Former Partner Shares Life Lessons
from the Rise and Fall of Arthur Andersen
As Firm Marks 100th Year, Executive Recounts the Rewards
of Working at a Company Known for Integrity

By the time he was 30, Larry Katzen made partner at Arthur Andersen, then one of the "Big 8" accounting firms with a reputation for innovation and integrity.

In the ensuing years, the firm continued to soar in stature. With an emphasis on continuing education for employees and meticulous attention to detail, it was one of the most trusted accounting firms in the industry. Katzen enjoyed a fast-paced rise through the ranks, all the while learning, traveling, and parenting quadruplets with his wife and college sweetheart, Susan.

It all came crashing down in 2002 when the company was indicted based on false accusations having to do with the scandals at Enron. With the firm's survival in question, Katzen moved quickly to encourage employees to carefully complete all remaining assignments.

"Arthur Andersen became fodder for the government's prosecution of Enron - although it had no role in Enron's demise," says Katzen, author of, "And You Thought Accountants Were Boring - My Life Inside Arthur Andersen," (www.Larryrkatzen.com), a unique look inside one of the world's most historically important accounting firms.

Arthur Andersen was eventually vindicated by a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling. By then, however, the damage had been done, creating chaos in the careers of thousands of employees. Arthur Andersen, which marked its 100th anniversary in September, still exists today, albeit in a different incarnation.
"I will never regret my time at the firm; it provided so much for me, including solid life lessons," says Katzen, who shares some of those.

• Do the right thing. At the end of Katzen's career, he had to help his employees find new jobs, which was an arduous process. "It was the right thing to do, which is its own reward, but the right actions also tend to have rewarding consequences," he says. That lesson had taken root during Katzen's college years at Drake University, when a trusted professor warned him against his plan to cancel a job interview with Arthur Andersen because he'd already received several promising offers. "If I hadn't done what was right, if I hadn't followed through on my commitment, my life would have gone down a very different path," he says.

• Listen to your heart. Although Arthur Andersen gave him the lowest salary offer, Katzen nonetheless felt it was the right place for him. "My personality seemed to blend with their corporate culture," he says. "So I turned down higher and more attractive offers and went with my heart." Listening to his heart also helped during his wife's fragile pregnancy with their quadruplets; if the couple hadn't approved using an experimental drug, "we probably would not have any children today," he says.

• Increases in responsibility come with personal sacrifice. Katzen had to uproot his life and family and move to a strange new town. But the short-term pain enabled the family to attain financial security and a better quality of life. "If you want to grow in an organization, success does not come without personal sacrifice," he says. "In my case, it resulted in four moves - but it was well worth it."

• Beware of the power of our government. In his first substantive experience in dealing with the IRS, Katzen quickly learned how coercive and powerful the agency can be. No matter how reasonable you may try to be with a government agency like the IRS, there is no guarantee it will respond in kind - and don't assume that you will get a fair trial, he says. "They have the power and authority to do whatever they want to do. In less than three months, our government put one of the world's most effective and profitable international accounting firms out of business."

About Larry Katzen

Pittsburgh used to be one of the dirtiest cities in the world. With its coal-burning steel plants and petroleum refineries, the air in Pittsburgh was so dirty the street lights often ran during the day! Now, Pittsburgh is changing its reputation. A city once dominated by fossil fuels is now among the leaders in green technologies. Companies formerly dependent on mining and burning coal for energy are now switching to wind and solar power. They still have a way to go, but the results, both environmentally and economically, are starting to show.

Because of its history and its ties to energy (both clean and dirty), Pittsburgh was the site of this year's Power Shift conference. Ten thousand youth leaders all focused on taking action against global climate change, fracking, Keystone XL and more gathered to hear speeches from Bill McKibben of 350.org, Gasland director/writer Josh Fox, and Michael Brune of the Sierra Club, among others. They also attended seminars, received leadership training and networked with like-minded activists.

The Great March for Climate Action's own youth leader, Marcher Director Zach Heffernen and a team of hard-working volunteers, recruited 60 new marchers while participating in the conference!

