“After 89 years, Arthur Andersen will cease to be an auditor of public companies tomorrow,” writes Jonathan Glater in today’s New York Times.

“The remaining tasks of the once-proud firm — which was convicted in June of obstructing the government’s investigation into the collapse of Enron, an Andersen client — are to deal with obligations and shut itself down. Of its roughly 28,000 employees, fewer than 3,000 are left; of more than 1,200 public-company audit clients, none will remain.”

“The remarkable decline of the firm, from its announcement in January that it had discovered improper shredding of documents related to its audit of Enron, has occurred in less than nine months. The employees who are left will have the thankless task of coping with lawsuits and leases.”

” ‘It’s like a family member who has terminal cancer,’ said Gary Brentlinger, the human resources director for Andersen’s offices in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and New Orleans. ‘We’re watching the firm die.’ “

“Today at the firm’s office in Houston, the epicenter of the Enron debacle, Mr. Brentlinger will most likely shut off the lights on one more of the 15 floors that the firm occupied when it had nearly 1,700 active employees there, instead of the fewer than 100 now. The offices in the other cities he oversees have already closed.”

“Partners who are at the firm and some who have recently left say that it will not file for bankruptcy protection but will continue to wind down its affairs, negotiating with landlords to get out of leases, operating Andersen’s training center, arguing with former clients’ new accountants about the accuracy of past audits, and, of course, defending itself in lawsuits. The liability of current and former partners in those lawsuits remains uncertain.”

“The firm will be supported by revenue earned from the audit season that concluded this spring, the sale of different practices and payments from partners getting out of their agreements not to compete against Andersen, partners say.”

“Little information is available about the financial condition of Andersen, a private partnership, but partners who have seen the financial statements for last year said that given its reduced payroll, it should be able to operate until it has to pay judgments or settlements in lawsuits. Some also said the firm would convert itself from a partnership to a corporation, providing those who remain at the firm more protection against any future liabilities.”