On June 26, 2001, it was revealed that Enron, one of the largest energy companies in the U.S., had been using accounting loopholes to hide its debts and inflate its profits. The companys executives, including CEO Jeffrey Skilling and founder Kenneth Lay, were implicated in the scandal. The revelation led to the companys bankruptcy, the loss of thousands of jobs, and the destruction of employees retirement savings. The scandal caused a massive loss of confidence in corporate accounting practices. It led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which imposed stricter regulations on financial reporting.