AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A Texas state agency and two accountants involved in the Enron scandal are still haggling over whether the accountants should hold licenses to work as CPAs.
The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy has stripped Carl Bass and Thomas Bauer of their licenses after determining that the former partners with Arthur Andersen LLP violated professional standards while conducting Enron audits.
But a legal challenge by the pair has resulted in a judge’s ruling that the board violated Texas’ open meetings law during its deliberations. And some experts believe the agency has overstepped its authority.
The result is a proceeding that has kept Enron alive 10 years after the company’s collapse and raised questions about a little-known state agency that isn’t dependent on the Legislature for its funding.
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