Andersen Says Top Staff Didn’t Order Shredding

An internal investigation by Andersen has determined the accounting firm’s top managers were not responsible for the shredding of documents at Enron Corp., according to a published report.

In the issue of Newsweek that will arrive on newsstands today, the magazine reports that the investigation has tentatively concluded that the shredding disclosed last month “resulted from collusion between Enron employees and members of Andersen’s Houston office.”

Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton told the Associated Press on Sunday that he had not seen the article. But he said the investigation has not been completed and that “no conclusions have been reached at this time.”

The magazine reports that it is not clear what evidence supports the conclusion of collusion between the Enron employees and workers in Andersen’s Houston office.

The findings by investigators appear to be in line with what the accounting firm already has said about the shredding.

The shredding started after an attorney in the firm’s Chicago headquarters sent her colleagues in the Houston office a copy of Andersen’s document retention policy.

But, according to Newsweek, the investigation determined that the shredding had nothing to do with that letter.

Andersen has blamed David Duncan, who was the company’s chief auditor on the Enron account until his recent firing. Duncan invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions when called before a House subcommittee last month. Several other auditors also have been fired. Enron has since fired Andersen as its auditor.