share was quoted at US$84 per share. Once its questionable, aggressive accounting practices became public knowledge, and in the process, generating doubts on the quality and integrity of its corporate profits as well as the legality of its off-balance sheet transactions, the stock became a target for massive sell-off and is now practically worthless. Enron's reported earnings from the third quarter of 2000 through the third quarter of 2001 were said to have been inflated by almost US$1 billion by recognizing income immediately on transactions that would …