This changes the roster and profile of marchers significantly. Thirty-two states and Washington, D.C. are now represented along with three foreign countries. California was the state with the second most marchers, now they're in fifth. The bulk of the marchers are now in their twenties.

So our marcher community is now, perhaps, much like Pittsburgh: growing, changing and developing for the better.

-Dave Murphy, Communications Director

The Great March for Climate Action

After producing five acclaimed plays, one of them a world premiere, during the company's first 13 months, Davenport's QC Theatre Workshop is set to stage its first musical with the debuting Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim.

Running Friday, November 1, through Sunday, November 17 at the QC Theatre Workshop (1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport), Last Call is an original revue of songs featuring lyrics and/or music by the legendary Sondheim, the winner of eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for 1985's Sunday in the Park with George. Lauded for such classic works as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Company, and numerous others, Sondheim has been described by the New York Times as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre," and according to Last Call's producer and music director Tyson Danner, consequently seemed like the perfect artist to celebrate in the Workshop's first musical endeavor.

"While our first season consisted entirely of plays," says Danner, who also serves as his company's Artistic Director, "we at the Workshop have been looking forward to presenting a musical that would highlight the vast talents of Quad Cities singers. And when we had the idea of producing a revue, it only made sense to feature the songs of one of the kings of the modern musical."

Created by Danner and director Mike Schulz, Last Call features performances of more than two dozen numbers from Sondheim's musical canon - songs ranging from Dick Tracy's Oscar-winning "Sooner or Later" to Company's well-known "Ladies Who Lunch" to the rarely heard "Take Me to the World" from the 1966 TV-movie Evening Primrose.

Yet the show also weaves its songs together in the form of a mostly dialogue-free narrative (conceived by Danner and Schulz) set in a hotel bar, with a group of spouses, lovers, friends, and strangers crossing paths, reminiscing, and falling in and out of love over the course of Last Call's 90-minute running length.

Says Danner, "It's a testament to Sondheim's brilliant songwriting that each of these numbers can be interpreted in so many ways. Out of hundreds of possibilities, we chose the songs that played to our actors' greatest strengths, and they've had a blast approaching the material in different contexts."

Featured among Last Call's cast are: Erin Churchill (Circa '21's Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the District Theatre's Avenue Q); Don Denton (Circa '21's Miracle on 34th Street and The Full Monty); Angela Elliott (the District Theatre's Company and Sweeney Todd); James Fairchild (Circa '21's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, the District Theatre's Rent); Kim Furness (Circa '21's Southern Crossroads, the Curtainbox Theatre Company's Time Stands Still); Patrick Gimm (Playcrafters' The Trouble with Cats, the Prenzie Players' The Rover); Mark Ruebling (Quad City Music Guild's Curtains, Countryside Community Theatre's Gypsy); Allison Swanson (St. Ambrose University's alumni presentation of You Can't Take It with You, the Curtainbox's Wit); and, in her area-theatre debut, Sara Tubbs (ComedySportz's "Sketchville" ensemble).

Only Elliott, who played Barbara in the springtime comedy boom, has performed in a previous Workshop production, and Danner is thrilled to have her joined by eight area talents appearing in their first show for the company.

"This season," Danner says, "we began holding open auditions for every production, and we were overjoyed to have such a strong turnout for Last Call. It has been a delight to work with both longtime colleagues and performers we haven't had the chance to collaborate with before.

"Each time an actor appears for the first time in a Workshop production, they bring new ideas that make the theatre more dynamic and exciting. We're sure our patrons are going to enjoy this incredible cast."

As with the Workshop's five previous productions, Last Call will be presented under the company's popular "Pay What It's Worth" policy, which allows patrons to determine their own ticket prices following each performance.

, call (563)650- 2396 or e-mail qctheatreworkshop@gmail.com, or visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim performances

Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 2, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 3, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 10, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 17, 3 p.m.

QC Theatre Workshop

1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport, Iowa, 52804

(563)650-2396

info@QCTheatreWorkshop.org

QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Facebook.com/QCTheatreWorkshop