Federal prosecutors', with the help of Andersen's former top Enron partner David Duncan, will try to prove that the U.S. accounting firm Arthur Andersen is at fault for obstructing justice by shredding thousands of Enron-related documents in Texas, Chicago, Portland and London.

Andersen denies engaging in criminal conduct yet admits some of its employees shredded the documents. The firm has contended since the beginning that the entire firm should not be punished for the acts of a few and called the indictment "a death penalty."

As the trial begins in Houston, many experts question the point of charging the entire firm for the acts of a few. But as has been uncovered over the course of the last few months, this isn't the first time Andersen has been in trouble. In fact, the government had a watchful eye on Andersen long before the Enron debacle due to Andersen's involvement in other audits that subsequently landed the firm in hot water, including the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, Boston Chicken, Sunbeam, HIH Insurance, Global Crossing, Qwest Communications and Waste Management.

Despite this, some experts note that the trial is a waste of time and money. Andersen has lost so many of its audit clients -- nearly 300 companies have dropped Andersen -- that its survival is questionable even without the criminal charge. Hotel giant Marriot International, which paid Andersen $40.5 million in fees in 2000 and 2001, became the latest company to dump the firm.

Other signs of Arthur Andersen's demise:

Paul Volcker, tapped to head Andersen's independent oversight board, confirmed in a statement last week that he was dropping the reform role he offered to play at Andersen, stating "the board is in suspension as far as Andersen is concerned, but it wants to stay together to work on reform of the accounting industry."

The firm has laid off one-quarter of its U.S. staff and rescinded numerous offers to upcoming graduates.

After weeks of talks regarding a civil settlement with the lead class plaintiff, the Enron bankruptcy estate, and company creditors, Andersen last week officially called the settlement discussions dead. In a statement, the ailing firm said, "We worked in good faith over the last several months to resolve these matters to the benefit of all parties. During these discussions, considerable progress was made, but unfortunately, the plaintiffs could not resolve several differences among themselves and with defendants other than Arthur Andersen."

Andersen's U.S. partners -- which total 1,700 -- are fleeing for rival firms. Though the partners that leave are not allowed to take their clients with them due to non-compete clauses, the clients themselves may leave Andersen by requesting that Andersen management transfer their files to their old audit team.

Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte have all acquired divisions of Andersen's operations throughout the world. KPMG is in talks to purchase Andersen's consulting unit.

Andersen went to court last week in Phoenix for the Baptist Foundation of Arizona lawsuit that alleged the auditing firm helped cover up fraudulent accounting that led to BFA's investors' losing nearly $600 million. Andersen agreed to pay a $217 million settlement but pulled out of the agreement four weeks later.

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