Case 1: McKesson & Robbins (1938)

• Prof. Dr. Klaus Henselmann
• Dr. Stefan Hofmann

“Like a torrent of cold water the wave of publicity raised by the case has shocked the accountancy profession into breathlessness. Accustomed to relative obscurity in the public prints, accountants have been startled to find their procedures, their principles and their professional standards the subject of sensational and generally unsympathetic headlines.” This Journal of Accountancy editorial does not refer to Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat or one of the other more recent accounting scandals. The preceding paragraph was published in February 1939 in the wake of the infamous accounting fraud at McKesson & Robbins, Inc. Unknown to the company’s auditors, fictitious inventories and accounts receivable comprised more than 20% of McKesson & Robbins’ purported assets as of December 31, 1937.

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