1. What power bases did Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan rely on to get away with accounting fraud?
2. What influence tactics did Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan use to control employees and the company’s board?
3. Did Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan engage in organizational politics? Explain your answer.

Bernie Ebbers built WorldCom, Inc. (now part of Verizon, Inc.) into one of the world’s largest telecommunications firms. Yet he and chief financial officer (CFO) Scott Sullivan have become better known for creating a massive corporate accounting fraud that led to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Two investigative reports and subsequent court cases concluded that WorldCom executives were responsible for billions in fraudulent or unsupported accounting entries. How did this mammoth accounting scandal occur without anyone raising the alarm? Evidence suggests that Ebbers and Sullivan held considerable power and influence that prevented accounting staff from complaining, or even knowing, about the fraud.