Arthur Andersen LLP, based in
Chicago, is a holding company and formerly one of the
"Big Five" accounting firms among
PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu,
Ernst & Young and
KPMG, providing
auditing,
tax, and
consulting services to large
corporations. In 2002, the firm voluntarily surrendered its licenses to practice as
Certified Public Accountants in the United States after being
found guilty of criminal charges relating to the firm's handling of the
auditing of
Enron, an energy corporation based in
Texas, which had
filed for
bankruptcy in 2001.