In October 2002, Duke Power, the Regulated Electricity Utility of the United

Essay

In October 2002, Duke Power, the regulated electricity utility of the United States (US) corporation Duke Energy, agreed to pay $25 million to its customers to settle allegations by regulators in North and South Carolina that it had underreported net earnings by about $123 million between 1998 and 2002. The underreporting of net earnings by Duke Energy was allegedly undertaken in order to avoid having to cut its electricity rates.
Required:
Evaluate the actions of Duke Energy's management, which led to the underreporting of net earnings described in case study 1 above, from the perspective of ethical behaviour.