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<p>Dedication vi</p> <p>Introduction vii</p> <p>Acknowledgments xi</p> <p>CHAPTER 1 A Dark Cloud 1</p> <p>CHAPTER 2 Graduation Day 12</p> <p>CHAPTER 3 New Beginnings 26</p> <p>CHAPTER 4 Hotlanta 41</p> <p>CHAPTER 5 The Turnaround 50</p> <p>CHAPTER 6 Coming Home 60</p> <p>CHAPTER 7 Building A New Life 71</p> <p>CHAPTER 8 King of the Resellers 82</p> <p>CHAPTER 9 The Hottest Company in Town 91</p> <p>CHAPTER 10 Nowhere to Go But Up 105</p> <p>CHAPTER 11 A New Era 123</p> <p>CHAPTER 12 The Glass Sieve 137</p> <p>CHAPTER 13 The Tide Comes In 145</p> <p>CHAPTER 14 The Minnow Swallows the Whale 151</p> <p>CHAPTER 15 Finding Balance 163</p> <p>CHAPTER 16 Top of the Mountain 167</p> <p>CHAPTER 17 A Double-Edged Sword 174</p> <p>CHAPTER 18 A Titan Stumbles 184</p> <p>CHAPTER 19 The Rule of Ten 202</p> <p>CHAPTER 20 What is Prepaid Capacity? 217</p> <p>CHAPTER 21 Growing Suspicions 229</p> <p>CHAPTER 22 A Surprise Visit 242</p> <p>CHAPTER 23 The Confrontation 251</p> <p>CHAPTER 24 A Desperate Search For Counsel 265</p> <p>CHAPTER 25 Washington Attorneys Visit the Deep South 280</p> <p>CHAPTER 26 Navigating the Storm 296</p> <p>CHAPTER 27 A Visit to Federal Court 322</p> <p>CHAPTER 28 The United States Versus Bernard J. Ebbers 338</p> <p>CHAPTER 29 The Judgment 351</p> <p>EPILOGUE 362</p> <p>NOTES 368</p> <p>INDEX 395</p>

"Extraordinary Circumstances details the struggle to get management to take internal audit seriously. The story of the investigation comes to life through Cynthia's words. I found myself drawn into the story. Congratulations, Cynthia, on a successful first book. And many thanks for being willing to stand up to the truth and fight to expose the WorldCom fraud." (<i>bloggingstocks.com</i>, 4/3/08) <p>"Cooper's story is personal and interesting…it's a cautionary tale for corporate executives. The book is an interesting story of how Cooper ended up as a major player in a very important business story." (<i>TexaxLawyer.com</i>, 3/31/08)</p> <p>"Extraordinary Circumstances is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of an accounting fraud. It tells the story of how that fraud was uncovered and of the ugly manipulation and deceit she encountered along the way." (<i>Bloomberg.com</i>, 2/28/08)</p> <p>"…blow-by-blow detail is what makes Cooper's "Extraordinary Circumstances" well worth reading. Cooper's willingness to reveal her innermost thoughts as she dug makes for gripping reading." (<i>BusinessWeek</i>, February 25, 2008)</p> <p>"...with the publication of her new book, <i>Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of A Corporate Whistleblower</i>, we finally get an inside account of what really happened at WorldCom. It's a powerful tale. Cooper's story has been partially told before, most notably in the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> and in a report prepared for WorldCom's board of directors. But her adventures at WorldCom come to life in this first-person account." (<i>USA Today</i>, February 15, 2008)</p> <p>"Readers of Cooper's book, <i>Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower</i>, will find it easy to identify with both the employees who manipulated the telecommunications giant's financial statements and those who caught them." (<i>Reuters.com</i>, February 7, 2008)</p> <p>"...it's a fascinating study of the quantum changes in character that accompany the accumulation of unimaginable wealth as well as an uncomfortable reminder of how, faced with an ethical fork in the road, just how easy it is for some to take a wrong turn." (<i>WebCPA.com</i>, February 2008)</p> <p>"This is a heroic, often exciting tale of a person who, in the course of doing her job, stumbles on a big lie and pushes on to get to the bottom of it." (<i>CFO.com</i>; 1/25/08)</p>

<p><b>CYNTHIA COOPER</b> was one of <i>Time</i>'s 2002 Persons of the Year. She was the vice president of internal audit for WorldCom and subsequently MCI. Cynthia was featured as one of twenty-five influential working mothers in <i>Working Mother</i> magazine, and earned the distinction of being the first woman to receive the AAA Accounting Exemplar Award and to be inducted into the AICPA Business & Industry Hall of Fame. She resigned from MCI in 2004, following the company's successful emergence from bankruptcy, and now shares the lessons she has learned through her experiences with professionals and students. She and her husband Lance reside in Mississippi with their two daughters.

<p>"Outstanding! This page-turning account of the WorldCom fiasco reads like a suspense novel. I was on the edge of my seat to the last page. …This book should be required reading for leaders everywhere."<br/> <b>—Ken Blanchard,</b> coauthor of <i>The One Minute Manager <p></i>Available for the first time in paperback, <i>Extraordinary Circumstances </i>recounts Cooper's journey from her close family upbringing in a small Mississippi town to being named one of <i>Time</i>'s 2002 Persons of the Year. She provides a rare insider's glimpse into the spectacular rise and fall of WorldCom, a telecom titan, the darling of Wall Street, and a Cinderella story for Mississippi. <p><i>Extraordinary Circumstances</i> makes it clear that the tone set at the top is critical to fostering an ethical environment in the workplace. Provocative, moving, and intensely personal, <i>Extraordinary Circumstances </i>is a wake-up call to corporate leaders and an intimate glimpse at a scandal that shook the business world.

"Outstanding! This page-turning account of the WorldCom fiasco reads like a suspense novel. I was on the edge of my seat to the last page. When pressure to meet market expectations collided with Cynthia Cooper’s ethical values, she made the brave decision to do the job she’d been entrusted to do as an auditor. We need more leaders like Cynthia. If the free enterprise system is to survive, companies need to take corporate values and ethics checks seriously. This book should be required reading for leaders everywhere."<br /> ―<b>Ken Blanchard,</b> co-author of <i>The One Minute Manager</i> and <i>Self Leadership and Leading at a Higher Level</i> <p>"Reading this book will help all business people prepare for their own Extraordinary Circumstances and give them the courage to act as Cynthia did."<br /> <i>―</i><b>Dennis R. Beresford;</b> Former Chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, Former MCI Audit Committee Chair, Professor of Accounting at the University of GA</p> <p>"An excellent read! In "Extraordinary Circumstances," Cynthia Cooper paints a picture of WorldCom’s journey down the slippery slope of corporate ethics. The message is uplifting and inspiring. This is a "must read" for those interested in establishing good governance and ethical values in their organization. This book will be required reading for our students."<br /> ―<b>Glenn E. Sumners,</b> Director LSU Center for Internal Auditing</p> <p>"Extraordinary Circumstances is a terrific read."<br /> <i>―</i><b>Joseph T. Wells,</b> CFE, CPA, Founder and chairman Association of Certified Fraud Examiners</p> <p>"Riveting!! What a story of courage and conviction . An absolute must read for anyone who believes in governance and a robust system of internal controls. A classic example of how , without controls, an organization will not survive. Cynthia is such a wonderful role model for those who are not afraid to go against the grain to do what is right."<br /> —<b>Joel Kramer CPA,</b> Managing Director, Internal Audit Division, MIS Training Institute</p>

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