El Paso is being investigated over accounting changes to a contract with a New Jersey-based customer. It is alleged the restructuring of the contract led to one-time gains for El Paso that equalled 70% of its 2002 first quarter operating income.

The once proud Enron Group came unstuck in the US's biggest corporate failure after it was revealed that creative accounting treatments of its power contracts falsely inflated earnings by a massive amount, concealing a mountain of real debt.