Case Study: NorthWestern Corp. and ERP

To hear Richard Fresia tell it, he was the man brought in to straighten out some thorny systems problems, only to end up charged with wrong-doing by the SEC. This is a cautionary tale with lots of messages about the need for rock solid systems that leave no doubt about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. According to CFO.com, Fresia was grappling with a failed billing and accounting system that led to a lot of problems with receivables. The company eventually was forced to take a large write off but only after issuing bonds to investors. Fresia says he did everything right. He sent emails about the problems. He pressed executives for disclosure of the problems. But in the end he was charged. You do not want this to happen to you--but you could see how it could. There may be more to the story. But in this environment, the best answer is not to let your systems get to this point. Why play with fire.  

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- here's the article